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We are looking for a government accountability reporter to write about how the Memphis and Shelby County community holds officials and policymakers accountable. 

Our accountability coverage starts with the people — the activists, the movement makers, the whistleblowers and the everyday folk who push the powerful. It’s a job with a wide-ranging scope: The reporter would be at marches, rallies and some elected bodies’ meetings. They’d forge ties with community groups and nonprofits. They would reveal the ways Memphians can participate in shaping policy by helping the community understand how the systems and policies work. 

Success in this role will require a deep understanding of MLK50’s mission and values and strong news judgment. Our ideal candidate would have at least five years of full-time reporting experience and be able to produce two to three stories a month. They would be good at cultivating community sources and handling research.

Find out more about this position and apply here.

We are looking for an experienced public safety and justice reporter who can explore what can, will and does keep Memphians safe. This reporter will track the city’s criminal justice system including the efforts to reform policing after the killing of Tyre Nichols by Memphis police officers, and the Department of Justice’s recent pattern and practice investigation.

They’ll cover the Shelby County district attorney and examine juvenile incarceration, sentencing, backlogs, mediation attempts and the workings of local jails. Also means digging into police misinformation or “copaganda,” environmental design, and measures residents take to make them feel safe, such as neighborhood watch groups, self-defense classes and mental health techniques.

Success in this role will require a deep understanding of MLK50’s mission and values and strong news judgment. The ideal candidate would have at least five years of full-time reporting experience, should be able to produce two to three stories a month and is good at cultivating community sources, navigating (sometimes hostile) government bureaucracies and handling research. 

Find out more about this position and how to apply here.

We’re looking for an experienced administrative assistant who believes in our values and wants to support independent journalism in Memphis. Our ideal candidate would have at least five years of administrative assistant experience with a track record for providing excellent team support. They should seamlessly manage various organization-wide tasks and communications. Collaboration is important to us, so the candidate should welcome working with other staff members on projects as assigned. 

Find out more about this position and apply here.

We’ll soon be looking for a senior reporter to join our newsroom. MLK50 covers issues at the intersection of power, policy and poverty. The ideal candidate will have five to seven years daily reporting experience. You’ll use and interpret public records and data sets to tell daily, enterprise and investigative stories. We’re a small newsroom and committed to creative storytelling; we’re not bound to the typical inverted pyramid news story. Skeptical of official narratives? Love AP style? Super-organized? You are our people.