Data Journalism Editor, IRW

American University•Washington, DC

2d•$70,000 - $80,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Investigative Reporting Workshop (IRW) is seeking an outstanding data journalist to lead its data and artificial intelligence journalism efforts. This role involves mentoring others, translating complex data into impactful investigative stories, and contributing creatively and strategically to the newsroom. The Data Journalism Editor will manage daily and long-term data assignments for various journalism projects within IRW, a nonprofit newsroom based at the School of Communication. The editor will collaborate with other editors, interns, and graduate fellows on data collection, cleaning, management, analysis, and visualization. This position ensures that data-driven investigations adhere to sound data management and analysis principles, and that findings are accurate and based on accepted journalistic best practices. The ideal candidate is passionate about uncovering stories within underrepresented communities and committed to accurate storytelling across platforms.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
3 - 5 years of relevant experience in data journalism, including statistical analysis and reporting stories from data.
Some experience in programming.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with Artificial Intelligence, Large Language Models and their applications.
Master's degree or equivalent.
Proficiency in statistics and statistical analysis tools, including RESTful Service Query Language (RSQL), Excel, Python.
Expertise in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER), and other public-records resources.
Experience with server management.
Experience with database management, especially Postgres.
Experience with web development, especially news applications and data visualization tools.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute plans for acquiring, analyzing, cleaning, and presenting data for potential stories.
Pitch and develop story ideas for future projects.
Check and re-check data and documents, reviewing the work of student journalists and graduate fellows.
Draft or assign drafts of all methodology used in stories and projects for potential publication.
Develop ideas for on-site workshops and events.
Participate in panels at national conferences, including IRE and NICAR.
Speak to American University’s graduate boot-camp students and Dow Jones training workshops.
Maintain frequent contact with smaller nonprofit newsrooms working with IRW on data-heavy projects.
Supervise one to three part-time student reporters and graduate fellows.