LJI Journalist – CHLY FM

CHLY 101.7 FM is a campus-community radio station of Nanaimo and Vancouver Island University (VIU) students. Beginning as a student club in 1994, and gaining not-for-profit status in 1997 as the Radio Malaspina Society, CHLY-FM was approved for a broadcast license by the CRTC in 2001. Our station is located in the Traditional Territory of the Snu’ney’muxw First Nation, broadcasting from Nanaimo, a small city of approximately 105,000 people located on Vancouver Island.

CHLY has a small staff and over 60+ volunteers made up of Community Members from our broadcast community, and Student members from VIU’s Nanaimo Campus. CHLY has a mandate to report on local stories, support niche programming, local and Canadian artists and underrepresented voices. Each week, locally produced and syndicated programs are broadcast on CHLY 101.7 FM in three different languages.

CHLY can also be streamed online, with some programs available via podcast.

It’s local and hyperlocal journalism. The Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) program was launched by the Community Radio Fund of Canada and funded by the Government of Canada. The program focuses on diverse, local communities that may be underserved in the Canadian news landscape. The goal is to increase the production of community and civic news in those areas and to make that news more accessible across the country.

We’re elevating original, local community news.

Simply put, our Nonprofit Newsroom Project is our effort as a non-profit organization to build a newsroom motivated by public service journalism rather than profit, filling critical gaps in local news coverage in a region that has been underserved by for-profit media since 2014. Funds raised via memberships, donations, grants, sponsorship and advertising are invested back into the newsroom, by hiring journalists.

The project emphasizes in-depth reporting on issues such as local government, the local impact of provincial government, the environment, housing, social justice, education, arts and culture, and general community news.

Learn more about our Nonprofit Newsroom Project here.

CHLY is seeking a motivated and dynamic reporter with a solid foundation in journalism to work in its Nonprofit Newsroom to cover local news in the Comox Valley, and northern Oceanside area.

In this position, you will produce 4 news updates per week for distribution via broadcast, podcast, and CRFC’s news service Frequency ().

The applicant ideally:

• Is a resident of the Comox Valley or Vancouver Island area;

• Holds a degree or diploma in Journalism, Communications or Arts from an accredited academic or technical institution OR have equivalent experience in broadcast, print/digital journalism or writing (minimum 5 years of journalistic/radio experience);

• Has excellent radio, interview and communication skills;

• Has excellent writing skills and research. You love storytelling–from the initial pitch to the publication;

• Has strong people skills:
  You are a great listener, speaker and interviewer;

• Is deadline-driven and has an eye for detail;

• Has knowledge of community and regional concerns or news and a passion for local journalism;

• Has strong skills in both a team setting and with independent work;

• Has audio production skills and an understanding of the radio community environment;

• Has critical thinking and the ability to analyze issues and to remain impartial;

• Has social media savvy, for both posting and research purposes;

• Has an interest in new models of journalism like non-profit newsrooms.

We’re looking for dynamic, determined journalists who care about local, community and civic journalism. The applicant will:

• Have an understanding of diversity, different perspectives and sensitive/complex issues;

• Have the desire to drive news and interest in reporting on a range of topics like city hall, courthouse reporting, band council, and issues like affordable housing, employment, environmental concerns, mental health, poverty, Indigenous rights, LGBTQ+ rights, etc;

• Attend editorial meetings with station and LJI…