MLK50: Justice Through Journalism is an award-winning nonprofit digital news site based in Memphis, Tennessee. Our work focuses on the intersection of poverty, power and policy. We examine the systems that make it hard for workers to make ends meet and interrogate those who profit from the status quo. Our goal is to help Memphians — especially workers — have enough resources to thrive and demand that public and private policy support their success. We strive for our newsroom culture to reflect the values we prize: community, accountability, courage and justice.
Our namesake, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was just 34 when he talked about his dream in 1963; he and many others in the civil rights movement showed that young people can be forces for societal changes. There are more than 380,000 Memphians under the age of 34, and we’re looking for a youth and juvenile justice reporter to explore what it’s like to be young in this city.
That means examining the policies and laws that shape young people’s experiences in Memphis, getting their thoughts on everything on solutions like curfews, detention centers and Midnight Basketball. This reporter will spend time at juvenile court proceedings, listening deeply as they learn the people and ways involved; they’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with the public safety & justice reporter on stories and projects. They’ll follow the various child welfare systems.
The reporter will connect with youth-led and youth-supporting organizations and explore their work and findings. They’d delve into youth and civic engagement. They’ll talk to young people in the places they gather, virtually and in real life. They’ll capture them as they mark milestones and navigate their city, cautiously and joyfully.
This beat will not include stories delving into the county’s educational system.
The reporter will follow the lives of the 380,000 Memphians under 34, connecting with youth-led and youth-supporting organizations. They’ll talk to young people in the places they gather, virtually and in real life. They’ll capture them as they mark milestones and navigate their city, cautiously and joyfully. They’ll examine the policies and laws that shape young people’s experiences in Memphis, and spend time at juvenile court proceedings. They’ll follow the various child welfare systems.
Salary: $50,000-$56,000
This is a Report for America position; YOU MUST APPLY to become a corps member by 11:59 P.M. JAN. 31, 2024.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES
- Write 2-3 stories/social media content monthly, with a mix of enterprise and quick-turn pieces
- Produce clean and concise content that displays outstanding spelling and grammar skills and a solid grasp of AP style
- Develop and manage a diverse portfolio of source relationships; help maintain a shared source database
- Use data to tell stories; request public records
- Work with the audience engagement manager and visuals editor to develop one-pagers, social media, in-person events and partnerships around stories and related topics
- Create approaches for the distribution of work in the communities we serve
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE IS:
- Creative: You’re able to brainstorm ways to pull in a media-resistant community and willing to try new forms of storytelling.
- Patient: With a good sense of humor
- Flexible: Nimble and able to pivot when priorities shift. Bring a can-do attitude to work.
- Memphis-loving: A working knowledge of (or eagerness to immerse yourself in) the character, people, relationships and ways of Memphis
- Curious: An eagerness to learn about the topics and MLK50 coverage areas; you stay current on Memphis and national news topics related to our coverage areas
- Mission-focused: You frame work through the lens of the most vulnerable, with a focus on poverty, power and policy.
- Committed: You keep abreast of social, racial and economic justice movements locally and nationally; you demonstrate an ongoing commitment to the cultural competency that matches MLK50’s mission.
- Organized: All staff are expected to prioritize and balance multiple projects simultaneously.
- Courageous: You’re willing to disrupt narratives of suffering and interrupt the status quo
ABOUT US
Founded in 2017, MLK50 is an ambitious nonprofit digital newsroom focused on poverty, power and policy in Memphis, Tennessee. Our mission is to report on the intersection of poverty, power and policy, and to bear witness to movement-making and lived experiences. At MLK50, we believe journalism is a tool for liberation, and we are here to help people — especially Black people, people of color, poor people, and everyone who has been pushed to the margins — get free.
MLK50 and its journalists continue to garner national recognition for work that makes a meaningful, tangible difference in people’s lives, including the Selden Ring Award for investigative reporting. We believe in collaboration: We’ve partnered with national outlets such as ProPublica, Next City and The Marshall Project. Our investigative reporting led a hospital system to erase nearly $12 million in medical debt for more than 5,300 patients and helped stop an oil pipeline that would have threatened a low-wealth Black community. Our impact includes reporting that led the city and county to reverse its decision to end the local Emergency Rental Assistance program.
BENEFITS
- $3,000 hiring bonus
- At least two weeks paid vacation, 10 paid holidays per year and two “dark” weeks for a total of at least 30 paid days off per year
- $1,000 annual professional development stipend
- Company credit card
- 100% employer-paid health insurance for the employee, 75% for dependents
- Company-supplied computer
- Life insurance, long and short-term disability
- $50 monthly tech stipend
- 4% employer 401K match
- Annual cost of living raise
LOCATION AND WORK TRAVEL
Candidate is based in the Memphis metro area or is willing to relocate. Remote candidates will not be considered.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORK ENVIRONMENT
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.
While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear.
The employee is frequently required to use hands or fingers, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls.
The employee is often required to stand, walk, sit, reach with hands and arms, climb or balance, and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl.
The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.We are a hybrid newsroom.
To learn more about this position, contact Executive Editor Adrienne Johnson Martin at jobs@mlk50.com.
MLK50: Justice Through Journalism is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any other category protected by local, state, or federal laws. We are committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive staff team. We strongly encourage applicants who are people of color, LGBTQ, women, trans and gender non-conforming people, people with disabilities; and/or formerly incarcerated people.