🏆 DCist seeks East of the River Reporter and Photographer
DCist is hiring two journalists—a reporter and a photojournalist—to cover communities east of the Anacostia River through Report for America. The national service program places reporters into local newsrooms to report on under-covered topics. More information and application information is available at Report For America. If you have questions, please contact DCist editor in chief Rachel Sadon at rsadon@dcist.com.
REPORTER POSITION
Location: * Northeast, DC
Beat: Minority communities in Wards 7 and 8 in D.C.
Position: News coverage gaps are particularly pronounced in parts of D.C. east of the Anacostia River. Ward 7 has a poverty rate of 27 percent and Ward 8 is about 36 percent, and crime rates are disproportionately higher than the rest of the city. Such numbers are often the focus of the limited coverage that these communities receive. But these neighborhoods are also home to a vibrant arts community, early stages of gentrification, most of the city's low-income housing, the Frederick Douglass house, and much more that routinely goes undercovered. This reporter helps change that by developing an East of the River beat. Coverage includes a mix of enterprise reporting, features, and profiles, alongside reporting on community events, political developments, and other daily news. The role has a heavy community engagement emphasis, with regular office hours and in-person events. We believe it is important they already live in the community they will cover, or have experience in similar communities in other cities.
PHOTOJOURNALIST POSITION
Location: * Northeast, DC
Beat: Photojournalism involving minority communities in Wards 7 and 8 in D.C.
Position: This photojournalist works as a team with a RFA reporter, covering communities east of the Anacostia River. Ward 7 has a poverty rate of 27 percent and Ward 8 is about 36 percent, and crime rates are disproportionately higher than the rest of the city. But these neighborhoods are also home to a vibrant arts community, early stages of gentrification, most of the city's low-income housing, the Frederick Douglass house, and much more that routinely goes undercovered. This photographer helps change that by developing an East of the River beat. Coverage includes a mix of enterprise photography, features, and profiles, alongside coverage of community events, political developments, and other daily news. We believe it's important that this journalist is a person of color. We believe it is important they already live in the community they will cover, or have experience in similar communities in other cities.