Consumer Finance Watchdog Reporter | Bankrate

Join Bankrate’s Watchdog and Investigations team as a writer focused on producing high-impact investigative and accountability journalism covering mortgage lending.

• Report on questionable, confusing, or predatory practices in home lending and adjacent industries, with the goal of protecting and informing consumers.
• Create compelling stories that translate complex financial topics into clear, relatable, and actionable insights for everyday Americans.
• Collaborate with editors, data reporters, multimedia producers, and subject-matter experts to deliver journalism that builds trust and positions Bankrate as the consumer’s advocate in financial decision-making.

• Pitch, research, and write original investigative and watchdog stories that uncover questionable practices in the mortgage industry.
• Pursue public records, data sets, and expert interviews to build evidence-based narratives.
• Develop storylines that not only highlight problems but also offer readers actionable takeaways that improve financial decision-making.
• Consistently deliver work that has the potential to influence industry practices, prompt accountability, and inform public conversation.

• Produce accurate, fair, and engaging content across long-form investigations, explainers, and timely watchdog coverage.
• Translate complex financial systems and products—including mortgage, refinance, and home equity—into accessible, reader-first narratives that increase engagement and trust.
• Collaborate with editors and data teams to integrate charts, graphics, or interactive features, maximizing audience impact and time spent.
• Contribute to a publishing cadence that balances depth of reporting with relevance to consumer needs.

• Work closely with the Watchdog Editor and fellow reporters to shape and execute the investigative agenda.
• Partner with multimedia, social, and SEO teams to ensure stories reach broad audiences and drive measurable engagement.
• Contribute to cross-platform projects that combine text, video, audio, and graphics, helping the team expand its influence and storytelling reach.

• Uphold Bankrate’s standards for editorial independence, transparency, and fairness.
• Ensure accuracy through rigorous fact-checking, sourcing, and quality control, maintaining high editorial quality that builds consumer trust.
• Collaborate across departments to embrace innovative formats and workflows that scale the watchdog team’s impact.

• 5+ years of experience in investigative, watchdog, or accountability journalism.
• Demonstrated ability (via published clips) to produce impactful stories that reveal hidden practices, protect consumers, or hold institutions accountable.
• Experience with financial reporting or consumer-focused journalism preferred, but not required.
• Understanding of the broader mortgage industry, key players, and specific loan products preferred, but not required.
• Strong reporting and writing skills, with a talent for investigative digging and narrative storytelling.
• Ability to analyze financial documents, corporate filings, or data to uncover hidden insights.
• Excellent interviewing skills and ability to cultivate sources from regulators and industry insiders to academics and advocates, plus everyday people.
• Team-oriented mindset with willingness to collaborate across disciplines.
• Capacity to explain complex financial topics in a clear, relatable way that serves the reader first.

• Health Insurance Coverage (medical, dental, and vision)
• Life Insurance
• Short and Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Holiday Pay
• 401(k) with match
• Employee Assistance Program
• Paid Parental Bonding Benefit Program
• Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO):
  We believe time to rest and recharge is essential. That’s why we offer a generous and flexible PTO policy. Full-time employees accrue 20 days of PTO for a full calendar year annually, with an increase to 25 days after five years of service.

This range reflects total cash compensation, which may include base salary only or base salary plus target bonus, depending on…