Reporter, Race and Culture- KCUR Public Radio, 69880

Hiring Department

KCUR 89.3

Job Description

Kansas City’s NPR affiliate, seeks a reporter to tell the myriad stories of our city through the lens of race, equity and diversity.

As a major metropolitan area of two million people spreading out over two states in the center of the country, Kansas City is the perfect place for enterprising and urgent reporting on the stories of our time. People here have always lived at the intersection of cultures, and our history has played a crucial role in national events leading up to this moment. In a river town where fur traders did business with American Indians, where pro-slavery Missourians clashed with Kansas abolitionists 150 years ago, today’s explorers are artists, entrepreneurs and activists who enrich and enliven the entire metro while continuing to confront the systemic racism and other concerns being raised by diverse and passionate voices throughout the country.

Our race and culture reporter will be welcomed into an ambitious yet flexible workplace. KCUR employs journalists with a wide range of backgrounds, at all stages of their careers, from all over the country. Our new colleague doesn’t need radio reporting experience – we have experts who are happy to teach those skills – but they must have strong writing talent and must share our commitment to serving all of our audiences, tracking the diversity of sources and contributing to our positive and welcoming work environment.

This reporter will brainstorm, research, write, report and produce spot news, digital stories and long-form audio features. They will also create social content to accompany their stories, participate in community engagement efforts, and appear on talk shows, podcasts and community panels, as needed.

We’re looking for someone who can work on different projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines in a fast-paced environment, who can take direction and work collaboratively, and who can produce to the highest journalistic standards. They will have access to expertise and opportunities to collaborate with our regional partners including NPR’s Midwest Newsroom, Harvest Public Media and the Kansas News Service, all based at KCUR.

Characteristic Duties

• Stays abreast of daily developments and builds a broad base of knowledge, sources, and expertise on race and culture-related topics.
• Identifies, researches, pitches, writes, reports, edits and voices spots, two-ways, and feature stories for morning and afternoon news magazines, local talk shows, and national programs as appropriate, and writes accompanying digital stories.
• Anticipates and responds to breaking news.
• Tracks source demographics.
• Suggests story ideas and helps focus story angles for colleagues working on related subjects; collaborates with other KCUR reporters and talk show producers on projects.
• Contributes segment ideas and appears as a guest or host on KCUR’s local talk show, podcasts and community events, as needed.
• Collaborates with the KCUR’s partners, including the Kansas News Service, Harvest Public Media, the Midwest Newsroom and national entities to share content across multiple platforms.
• Handles newscasts and/or announcing, as needed.
• Participates in all assigned fund-raising and outreach activities, on air and off.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

A Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least 3 years of experience from which comparable knowledge and skills can be acquired is necessary

Preferred Qualifications

• A deep understanding of how race and ethnicity shapes the lives of individuals and communities, influences policy at all levels and contributes richness and joy to a complex and diverse place such as the Kansas City metropolitan area.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and good news judgment.
• A bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications or a related field

• Five years of experience producing news content for digital and social platforms.
• One year of work experience in a radio, news or public media organization.
• Demonstrated ability to cover breaking news as well as report through long-form, innovative storytelling.
• Demonstrated ability to elevate the stories of individuals and communities who are traditionally excluded from power and media attention.
• Demonstrated ability to take direction and work collaboratively.
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines.
• Enthusiasm for the role of public media in a changing journalism environment.
• Experience operating digital editing systems (e.g. Adobe Audition), field recording units, and other audio production equipment.

Full Time/Part Time

This is a full time, benefit eligible position

Salary

Up to $53,000, based of experience, internal equity, and education

Application Deadline

Apply today! The position is open until filled with review of applications to begin August 22nd, 2022.

Application Instructions

Applicants must combine all application materials (cover letter, resume, and list of five references with contact information) into one PDF or Microsoft Word document and upload as a resume attachment.

Limit document name to 50 characters. Maximum size limit is 11MB. Do not include special characters (e.g., /, &, %, etc.).

If you are experiencing technical problems, please call (800) 488-5288.

Note, you must provide a description of job duties for each Work Experience entry on your application. Please carefully review the application instructions section of our Careers page prior to submitting your materials.

Comments

KCUR 89.3 is the NPR affiliate in Kansas City and is an editorially-independent community service of the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Statement on Diversity at KCUR/Classical KC

KCUR and Classical KC are committed to ensuring that our workforce, community advisory board, and audience reflect the diversity found in the communities we serve. Central to KCUR’s mission, vision and values is maintaining a workplace environment that recognizes and celebrates diversity in all forms. For more information on our policies and governance, visit https://www.kcur.org/governance .

See KCUR.org for information about KCUR, Classical KC, and Kansas City.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Equal Opportunity is and shall be provided for all employees and applicants for employment on the basis of their demonstrated ability and competence without unlawful discrimination on the basis of their race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable state or federal law. This policy shall not be interpreted in such a manner as to violate the legal rights of religious organizations or the recruiting rights of military organizations associated with the Armed Forces or the Department of Homeland Security of the United States of America. For more information, call the Vice Chancellor - Human Resources at 816-235-1621.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the duties and functions of this job. If you believe you may have difficulty performing any of the duties or functions of this job, please contact the Office of Affirmative Action at (816) 235-1323.

EEO IS THE LAW

To read more about Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) please use the following links:

• EEO is the Law English Version
• EEO is the Law Spanish Version
• EEO is the Law Chinese Version

UMKC Statement on Diversity

Diversity, equity and inclusion are central to the UMKC mission as an urban-serving institution. Kansas City is a particularly diverse city, including African, African American, Asian, German, Irish, Italian, Latino, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Native American and Slavic communities. Such ethnic diversity, in addition to our thriving neighborhoods of the Westside, Northeast Kansas City and the Eastside, fosters creativity, connection and innovation, which is showcased across the region. Major attractions such as the Annual Ethnic Enrichment Festival, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the Filipino Cultural Center, the American Jazz Museum, Guadalupe Centers and Mattie Rhodes and Kansas City Irish Fest are a small sample of the many ways our diverse city enriches us.

For the reasons enumerated above, UMKC’s strategic plan prioritizes our commitment to multiculturalism, globalism, diversity and inclusion. The university’s values call upon its faculty, staff, students and community to position themselves as global citizens who seek out, embrace and celebrate the many benefits of diversity. UMKC received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award in 2019 in recognition of our continued commitment to equity and inclusion. Such commitment is demonstrated across teaching, service and research. We welcome applicants to share in our commitment to these core values and know that you will quickly understand the beauty of calling Kansas City your home.

Please visit these pages to learn more about UMKC’s engagement in diversity, equity and inclusion .

Roos Advocate for Community Change

The Division of Diversity and Inclusion

Annual Report

Multicultural Student Affairs

Benefit Eligibility

Why UMKC?

We offer full benefits that start day one, generous paid time off, paid winter break, and continuing education benefits. Visit our Total Rewards page to learn more.

Also, explore the Total Rewards website to learn more about the rewards package we offer to acknowledge our employees as the university's most important r esource.