Immigration 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 immigration reporter responsible for telling important, timely and engaging stories about some of the most critical issues facing the Houston region. Immigration deeply impacts life here from our schools to our workplaces to our neighborhoods. Houston is one of the most diverse places in the country. Nearly one-fourth of the people who live in the region are foreign-born.
Requirements
What you’ll do

• 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 will produce accountability and investigative journalism that exposes when people are harmed by local, state or federal immigration policies or when government agencies are failing to do their jobs.
• You will focus on how immigrants are adjusting to life in Houston and contributing to what makes our community a dynamic, fascinating and thriving place.
• You will align your beat coverage around one of our key pillars: producing stories that offer solutions and improve civic engagement.
• You will write about legislative, enforcement and regulatory developments related to immigration.
• You will ensure your reporting prioritizes community information needs and includes diverse perspectives.
• You will cover important and interesting news that emerges from one of the most critical beats in Texas. Immigration touches nearly every facet of life 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 analyze data, dig for open records and produce stories that help explain with clarity this complicated and nuanced beat.
• Your coverage area will include the eight-county Houston region. You will also travel to the border to report on urgent stories that are of significant interest to our local communities.

Who you are

• You have five or more years of journalism experience, with a track record of doing enterprise and accountability reporting.
• You can write with clarity, beauty and creativity.
• You are comfortable moderating panels related to your beat.
• You speak fluent Spanish.
• You have a flexible attitude that allows you to thrive at a digital startup and think creatively.
• You have experience using multiple digital platforms to tell a story.
• You are committed to accuracy and meeting deadlines.
• 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 a collaborative spirit, strong communication skills and a willingness to listen to diverse perspectives.
• You are committed to our mission of finding a new path for quality journalism.

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

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

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.