Water and Development Reporter
The Fresno Bee is launching an ambitious journalism reporting lab focused on the region’s water availability and how we grow.
Water is fundamental to the San Joaquin Valley’s future. More than 90 percent of communities in the central San Joaquin Valley rely exclusively on groundwater. During droughts, they are susceptible to dry wells, and in normal or even wet years, many of these communities cannot drink their water due to contamination.
As groundwater becomes more scarce and treatment is needed to ensure clean drinking water, residents of the Central San Joaquin Valley will see their water bills increase. How can we ensure water is affordable, especially for the thousands of lower-income families in the region? And how can the water needs of agriculture coexist with the residential need?
Housing affordability is also a growing crisis for many residents in the Central San Joaquin Valley. Rents are increasing. Evictions and the potential for displacement loom for many families. And there are obstacles to building more housing to keep up with demand.
As a reporter on this project, you will help build a database of water rates, water supplies, and water quality. You also will be responsible for writing stories and generating multimedia that highlight specific challenges and opportunities around land use and water integration in communities throughout the central San Joaquin Valley.
You will also be responsible for tracking the historical roots, impacts, and potential solutions to the region’s affordable housing challenges.
The lab’s content will go deep; it is not a breaking news assignment (though we will write stories that should be shared immediately). The successful candidate will have the skills to build audience loyalty, engagement and growth through a thorough understanding of the metrics that inform them.
The team will tell its stories through text and multimedia. Video and/or audio will accompany most stories, and reporters should show the ability to switch between formats as needed and with support from our Fresno Bee team of editors and video journalists. Familiarity with data journalism skills is essential.
This position will report to the lab’s editor. Spanish language skills are a plus; please denote in your application.
Requirements:
- At least one year of full-time reporting experience, with demonstrated success in accountability or watchdog work
- Strong writing and reporting skills and excellent news judgment
- Commitment to accurate, ethical journalism
- Ability to network and quickly establish sources
- Ability to use social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to reach audiences
- Fluency in the science of readership and engagement, including an understanding of how to use analytics such as pageviews, time on site and referral sources to determine which stories resonate
- Ability to tell stories using a variety of tools and platforms, including video
- Experience in learning new skills and technologies, including content management systems, social media platforms, video editing software, Omniture, Parse.ly, Crowdtangle and other analytics tools and emerging storytelling platforms
- Strong interpersonal skills, including empathy and the ability to take and give constructive criticism
- Demonstrated ability to work comfortably in a job that will be fast-paced, data-driven, shaped by feedback and experimentation and always evolving