Rural Communities Reporter
About The Position
Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) is seeking an ambitious reporter to tell stories of the state's rural communities for a cross-platform collaboration with PBS Wisconsin. This position is based in Wausau, and will be focused on bridging information gaps and amplifying rural perspectives. That can mean everything from investigating gaps in access to health care and tracking the consequences of population decline to profiling innovative businesses and community-led solutions to rural challenges. This reporter will cover daily news including breaking regional news of statewide interest, and will also report in-depth features for radio and digital audiences. A gifted collaborator, this reporter will work together with a team that includes reporters and editors from both WPR and PBS Wisconsin. In addition to radio and text stories, this reporter will work with digital teams to create short-form vertical videos and other digitally tailored content for newsletters and social media channels. WPR's on-air and online services each reach nearly half a million people every month. This reporter will serve those audiences with daily stories, feature reports and appearances on our statewide talk shows. This position is Ongoing/Renewable. This full-time, 40-hour-a-week position is headquartered in Wausau and reports to the Managing Editor of News. Because the news is dynamic, the position will include occasional evenings and weekend on-call shifts. This position is hybrid and can include in-person and work-from-home hours. The final schedule can be discussed in the offer stage, but fully remote candidates will not be accepted. Remote work requires an approved flexible work arrangement (FWA). A FWA requires successful candidates to possess their own high-speed internet and phone to perform the work on a university provided computer. Per University policy, transportation between home and assigned work location is not payable/reimbursable and will be at the expense of the employee. It is expected that employees will make individual arrangements for transportation adequate to meet position responsibilities and essential job functions. Information about UW-Madison Driver Authorization can be found at: http://businessservices.wisc.edu/managing-risk/driver-authorization-and-insurance/driver-authorization/
Requirements
- Excellent communication skills including newswriting.
- Demonstrated history of enterprising reporting.
- Demonstrated knowledge of newsgathering and reporting techniques.
- Ability to work in both independent and collaborative settings.
- A Bachelor’s degree and at least 2 years of professional reporting experience is preferred OR 5 years of professional reporting experience.
Nice To Haves
- Experience writing and producing radio stories.
- Knowledge and understanding of Wisconsin and its rural communities.
- Experience working in public media.
Responsibilities
- Applies editorial judgment and maintains industry standards of journalistic ethics and excellence
- Contributes content including interviewing sources, writing stories/reports, and completing other necessary production tasks to create news/public affairs reports
- Collaborates with digital content teams on both long-term and short-term multimedia projects
- Stays abreast of developments in assigned areas, maintains contacts on continued stories to ensure follow-up, and researches topic areas to provide in-depth reports
Benefits
- This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund.
- For a summary of benefits, please see: http://www.wisconsin.edu/ohrwd/benefits/download/fasl.pdf
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
