Environmental Reporter Jobs

The Houston Landing is growing our team of passionate people on a mission to advance democracy in our communities and strengthen the lives of all Houstonians one story at a time. Houston Landing is launching an independent, nonprofit digital news operation that will cover a broad range of topics serving the Greater Houston community. The Landing is initially supported by a coalition of three of Houston’s leading philanthropies including Arnold Ventures, The Houston Endowment and the Kinder Foundation.
The Landing is expanding its newsroom team to include an environmental reporter responsible for telling important, timely and engaging stories about some of the most critical issues facing the Houston region. This reporter will be responsible for writing about the air we breathe, the water we drink and the soil we live on. You will cover everything from climate change to concrete batch plants to coastal erosion.
What you’ll do

• You will work closely with our energy reporter on topics such as renewable energy.
• Your coverage area will include air and water pollution, climate change, drought, flooding, the Texas Gulf Coast and the environmental impacts of development.
• You will aggressively report on local and statewide environmental regulatory agencies, as well as national agencies when it impacts the region.
• You will produce accountability and investigative journalism that exposes when people are harmed by environment policies and when businesses are making decisions that hurt the environment.
• You will write about the health impacts of environmental policies or in some cases the lack of effective policies.
• You will align your beat coverage around one of our key pillars: producing stories that offer solutions and improve civic engagement.
• You will report on marginalized communities harmed by lax oversight of regulations and their close proximity to industrial facilities.
• You will cover the environmental effects of Houston's petrochemical industry, one of the largest in the world, on our region.
• You will cover important and interesting news that emerges from one of the most critical beats in Texas. The environmental beat affects every single person who lives in the Houston region. These stories will range from compelling breaking news that needs to be written quickly to enterprise or feature stories that might take a week or more of reporting.
• You will work with members of the newsroom to adeptly tell these stories in a variety of ways — traditional articles, videos, photo slideshows, explainers and online interactives. You and your supervisors will decide which format fits each story best.
• You will work with your editor and the audience team to create a social media strategy and figure out how best to reach our key audiences.
• You will ensure your reporting prioritizes community information needs and includes diverse perspectives.

Requirements
Who you are

• You have a collaborative spirit, strong communication skills and a willingness to listen to diverse perspectives.
• You have a flexible attitude that allows you to thrive at a digital startup and think creatively.
• You have five or more years of journalism experience, with a track record of doing enterprise and accountability reporting. Experience writing about environmental issues is a plus, but not required.
• You are committed to accuracy and meeting deadlines.
• You are comfortable moderating panels related to your beat.
• You are committed to our mission of finding a new path for quality journalism.
• You are a curious, organized person who is always on the lookout for good story ideas and who knows how to stay on task to make those stories a reality.
• You have experience using multiple digital platforms to tell a story.

Benefits
Our Values
EXCELLENCE: We wake up every day with the intent to be the best at what we do. We hustle. We have grit. When we make mistakes, we’ll learn from them.
INCLUSION: We aren’t all the same, and those differences are what make us better. We’ll respect each person’s uniqueness. Perspective, context and life experiences help us to tell the story.
AMBITION: We will be bold and creative, open to all ideas big or small. We really mean it.
FUN: We are not making widgets, although there is nothing wrong with widgets. We tell stories and stories are often fun, so we believe in having lots of fun.
COLLABORATION: We are all in this together. We may not always agree, but we will listen to each other and communicate candidly and respectfully.
Benefits

• Healthcare 100% premium paid for employee and 50% for dependents
• 401(k)
• Compensation commensurate with experience.
• Stipend for development / learning
• 20 vacation days
• Hybrid work policy (initially we all work together to build culture)
• Generous paid parental leave
• Ten sick days

We’re committed to building an inclusive organization that represents the people and communities we serve. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, veterans, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities.