California Higher Education Reporter

McClatchy Media seeks a reader-focused higher education reporter to help Californians navigate the path to and through college — while doing intensive reporting on how the powerful institutions that oversee public universities spend the public’s money.

This reporter’s mission is to break through the noise and help readers in Sacramento, the rest of the Central Valley and the Central Coast understand how and why politics, policy and financial decisions shape higher education. This reporter will also be laser-focused on producing utility and explanatory journalism that helps residents navigate the admissions and affordability challenges that applying to college poses.

We’re looking for someone who will produce watchdog journalism that explains where tuition and taxpayer dollars go, who benefits and who is left behind, as well as quick-turn stories that help students get into college, pay their tuition and understand how decisions made by university leaders affect their futures. Strong candidates will bring fresh ideas on producing a high volume of unique, relevant journalism to build reader loyalty, as building a loyal audience around this topic requires publishing consistently and often. A key part of this role also will be developing and sustaining a public persona. Direct interaction with readers will be a significant part of the job, including shooting and appearing in videos for our app, website and social platforms, and answering higher-education questions from readers, including at newsroom-produced events.

Based at The Sacramento Bee, this reporter will have a front-row seat to happenings at Sacramento State, where construction of a Downtown Sacramento campus and major increases in athletic program spending are in the works, as well as happenings at nearby UC Davis. This journalist also will keep close eye on the California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) systems, which serve as umbrellas for individual campuses, and collaborate with reporters in our other markets on coverage of Fresno State, UC Merced, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Stanislaus State and private colleges and universities across our markets.

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.

What you’ll do:

• Write a steady drumbeat of stories that navigate admissions requirements, deadlines and application strategies; compare public vs. private options; apply for financial aid, including FAFSA-related aid; and evaluate tuition, fees, housing costs and hidden expenses.
• Investigate how universities spend billions in public funds and tuition dollars, including executive compensation and administrative growth, athletic spending, and campus construction projects and contracting.
• Have an understanding of the new world of college athlete endorsements and money, and the new rules and regulations around NIL spending and fundraising.
• Be connected to campus life, e.g. covering student and faculty protests and controversial figures coming to campuses.
• Collaborate with journalists at The Fresno Bee, The Tribune of San Luis Obispo, the Merced Sun-Star and The Modesto Bee to produce higher ed stories relevant to their markets.
• Leverage AI tools and platforms to strengthen your reporting while finding efficiencies and expanding the sophistication of your work.
• 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.

What you’ll bring:

• 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.
• Understanding of open records laws and the ability to file, manage and oversee requests pertinent to public university systems.
• The ability to shoot basic photos and vertical videos.
• A track record for innovation, learning and using new skills and technologies, especially AI. 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.

Requirements:

• A college degree in journalism or equivalent experience.
• 3 years of reporting experience, preferably in an education or higher education role
• The ability to work flexible hours is essential. This position may require some evening shifts to cover local events.
• Must have valid driver’s license and vehicle insurance meeting or exceeding the legally mandated minimum requirements.

The anticipated base pay range for this position is between $29.75 and $37.44 per hour based on 40 hours per week. Individual base pay may vary within that range depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience and relevant education.

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

What we’ll bring:

Ninety miles northeast of San Francisco and 100 miles southwest of Lake Tahoe, Sacramento is a vibrant capital city with a Mediterranean climate, a world-class food and music scene, and numerous recreational opportunities, including the 31-mile American River Trail and 2,000 acres of parkland in the city alone. Our Bee office in East Sacramento lies within two miles of the Capitol, Midtown, Downtown and Golden 1 Center, home of the Sacramento Kings.

As a journalist at McClatchy, you will join a supportive, flexible, collaborative team. McClatchy strives to be an employer of choice, and our benefits package is made with this goal in mind. With a focus on health, well-being, wealth and daily life, our package options include healthcare coverage for employees and their families, financial protection from expected and unexpected expenses, multiple no-cost wellness resources and even coverage for four-legged friends.

Our overall benefits package also includes a 401(k) with employer match, competitive paid time off and corporate holidays, and a variety of mental health benefits. With an excellent support team and with focus on your well-being as a top corporate strategy, McClatchy provides benefits to support you and your family in achieving your health and wellness goals. For more information on McClatchy's benefit plan, please visit McClatchyLivewell.com.

About the McClatchy Media Company

The McClatchy Media Company features a portfolio of vibrant and trusted news, lifestyle, entertainment brands and a robust retail distribution network. Our iconic local news brands such as the Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star and The Sacramento Bee, have collectively earned a total of 57 Pulitzer prizes and are complemented by popular lifestyle and entertainment brands such as Us Weekly and Woman’s World. Together, our brands reach more than 100 million unique visitors a month, The McClatchy Retail Network, our distribution and logistics arm, offers delivery to more than 56,000 retail locations weekly.

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