California Political Power Reporter

The Sacramento Bee is seeking an aggressive journalist who can deliver exclusive reporting on California politics, campaign finance and policy that informs and engages our readers.

This reporter will be responsible for blanket coverage of some of the most consequential 2026 campaigns in our state, as well as coverage of the unique political climate in California — including the powerful political donors, labor unions and corporations who drive it. Our journalism delivers coverage that interprets actions at the Capitol, holds elected officials accountable for their political promises and actions, and explains how California connects with the national political landscape.

Every challenge confronting California today comes through the Capitol: inequality, housing, climate change, criminal and racial justice, and more. This reporter will be part of The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau, a group of hard-charging reporters who cover the policies and politics of the largest state in the nation and the fourth-largest economy in the world. The successful candidate will collaborate with virtually every member of this team, jumping in and delivering daily stories while juggling longer enterprise work.

The successful candidate will have a demonstrated commitment to fairness and accuracy, in fact and in tone, and a strong grounding in journalism ethics. McClatchy Media’s journalists also 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.

This position will require not just the ability to build sources and ferret out facts, but also a talent for framing, writing and promoting a story via search and social media to ensure that it reaches and resonates with existing and potential subscribers. It will require a demonstrated commitment to change — to constantly adapting to the ever-evolving ways in which readers seek out and interact with our journalism.

And it will require enthusiastic participation in ongoing conversations about what’s working and what’s not — and a commitment to adapting accordingly.

• An unyielding intellectual curiosity, where the "why" and "what it means" are equivalent to the "what happened."
• Strong writing skills, excellent news judgment and a demonstrated ability to "see the story" that is going to matter to readers.
• Ability to build source networks and bring a constant flow of story ideas.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including empathy and the ability to take and give constructive criticism. The new workflows require constant conversations between reporters and editors and between reporters and their audience as a story evolves=
• Understanding of open records laws and the ability to file, manage and oversee requests pertinent to beat work.
• The ability to shoot basic photos and videos.
• A track record for innovation, learning and using new skills and technologies, especially AI.
• The desire and skills to build audience loyalty, engagement and growth around compelling public service journalism.
• A willingness to represent The Sacramento Bee in community events or live journalism initiatives.

• Break news, write accountability stories and produce enterprise on the issues and the politicians and public officials whose decisions affect our readers' daily lives.
• Leverage AI tools and platforms to strengthen your reporting while finding efficiencies and expanding the sophistication of your work.
• Find creative, audience-focused ways to tell political stories that connect with a wide range of readers.
• Embrace alternative story formats, experimenting with multimedia storytelling and collaborating with colleagues on our visual and data teams.
• Be accurate, fair and unbiased in your reporting and the stories you write.
• Bring an unflinching focus on our audience, with a commitment to grow readership.

A degree in journalism or related field and eight years of experience in a digitally oriented newsroom environment is required.

The ability to work flexible hours…