News Researcher (Remote)
Company: Ballotpedia
Location: Austin
Posted on: May 14, 2022
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Job Description:
Ballotpedia is a collaborative team of fast learners and
creative problem solvers who are eager to work hard to make the
world a better place. We believe the world will be a better place
if every citizen has access to information to make informed
decisions about their vote in every election in which they are
eligible to vote: primary, general, and special elections; federal,
state, and local offices.
We work diligently to present the available information about
elections, candidates, judges, ballot measures, policies, and more
in a way that enables our readers to vote with confidence and to
act as engaged citizens outside of the polling booth.
Ballotpedia readers, like Ballotpedia staff, are special
people.
When we launched in 2007, we did not go out of our way to seek new
readers. Starting with our small team of visionary idealists,
nerds, and aspiring political journalists, we just wrote the best
unbiased online articles we could, especially about ballot
measures. Readers found those articles in droves. It turns out
there was an unclaimed audience out there-people who wanted
straightforward facts about political issues, and were willing to
read at length instead of just scanning the headlines.
"If you build it, they will come:'' our readers came to our neutral
oasis in growing numbers; we've had many millions of lifetime
pageviews, we reached nearly half of all voters in 2020, and, in
the month surrounding the November 2020 election, we were the 77th
most-visited website in the U.S.
We've come to realize that we need to meet our readers where they
are. In doing so, over the past five years, we've grown our email
newsletter program from infancy to include more than 1,000,000
opt-in subscribers with more than a dozen newsletters to choose
from. We are working in numerous ways to help put our neutral
information in front of people at the times when they most need it,
including on mobile phones while you're standing in the voting
booth. We firmly believe that our readers, and the mindset we help
them cultivate, are essential to the preservation of our great
civilization in a world where too many others are fighting to get
us all addicted to sensational posts and the irrational decisions
they foster.
If this is a mission you'd be willing to work hard to achieve, and
if this is a team you'd be willing to work hard with-JOIN US.
The Position
Ballotpedia is seeking a full-time Staff Researcher to join our
News Team.
A News Team Staff Researcher will find and process relevant news
events and make updates to our database and articles with precision
based on our existing processes. A successful staff researcher will
be comfortable conducting extensive research using media and
political websites and official government sources. They must have
the ability to write about complex topics in a neutral, clear, and
concise manner.
They must have a passion for accuracy, completeness, innovation,
neutrality, and for creating a delightful experience for
Ballotpedia's readers. They should be able to demonstrate excellent
writing, organizational skills, proofreading ability, and
familiarity with the use of style guides. Ballotpedia has its own
style guide that is based on the AP Stylebook.
A strong candidate for this role will be comfortable with data
entry, research, project tracking, and the use of a database and
spreadsheets. The candidate should be comfortable researching
obscure information online and conducting direct outreach to
government officials.
Responsibilities
As a News Team staff researcher, you will:
Skills And Qualifications
An ideal News Team Staff Researcher will possess:
Environment
The News Team Staff Researcher will work remotely from their home
location. All Ballotpedia staff work remotely. To join Ballotpedia,
you must have a computer with Internet access. Ballotpedia uses the
Google Suite (Gmail, Google Calendar, Drive and more), Slack, and
Asana to accomplish our goals. Some familiarity with the Google
Suite, Slack, and Asana are helpful.
Ballotpedia has a flexible work environment, BP Flex, in which
every employee enjoys unlimited vacation and flexibility in
scheduling. Each employee will be oriented to the principles of
Ballotpedia's flexible environment during new employee
training.
Compensation
The starting pay range for the News Team Staff Researcher is
$38,000-$40,000 commensurate with experience.
In addition to salary, Ballotpedia offers an annual benefits
stipend equivalent to $7,000 that is paid out in equal increments
in each paycheck once an employee becomes benefits eligible. The
stipend may be used to pay for a full benefits package, including
health, vision, and dental insurance; retirement accounts; and
more. If benefits are not elected, the stipend is taxed as regular
income and added to salary.
To Apply
To apply, click on 'Apply for this job' below and fill out the
form.
Please attach the following in PDF format if possible:
Note: please include the writing sample in the same file as your
cover letter
Please ensure that either your r--sum-- or your cover letter
includes your current address. Applications without addresses will
not be accepted.
Keywords: Ballotpedia, Austin , News Researcher (Remote), Other , Austin, Texas
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