California Environmental Reporter

Job Description

California Environmental Reporter

Inside Climate News is seeking an experienced reporter based in Southern California to cover climate and the environment, including concentrated animal feeding operations, and lay the foundation for a statewide conversation on these issues. California is a key state for covering the most pressing stories of our era, with its outsize impact on environmental law, substantial agricultural footprint, longstanding challenges with air quality, spiraling consequences from climate change and unequal pollution burdens for residents of color and lower-income people. 

The reporter will produce a body of work on these issues, both quick-turn and long-range; relevant regulatory and policy developments in the state with a focus on Southern California; and the impact of the federal government on Southern California’s environment and residents’ environmental health. All of that work would be produced within the context of threats from wildfires, droughts and other accelerating dangers of climate change. The staff position will be the second in our California bureau and will involve working remotely, but the reporter must live in Southern California.

Job Summary                                             

This is a demanding position that requires advanced reporting skills across a complicated landscape of interrelated issues. The successful applicant will be responsible for covering California agencies charged with regulating agriculture and other industries that affect air, soil and water quality, skilled at conveying compelling stories about people and animals, and able to go below the surface using government and court documents, data and human sources. This reporter must also have well-honed writing skills and a demonstrated track record of accuracy, fairness and nonpartisanship.

Our News Organization

• Founded in 2007, Inside Climate News is an independent, nonprofit, non-partisan news organization covering the most important story in human history. With 35 full-time staff members, it is one of the largest environmental newsrooms in the country.
• As part of its work in the public interest, ICN has established a collaborative local reporting network and works to strengthen the practice of climate and environmental justice journalism and train the next generation of journalists.
• We have a nucleus in New York, a presence in Washington, D.C., Boston and Chicago and staff working from California to Florida. Good ideas propel the operation, wherever they originate.
• We have earned national recognition for our work and many of the most prestigious awards in journalism, including the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting (2013) and recognition as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service (2016).
• For more about ICN, please see our About page.

Inside Climate News is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and welcomes applications from candidates of any background or identity. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.

To Apply

Please send resume, work samples and cover letter to jobs@insideclimatenews.org, Executive Editor Vernon Loeb, and Managing Editor Jamie Smith Hopkins.

Job Requirements

Qualifications

This reporter will need to be a self-starter and team player who works with a high degree of collegiality. These additional qualifications, or their equivalents, are essential:

• A minimum of roughly five years of reporting and writing experience, with clips that demonstrate an ability to break news, write analytically and have impact.   
• Knowledge of climate science and environmental issues, including agriculture and environmental justice. 
• A solid work ethic, a collaborative attitude and a demonstrated passion for journalism.
• The ability to bring unique insights to our coverage in California, including how  environmental impacts are affecting communities of color and low-income neighborhoods already most burdened by air and water pollution. 

Powered by Journalismnext