Reporter

MediaNews Group • San Jose, CA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

We’re looking to add a standout reporter to our team at The Mercury News, covering one of the most dynamic and consequential regions in the Bay Area: the Peninsula. This is not a routine city beat, and it is not a meeting-coverage job. The Peninsula is home to some of the Bay Area’s most powerful companies, wealthiest communities, fastest-changing downtowns and most urgent affordability pressures. Decisions made here about housing, transportation, climate, public safety, development and government ripple across the region. We expect reporting that reframes the news and pushes past “what happened” to reveal consequence, accountability and impact. That means spotting the story others miss, pressing for answers and turning even routine developments into journalism that stands out. The Peninsula offers a rare mix of local and regional stakes: cities grappling with growth and inequality, coastal communities facing climate threats, residents struggling with the cost of living and powerful institutions shaping the future of the Bay Area. We’re committed to covering it with urgency, depth and ambition, and we’re looking for someone who shares that mindset. Candidates will report to our San Jose office and are expected to complete field assignments on the Peninsula.

Requirements

• Strong news judgment and a competitive drive
• The ability to write clean, engaging stories with clarity and authority
• A track record of producing reporting that goes beyond surface-level coverage
• Experience working sources, records and data to uncover original stories
• The ability to manage multiple stories under deadline pressure
• Comfort reporting and publishing across digital platforms and social media
• Comfortable chasing a late-night development, filing quickly on deadline and stepping back to build sources, analyze records and deliver enterprise that holds up over time.
• At least five years of professional journalism experience, ideally including breaking news and government, housing, business or accountability coverage

Nice To Haves

• Additional language skills are a plus

Responsibilities

• Break news and own major developments across the Peninsula
• Go beyond daily updates to deliver reporting that explains impact and stakes
• Build deep sourcing across government, neighborhoods, business, advocacy groups and community organizations
• Pursue accountability reporting using documents, data and public records
• Collaborate across the newsroom on high-impact coverage
• Report and publish across platforms in real time
• Own this beat: you can move fast, think critically, and consistently deliver journalism that goes beyond incremental updates
• You’ll have a hand in covering the biggest stories shaping the Peninsula, from housing and homelessness to downtown development, coastal resilience, transportation, public safety and the influence of tech and life sciences on local communities
• You’ll be expected to break news and drive the daily conversation while also producing deeply reported work that explains what’s changing, who’s affected and why it matters now
• Work independently and collaboratively, partnering with editors, photographers and other reporters to produce journalism across platforms

Benefits

• medical
• dental
• life and disability insurance
• 401k
• paid time off
• select paid holidays

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed