Wisconsin Public Radio is hiring our next Lee Ester News Fellow. This 12-month fellowship for early career journalists is based in our Milwaukee office and covers events and communities across southeastern Wisconsin — the most populous and diverse region of the state.
The fellow will be a general assignment reporter responsible for producing daily news stories and, occasionally, feature-length material for radio and the web. The fellow is considered a developmental reporter at WPR and receives regular and concentrated coaching on writing, editing, voicing and other aspects of radio news reporting.
WPR’s news department seeks to empower Wisconsin’s communities through rigorous reporting that provides context, holds public officials accountable and sheds clarifying light on complex topics. Our on-air and online services each reach nearly half a million people every month. Our goal is to keep the audience up to date of the most significant news of the day while providing unique and insightful stories that reflect Wisconsin’s diverse communities.
This hybrid position reports to the Daily News Editor. Fellowships typically run August to July, but there is some flexibility on start date.
Required qualifications:
- Previous news internship or up to 1 year of professional news experience.
- Demonstrated ability to generate news story ideas.
- Demonstrated ability to produce daily stories for radio and the web.
- Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines.
- Demonstrated ability to record and edit audio for news stories.
- Demonstrated ability to tell stories about diverse communities.
Preferred qualifications:
- Previous public media experience
Additional information:
Salary for the fellow will be $51,955 for the 12-month fellowship. The fellow will also receive vacation, sick leave, paid holidays and health and dental benefits during the term of the fellowship.
The person in this position will be required to comply with the Ethical Guidelines for Editorial Staff of Wisconsin Public Radio and Television, in addition to the UW-Madison code of ethics.
Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment.
How to apply:
Please send the following materials to fellowships@wpr.org by Friday, February 28.
1) Resume
2) A cover letter describing how your experience relates to the listed required and preferred job qualifications
3) A single document with three samples or links to three samples of daily news stories produced for broadcast and/or web. Samples should not have shared bylines and should include web and audio versions of stories when applicable.
Applications missing any of these components will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed.
Finalists will be asked to provide a list of at least three professional references with titles, emails, and phone numbers (including at least one supervisory reference).
Universities of Wisconsin-Madison Statement on diversity:
Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The Universities of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background – people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.
For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion.