Seattle City Hall Reporter

The Center Square has partnered with Big Fish on this search.

For questions or referrals, please contact Angel Fimbres-Barcelo at angel@recruitbigfish.com.

Big Fish is a boutique recruiting firm specializing in public policy talent, working with nonprofits, trade associations, and corporations to recruit mission-forward talent. To learn more about Big Fish, please visit recruitbigfish.com.

Position Title: Seattle City Hall Reporter

Employment Status: Full-time

Salary range: $68,000 - $75,000

Position Overview

The Center Square is seeking highly motivated reporters to join our Washington state bureau to join the Enterprise and Investigative Unit (EIU). The Center Square has a five-person bureau in the state. The EIU is a five-person national investigative team, which, despite only starting a year ago, has already been a finalist for major national awards, changed state laws and removed corrupt and incompetent government officials.

We're looking for passionate journalists who have government reporting experience, and a strong interest and understanding of politics and public policy. The Center Square covers government from a taxpayers’ perspective, not from government’s perspective. We hold government officials accountable for their actions and decisions and inform our readers how those decisions affect them.

These key roles will be joining an eastern Washington reporter and state government reporter to provide readers and partners with the best coverage in the state. The city hall reporter reports to The Center Square’s Washington State Editor and the EIU job reports to the Managing Editor for EIU and West Coast Region.

Essential Responsbilities for the Seattle City Hall Reporter:

• Plan daily, taxpayer-focused news coverage from City Hall and King County government for The Center Square and print affiliates. The Center Square is a newswire and we welcome other media outlets to republish our work.
• Closely monitor mayor and city council policy, actions and spending that will impact taxpayers, job creators, energy consumers, the economy and public safety. Report on those policies.
• Supplement print reporting with video; be willing to shoot and edit video, and discuss your reporting in front of a camera
• On-the-ground reporting at city hall and the county offices
• Attend in-person news conferences, be prepared to ask probing questions
• Develop sources, conduct interviews, files records requests and write 

Expectations for the Role:

• Have excellent writing and research abilities while adhering to Associated Press style.
• Take direction well and be willing to learn from The Center Square's experienced editors and other journalists.
• Live in the region you are assigned. Meet sources both inside and outside of government.
• Look beyond government-issued press releases and reports to determine the real impact of policy on taxpayers and job creators.
• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, political science, or a related field is preferred but not required, and at least two years of government reporting experience.
• Proficient in understanding news and moving fast to report on breaking and developing stories 
• Able to navigate the city and county government, including the elected officials as well as the appointed bureaucrats
• Writing approachable news copy to distill complex issues into concise explanations
• Network with sources for news tips and background
• Multimedia reporting focused on utilizing video stream to pull and edit video and audio clips for affiliate use

Benefits Summary:

Center Square offers health, dental, vision, disability, and employer-paid life insurance from day one.

It also offers a 401(k) with up to a 4% match after 30 days, plus pre-tax flexible spending accounts.