Kansas Civic Watchdog

The Star is looking for a high-energy, self-starting Kansas City Civic Watchdog Reporter to be the personality and face of our local government accountability coverage in Kansas City.

This is not your traditional City Hall reporter position. This position is not focused on covering the day-to-day operations of government.

This reporter is expected to be, first and foremost, of service to our local readers in the Kansas City area. We expect this reporter to bring their own energy and expertise to covering, in new ways, the problems and solutions of concern to the people living and working in Kansas City.

Journalism that starts in the streets

Kansas Citians tell us they want journalism that starts with them. This reporter is expected to treat community engagement as central to the job — showing up, listening, and creating coverage that reflects real concerns.

This reporter should be excited to meet readers where they are and be willing to solicit reader feedback regularly. We hope that this reporter will be a “tour guide” of sorts, who is a trusted person in the know for our local readers.

Examples Of This Work Include

• Using callouts and other engagement tools to hear directly from readers about what they’d like to see covered next.
• Engaging with members of The Star’s subscriber base in virtual and live events.
• Writing a regular newsletter to readers as a means of increasing connectivity with existing and new audiences, promoting the latest examples of special work produced by The Star’s journalists.
• Appearing in and shooting some video to be used across The Star’s social media accounts.

Every story, Tik Tok, newsletter, explainer, or public event should be framed through the lens of what it means for residents’ daily lives and futures.

Accountability journalism that holds truth to power

The Star has a responsibility and a mandate from our readers to produce journalism that holds power to account. This reporter should approach reporting on the city with an accountability lens that details wrongdoing and abuses of power and explains the impact of those actions on our local readers.

The ideal candidate will do this through engaging, expert journalism that produces and provides regular news breaks and insider stories of regional and national importance in an extremely competitive setting.

We expect this reporter to embrace a wide variety of formats: quick accountability hits, explanatory features, neighborhood polls, vertical videos, newsletters, live chats and community gatherings. You will be a visible presence in Kansas City, known not only for your byline but also for your voice on social media and your willingness to meet readers where they are.

We are looking for candidates with strong interpersonal skills who can collaborate with editors, reporters, other staff members and, most importantly, the public. The ideal candidate will work closely with editors and our audience team to make sure our coverage is reaching the people who need it most.

All McClatchy Media journalists are expected to take advantage of opportunities to ethically harness and leverage artificial intelligence and other automation to enhance and elevate their work and to find efficiencies that free them to focus on source building and high-quality, deeply reported journalism.

To apply, include a persuasive cover letter, your resume and four to six examples of your best work.

What You'll Bring

Must have

• Strong writing skills and excellent news judgment.
• Deep knowledge of politics and government, and how they connect to Kansas City in particular.
• An unwavering commitment to accurate, ethical journalism.
• An understanding of public records laws and how to use them.
• Willingness to collaborate frequently as part of a team.
• Initiative to develop a strong network of sources to find and pursue stories that will reach a broad audience.
• An interest in telling stories using a variety of media and engagement tools, and an enthusiasm for learning new skills and technologies.

Nice to have

• Fluency in the science of readership and engagement, including an understanding of metrics/analytics and an understanding of SEO and other audience optimization tactics.
• Strong…