North Carolina Apprentice Reporter, Midterm Election Focus

Editorial

Contract

Remote

About The Center Square

Focus on the size, scope, cost, and effectiveness of government is our distinct lane, and has been the key to The Center Square's unprecedented growth as a U.S. news brand. At a time when news media is contracting, and media trust is waning, The Center Square is growing rapidly by providing original news that is well reported, fair, and focused on covering government for the people and holding those in power to account.

We call it The Center Square Way. It means we hold government accountable by showing people what their government is doing, what it costs them, and what it means for the taxpayers, businesses and communities where they live. Our reporters do not write opinion. Our editors do not tolerate it. We compete on accuracy, velocity and frequency — filing more stories, faster, with fewer errors than anyone else covering this beat. Every story goes through a backfield editing system designed to catch what other newsrooms miss. That’s not a slogan. It’s how we operate, every day, across every state we cover.

The Center Square has grown from a startup in 2019 to one of the most widely distributed newswire services in the country — because media partners trust our copy and readers trust our approach. We intend to keep earning that trust.

We operate as professionals. We compensate our employees well and offer a generous benefit plan.

The Role

An apprentice reporter for The Center Square is a journalist near the beginning of their professional career who spends six months under the guidance of experienced editors who will train them on the The Center Square Way of news gathering, reporting and writing process. This means we hold government accountable by showing people what their government is doing, what it costs them, and what it means for the businesses and communities where they live. Our reporters do not write opinion. Our editors do not tolerate it. We compete on accuracy, velocity and frequency – filing more stories, faster, with fewer errors than anyone else covering this beat.

The Center Square is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit national newswire service headquartered in Chicago with staff deployed across the country. We produce original, taxpayer-focused government accountability journalism for more than 1,360 local, state, and national media partners, reaching 141 million Americans daily. Focus on the size, scope, cost, and effectiveness of government is our distinct lane, and has been the key to The Center Square's unprecedented growth as a U.S. news brand.

This is a paid position, and successful completion of the apprenticeship program could lead to a full-time reporting job at The Center Square. The apprentice will participate in daily planning, execute against short- and long-term coverage strategies, and be part of pushing our content across multiple platforms.

The apprentice reporter for this particular position must be based near Raleigh, North Carolina, and be able to get to the state capitol as needed. This position will help supplement our coverage of North Carolina, with a particular focus on the midterm elections, helping voters understand where candidates for Congress, the state Senate and House of Representatives, and four statewide judicial elections stand on issues impacting taxpayers.

Duties and responsibilities will include:

Report on legislative and policy issues and their impact on taxpayers in North Carolina.
Contribute to The Center Square's coverage of key races in advance of the November election.
Participate in daily planning meetings with other The Center Square journalists on the East Coast.
Report to The Center Squares East Coast managing editor, who will mentor the apprentice reporter on good daily journalism practices and on navigating public records and databases to ferret out waste, fraud and abuse.
Publish up to 10 news stories each week.
Generate relevant story ideas with frequency, and discuss with managing editor.
Cultivate trusted sources to provide leads on potential stories, including those inside and outside government, think tanks, academia, unions and the business community.
Monitor the media landscape to identify popular topics and potential media partners.

Qualifications:

Passionate about The Center Square’s taxpayer-focused mission
Bachelor’s degree or higher
Background in journalism, and future in journalism sought
Familiarity with government policy issues
Ability to uncover original stories and break them
Entrepreneurial approach and ability to work independently
Excellent, proactive communicator
Demonstrated understanding of planning and budgeting processes
Ability to travel on an as-needed basis, including throughout the state when called upon
Strong commitment to the principles of personal responsibility and free enterprise

Send resume, cover letter and links to clips to jobs@thecentersquare.com.