27-28 Reporter Fellow, Local Investigations - Mississippi & Louisiana

About the role

The Times is looking for reporters with a local story idea who want to investigate it under the editing guidance of Dean Baquet, The Times's former executive editor, and a group of veteran investigative editors. The goal of the Local Investigative Fellowship is to provide fellows the opportunity to learn the ways and means of investigative reporting from some of the best in the business. Our fellows will be based in the communities where they are reporting and make periodic trips to The Times's offices for training and support. This one year program is for reporters in local newsrooms or freelancers.

Responsibilities

• Spend a year producing signature investigative work focused on your state or region that will be published by The Times.
• Under the guidance of Mr. Baquet and a handpicked group of veteran editors, you will receive the rare opportunity to learn the judgment, skills and techniques needed to excel at investigative journalism from the best in the business.
• Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.

Requirements

• 3 to 5 years of professional experience as a reporter covering a beat for a local newspaper or local digital news outlet
• You are an independent journalist or a journalist employed at a newsroom willing to provide a yearlong sabbatical
• Significant experience covering a beat and an idea for an investigative story that you have not had the time, resources or editing support to pursue
• Ability to bring a new perspectives to investigative journalism
• Learn more about the program here .
• To apply, upload a résumé, Cover Letter (as described below) and five clips. Applications that fail to include any of these materials or follow these instructions will not be considered.
• What is your investigative story idea or area of focus? How would your story expose something new, something no one else has already revealed?
• Describe who has been harmed and in what way. Is the harm enough to spark outrage?
• Will your story hold someone accountable? Who and how?
• What critical records, data and human sources will be required to tell your story? Describe how you have, or could, obtain these critical sources.
• What do you need help with to report this story, and what are the barriers?
• Can you give us a sense of what has been written about the subject? Please include clips of notable reporting on the topic.
• We appreciate proposals that are as detailed as possible. Successful applicants have included specifics about what they aimed to prove through their investigations.
• What makes a good local investigation?
• Starts with high stakes
• How does the story affect people's lives and livelihoods? Their health, safety and basic quality of life?
• Has a clear line of accountability
• Great investigations have a line of accountability to someone or some group with significant power.
• Reveals something
• Does your investigation reveal something that someone or some institution is trying to keep secret?
• Has a clear sense of place
• The most important element for any local investigation: How is it (e.g. the policy, the circumstance or the failure) unique to your community?
• You may apply to the Local Investigations Fellowship once per calendar year. You may also apply for other

Benefits

Additional Information

The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It's why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It's why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it's why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it's worth paying for.

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