DC Correspondent Position
Free Speech Radio News is looking for a creative, passionate and experienced broadcast news reporter to join our worker-run collective.
Free Speech Radio News is the only collectively run daily news program in the United States, and is broadcast on more than 110 stations across the country. FSRN has reporters in 40 states and 50 countries and covers national and international stories that aren’t being told elsewhere, highlighting how the actions of elected officials and decision-makers affect real people.
The DC Staff Correspondent plays a crucial role in determining and carrying out our coverage from Capitol Hill, and is a familiar and trusted voice for our audience. Our ideal candidate is a news junkie, who eats and sleeps current events and is constantly on the look-out for new and under-reported stories and voices.
Responsibilities:
-File a 3-4 minute long feature story each day on breaking news and current events emanating from Washington and the US Capitol.
-Gather additional sound from events, press conferences, speeches and interviews.
-Follow closely news and developments in Congress, the White House, government departments and agencies and the US Supreme Court. Have a good understanding of Washington, DC community news, which FSRN also covers.
-Plan and execute FSRN’s 2012 Election coverage.
-Participate in daily editorial meetings.
-Prepare multimedia elements for FSRN’s website, including video.
-Recruit, train and oversee DC freelance reporters.
-Participate as a guest on radio shows throughout the Pacifica Network and on stations airing FSRN.
-Participate in staff collective that helps to run FSRN, including attending staff meetings and annual meeting, and serving on committees.
-As a collective, decisions at FSRN are made in a decentralized manner. Consequently, the ideal candidate must be comfortable with this kind of process and be able to work effectively with it. Also due to the collective nature of the organization, the candidate must be able to function with a high level of autonomy.
-Other duties as required
Qualifications:
-Proven track record filing feature stories covering government on daily deadline
-Solid understanding of Congress and legislative process
-Excellent writing, communication and organizational skills
-Ability to find appropriate and diverse sources on short turn-around
-Ability to write accurate, compelling radio stories on tight daily deadlines
-Ability to find new, under-reported angles and break news of interest to the FSRN audience
-Knowledge of and dedication to grassroots radio/independent journalism
Preferred experience:
-2 years daily deadline reporting experience in Washington, DC
-Experience shooting and editing video
-Fluency in languages other than English
-Journalism training and mentoring background
-Investigative reporting experience
Location: Washington, DC office. Candidates must have their own broadcast-quality radio recording equipment.
Hours: This is a full-time, 40-hour per week position, Monday through Friday with occasional weekend work. We provide paid holidays, two weeks of vacation and the opportunity to participate in an egalitarian worker-run structure. Currently, FSRN does not provide health care.
Pay: $18.75/hour
How to Apply: Send a cover letter, resume, four references and links to three of your best radio feature news stories (3-4 minutes in length) to jobs@fsrn.org. No audio attachments please. First review of applications begins August 15th. Please put the title of the position in the subject line. Expected start date: September/Early October.
People of color, women, LGBT people, people with disabilities, immigrants, and people who have lived in poverty are strongly encouraged to apply.
