Women’s Health and Child Welfare Reporter

The Texas Tribune, the go-to source for Texas politics and public policy news, is hiring a Women’s Health and Child Welfare Reporter to cover women’s health issues and the state’s child welfare system.

This reporter will cover the continuing fallout of Texas’ near-total abortion ban, rising maternal mortality rates, dwindling health care access for the state’s 15 million women, and the state’s long-troubled foster care system.

As state lawmakers find more ways to restrict access to abortions, they promise robust wraparound services for families and the often vulnerable children who are born into them. This necessitates a reporter’s watchful eye on the policies and programs that aim to support postpartum women, working parents, infants born with medical conditions, and the children who wind up in state custody.

The Women’s Health and Child Welfare Reporter will join the Tribune’s team of health care journalists, working closely with the Tribune’s health data reporter and general health reporter, who focuses on topics such as health care spending, public health emergencies and elder care. The Women’s Health and Child Welfare Reporter will also work regularly with the Tribune’s Multimedia, Photo, Audience and Events teams.

A significant part of the beat will fold in coverage of the massive Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, the state agency that oversees the foster care system and Child Protective Services. Story topics include the state’s rollout of the privatization of foster care, the years-long lawsuit to force changes within the foster care system, and data on the well-being of children entering and exiting state custody.

The Women’s Health and Child Welfare Reporter — who will juggle quick-turn news stories and enterprise pieces — will need to occasionally travel throughout Texas. The job requires close attention to the biennial sessions of the Texas Legislature, races for state and federal elected offices, and major court cases in Texas and before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The person in this role will actively participate in the Tribune’s live journalism events and represent the newsroom in broadcast media appearances with the support of the Marketing and Communications team. Collaborating with our Audience team is essential to ensure that our journalism reaches a wide and engaged readership beyond our website. This involves promoting stories on social media platforms, creating scripts for social videos, and participating in various off-platform initiatives such as newsletters, podcasts, and live events. Additionally, team members may engage directly with readers by answering questions, providing context on developing political stories, or highlighting key takeaways from in-depth reporting.

All reporters and editors at The Texas Tribune are responsible for occasional evening, weekend and holiday work, as well as general assignment shifts as news demands.

This position will be based in Austin and will require travel and field reporting.

The salary for this position will vary according to experience; the minimum is $60,000.

Responsibilities
* Write people-focused narratives related to the impact of health policy in a timely manner by managing time and workflow.
* Identify, execute and update breaking news to meet deadlines.
* Collaborate and communicate effectively with other reporters on various assignments and special projects to accomplish intended results.
* Collaborate with the Tribune’s Data Visuals, Photo, Multimedia and Audience teams, as well as other departments.
* Write news stories outside their beat on occasion as assigned by editors.

Minimum Qualifications
* 2 years of journalism experience
* A demonstrated ability to break through complicated policy and political debate in focusing coverage on human impact
* A passion for engaging storytelling that centers around everyday people
* Demonstrated ability to work under tight deadlines
* A deep commitment to both breaking news and enterprise reporting
* Evidence of strong reporting, data analysis, fact-checking and writing skills and a firm grasp of AP style
* Strong familiarity with journalistic ethics and libel law
* A clear desire and proven ability to collaborate with other colleagues across the organization

Preferred Qualifications
* Spanish-language proficiency preferred
* High level of organizational skills with the ability to accurately focus and report on detailed data

We know there are great candidates who won’t check all of these boxes, and we know you might bring important skills that we haven’t considered. If that’s you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself.

Location
The Texas Tribune office is located in downtown Austin, steps away from the Texas Capitol. We have colleagues in the organization who come into the office on a regular basis and colleagues who are based in various cities throughout the United States.

Benefits
This job is full-time and has the following benefits:
* Medical, vision and dental insurance
* A cellphone stipend
* 20 days of paid time off each year
* Up to 16 weeks of paid family leave,, plus four weeks of additional job protection
* 401(k) matching
* Support for professional training and attending industry conferences
* Remote working flexibility

The Texas Tribune is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

About The Texas Tribune
Here’s what you should know about the Tribune. From day one, we’ve had disruption, innovation and risk-taking in our DNA. We’re ambitious as all get out but still have the punch-above-your-weight mentality of a scrappy start-up. We believe we can meet the demands of our audience and our own expectations for excellence without breaking the bank — or our staff. We understand not everything is a story for us — we have to make choices — but we’re always looking to expand our boundaries.

We’re nonprofit because the challenging economic reality for media these days obligates us to find a different way, reliable and sustainable, to fund serious journalism. We’re nonpartisan because we live in the United States of Confirmation Bias — and we don’t need to be part of the problem. We don’t need to be yet another source of information affirming the voices and perspectives that are already in people’s heads. At the same time, nonpartisan is not non-thinking. We call B.S. when B.S. needs to be called.

The Texas Tribune seeks to ensure that its newsroom and its news coverage reflect Texas by including a wide range of perspectives from people of different backgrounds, ideologies and experiences.

Learn more about The Texas Tribune here.