Job Description

Iowa Public Radio is an award-winning public media organization serving people on-air and online throughout the state. We have strong relationships with NPR and regional collaborations like The Midwest Newsroom, Harvest Public Media and Side Effects Public Media. We serve our local communities while elevating our reporting for national audiences.

We’re looking for a journalist with great news judgement, a strong sense of curiosity, and a knack for enterprise reporting to be our next eastern Iowa reporter, in Iowa City. You’ll file newscast and feature- length stories for IPR, covering an area that is primarily centered on the counties surrounding Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, and also includes a wider part of eastern Iowa. From time to time, you’ll join one of our talk shows or news magazines to discuss your reporting, as well as contribute to special projects and series.

This is a general assignment position and the region is a gold mine of possible stories about higher education, health care, the environment, diverse populations and so much more. You’ll join a great team of reporters in four other cities, covering everything from state government, to agriculture, health, the environment and more.

Our reporters have been selected for the political and state government reporting partnerships with NPR in recent years, and we’re part of NPR’s new Midwest Newsroom, which focuses on enterprise and investigative reporting.

You’ll get a chance to contribute to and collaborate with the Midwest Newsroom team, bringing original reporting to a regional audience. And we’ll support you in building relationships with NPR editors and landing stories on the network, from Morning Edition to Here & Now to Up First.

Cedar Rapids is Iowa’s second-largest city, has a lively dining and arts scene and good recreation opportunities nearby. Iowa City is the home of the University of Iowa. It regularly shows up on those “best places to live” lists, and has a lot to offer culturally, great restaurants, live music and Big Ten sports. Eastern Iowa has some of the state’s prettiest state parks for hiking and camping. You’d be an hour from the Mississippi River, two hours from Des Moines, and three hours from Chicago.

If you’re passionate about impactful journalism, ethics and diversity, are adept at handling multiple projects at a time, and want to be part of a great and supportive team, we’d love to hear from you.

We know there are great candidates who might not exactly fit into what we’ve described here or who have important skills we haven’t listed. If that sounds like you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself.

Iowa Public Radio offers an excellent benefits package, including medical, dental and vision, a retirement plan with a 2-to-1 employer match, immediate accrual of vacation (16 hours monthly) and sick (12 hours monthly) time and a flexible work environment.

ANTICIPATED HIRING RANGE:

$40,000 - $45,000

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

60% Story Development and Reporting

• Produces features and news wraps for broadcast across the IPR network and online stories for posting on IPR’s website;
• Participates in interviews (two-ways) with IPR program hosts as needed to discuss breaking or developing news stories;
• Produces multimedia elements to accompany stories, which can include still photographs, video, slide shows, interactive elements, and text for the web;
• Participates in daily editorial meetings, offering ideas for short and longer-term story assignments; and
• Maintains contacts with community and travels to the site of news events.

25% Editing and Filing

• Builds a network of sources in eastern Iowa; maintains advance event files for assignment area and surrounding communities;
• Provides information on breaking news events; and
• Arranges sharing of finished news stories and story elements with other news networks and agencies when appropriate. 

15% Other

• Participates in the network’s on-going marketing and fundraising efforts such as the on-air fund drive and special events
• Participates in a variety of Iowa Public Radio events each fiscal year; and
• Completes other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• One year of experience in a professional journalism environment, including internships;
• Experience working in multimedia platforms, including photographs, video and web platforms; and 
• Experience operating a variety of broadcast equipment including audio boards, digital editing systems (e.g. Adobe Audition), field recording units, and other production equipment.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• One year full-time experience as a public radio reporter, anchor, producer, or host; and
• Firm foundation in journalism ethics, news gathering, and reporting techniques.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

For full consideration, applications must include the following:

1. A detailed resume.
2. A narrative carefully detailing how your experience compares to the job duties and qualifications listed for this position. The narrative should not exceed two pages.
3. Sample(s) of your work:

• Writing samples that include spot news and a news-oriented feature.
• Demo containing one newscast-length story (spot), and one feature-length report (3:00-5:00) that you have edited and produced. If you have one, we’d love to hear a sample of a two-way you did with a program host, or an interview you’ve conducted for a podcast or other audio production. Please upload the demo to Soundcloud or another hosting site and send IPR the links.
• Online content you have produced (please send links). Online content can be a web build-out of a radio story or news content that was designed to be web-only. Please do not send stories you have produced with the help of a national network.
• Names and contact information, including email addresses, for three work references, including at least one supervisory reference.

Employment at Iowa Public Radio is dependent upon successful completion of a criminal background check including a driving record review.

IPR will accept applications through 5:00 p.m. Monday, September 16, 2024.

OUR VALUES:

• Integrity: We maintain the highest standards of journalism, providing trustworthy and relevant content with meaningful context.
• Curiosity: We serve an inquisitive audience by asking questions, seeking knowledge, and exploring new ideas.
• Belonging: We strive to reflect Iowa’s cultural complexity by offering a supportive, equitable space for individuals and communities to tell the stories unique to their lived experiences.
• Respect: We create a culture of respect for our audience, sources, and staff.
• Innovation: We support creativity and embrace new ways of serving our audience.

  OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY:

Iowa Public Radio is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin or sex is prohibited. If you believe you have been a victim of discrimination, please notify the appropriate local, state or federal agency.

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