The Marshall Project is seeking a Data Reporter to join our growing team, which focuses on producing in-depth journalism on crime statistics, policing, the perception of crime, and the broader criminal justice system. This role is fully remote, with our headquarters based in New York.
This position will focus on producing data-driven stories, developing charts and graphics that enhance narrative journalism, and providing critical analysis that explains complex topics in accessible ways. The Data Reporter will collaborate closely with reporters, editors, and other stakeholders across the organization to create impactful, visual, and explanatory content.
WHO WE ARE:
The Marshall Project is a nonprofit news organization dedicated to covering America’s criminal justice system. The Marshall Project was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2016 and 2021. We have also been honored with the Goldsmith Prize, multiple National Magazine Awards, and for General Excellence from the Online Journalism Awards. We are not advocates — we follow the facts and do not pander to any audience — but we have a declared mission: to create and sustain a sense of urgency about the criminal justice system. We do not generally cover breaking news, although we curate the reporting of other news outlets in our morning newsletter. Our work includes investigative and explanatory projects and shorter pieces aimed at highlighting stories that other news organizations miss, underestimate or misunderstand. To ensure our work reaches a larger audience, we partner with other media outlets; we have worked with more than 200 newspapers, magazines, broadcasters and online sites.
We are an equal opportunity employer, committed to diversity. We welcome qualified applicants of all races, ages, ethnicities, physical abilities, genders and sexual orientations, including people who have been incarcerated or otherwise involved with the criminal justice system.
THE DATA REPORTER WILL BE EXPECTED TO:
First and foremost, be a journalist with a keen interest in crime and policing, and experience or demonstrated potential for creating compelling data-driven stories that clarify and contextualize these issues.
Balance quick-turn, more frequent original data stories (like this recent story published ahead of the first 2024 presidential debate), or newsletters with light support for investigative projects. This role will focus primarily on “medium-sized” stories based on relatively accessible datasets. This person may be asked to contribute reasonably-scoped analysis and reporting to larger investigative projects. We’re looking for someone who understands how to probe deeper into newsy criminal justice topics that lend themselves to great context, new insights, or myth-busting.
Have a strong foundation in data reporting, including the ability to gather, analyze, and visualize data from various sources. Experience with relational databases, spreadsheets, exploratory data visualization for internal use, and basic programming is required.
Think creatively about storytelling, finding innovative ways to present data and complex information to a broad audience. Whether through a chart, interactive tool, or narrative graphic, you’ll help make the story accessible and engaging.
Collaborate with colleagues across the organization and with external partners to bring projects to fruition. You’ll be an integral part of our team’s efforts to expand our coverage and reach new audiences, especially in local markets.
QUALIFICATIONS:
An understanding of the criminal justice system, specifically crime data, and experience analyzing or reporting on it, especially how crime data is collected, interpreted, and reported. Familiarity with public records and investigative reporting techniques is a significant plus.
A background in journalism, particularly in data reporting or analysis, with professional experience in covering crime statistics and policing. Commensurate experience reporting with similar topics or in related fields such as criminology may also be considered qualifying.
Strong communication skills, with the ability to clearly present data and analysis to both colleagues and the public. You should be comfortable working collaboratively and leading projects that involve multiple stakeholders.
Demonstrated expertise in producing visual journalism, including charts, graphics, and other data-driven content. Experience with tools like Datawrapper, Tableau, Flourish, or equivalent is beneficial.
Experience in fundamental data technologies is required to interact with our tools and support your reporting. A qualified candidate will have experience with a programming language; Python and/or Javascript experience preferred. They will also have experience with fundamental querying languages like SQL or GraphQL, and data systems that can range from PostgreSQL to Airtable, and Google Sheets.
We do not expect every candidate to be equally skilled in all the areas above, and this is not a complete list of all relevant qualifications applicants might bring to the job. Please tell us about your other assets not mentioned here that may be valuable to this role. If you do not meet all the criteria but are still interested in this role and/or in The Marshall Project, we’d still like to hear from you.
WHO YOU’D WORK WITH:
This position is on the data team and reports to data editor David Eads. Your work will involve all of our teams, including collaborating with reporters and senior editors working on data-driven investigations, Ashley Dye's audience team, Raghu Vadarevu's alternate storytelling team, and the product team led by Elan Kiderman Ullendorff and Gabe Isman.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:
This job is full-time, with a competitive salary and benefits including:
100% employer-paid medical, employer-subsidized vision and dental insurance; matching traditional and Roth 401k (immediate vesting). Voluntary benefits include: Health and Dependent Care FSA, commuter benefits, pet insurance, short and long-term disability insurance, employee and dependent life insurance, AFLAC accident, hospital indemnity, and critical illness coverage, legal benefits, personal excess liability insurance, and employee discount marketplace. We also observe 17 days of paid time off each year (in addition to office closure between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2), and provide 20 weeks of paid parental leave.
Annual Salary Range: $100,000 - $115,000
We are headquartered in New York City, but this job can be filled remotely.
This job is in a bargaining unit represented by the NewsGuild of New York.
HOW TO APPLY:
To apply, please use this form to submit your resume and a short questionnaire regarding your interest and qualifications for the job.
Due to the expected volume of applications, we will follow up with the most promising candidates, but cannot respond individually to all applicants. Please know it usually takes us more than a month to review applications.
Application Deadline: September 30, 2024, 11:59pm ET
OFFICE HIRING HOURS:
In order to help candidates prepare a complete and comprehensive application, we are making our team available for virtual office hours during this hiring period. Register for the webinar with the links below.