Marjorie Welch Fitts Louis Fellowship

KERA is seeking a 1-year Fellow for the Marjorie Welch Fitts Louis Fellowship beginning in September 2023.

WHO WE ARE:

KERA reaches more than 2 million people weekly through KERA TV, KERA News, KXT, WRR and Art&Seek. For more than 60 years, North Texans have turned to KERA as a destination for trusted educational programming and initiatives, community engagement and lifelong learning.

Marjorie Welch Fitts Louis was a pioneer – one of the first Black reporters on television in North Texas. The Louis family created this fellowship to honor their late mother’s passion for journalism and social justice.

The Louis Fellowship is a key part of KERA’s effort to recognize and reflect the increasing diversity among our audiences. We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds and with diverse perspectives to consider employment opportunities at KERA.

SUMMARY OF THE ROLE:

This is an entry-level reporting fellowship for a Black journalist who’ll cover race and social-justice issues in North Texas.

The Fellow reports to the Specialty Beats Editor and is an FLSA classified non-exempt position, which is eligible for overtime.

The Marjorie Welch Fitts Louis Fellowship will be a full-time, paid position that offers hands-on training in public media journalism from KERA’s award-winning news staff. The Fellow will gain experience in breaking news, feature reporting, digital and social media techniques, and in-depth multimedia projects involving racial equity, women’s rights, socioeconomic disparities and other evolving issues of social justice in our community. We are looking for a recent graduate or an early-career journalist for this 12-month fellowship.

The fellowship will be based in Dallas/Fort Worth/Denton, with statewide and national reach: KERA leads The Texas Newsroom -- a landmark regional news hub of public radio stations across the state and NPR.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

● Contribute to KERA’s coverage of race and social justice issues in North Texas and beyond. Create engaging stories from interviews, research, data and analysis. Find creative ways to report on issues that touch everyone. The goal: High impact with deep substance.

● Work collaboratively as part of KERA’s team to build expertise, contribute compelling story ideas and experiment with innovative storytelling techniques.

● Build and maintain a community around the beat – locally, statewide and nationally. Create and participate in online and in-person events.

● Develop distinctive audio and digital stories focused in the KERA listening area, with statewide and national context and impact.

● Participate in extensive training opportunities in the newsroom, in departments across KERA and across the state with The Texas Newsroom.

As a KERA employee:

· Participate in on-air and online fundraising as needed

· Be an active participant in KERA’s work towards equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging.

· Work in a manner that is consistent with KERA’s mission, vision and values; and maintain compliance with all company policies and procedures

· Comply with KERA’s COVID policies.

· Perform additional duties as assigned.

This list of job duties is not exhaustive and is subject to regular reviews and updates.
 

WHO YOU ARE:

We believe a strong organization includes employees from a range of backgrounds, with different skills, experiences and passions. If you don't meet every job qualification but have some of these skills and think you’re the right person for the job, we'd like to hear from you. Please apply and tell us more about yourself.
 

· Passionate for journalism focused on race and social justice.

· Early career journalist with a background or experience in journalism or mass communications

· Ability to generate dynamic, creative story ideas.

· Demonstrated commitment to diversity in reporting and sourcing.

· Solid knowledge of Associated Press style, ability to exercise sound news judgment and follow KERA/NPR ethics and editorial standards.

· Passionate and enthusiastic about public media journalism and serving a diverse North Texas audience.

· Valid Texas Driver’s License and insurance required for assignments/activities that involve work outside of the office.

BONUS IF YOU BRING:

· Experience with one or more of the following: audio production; multimedia production, particularly photography or video; hands-on audio editing and innovative audio storytelling; working with one or more content management systems; other relevant technical expertise.

· Knowledge of North Texas people, cultures, issues and geography as well as national and international issues and events.

· Fluent in Spanish and/or other languages common in Texas.

SALARY RANGE

$47,000-$53,000, annually dependent on experience

BENEFITS

· Generous vacation (3 weeks), sick (8 days), personal time (2 days) and holidays (11)

· Comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance

· KERA-paid short and long-term disability, basic life insurance and AD&D insurance

· Flexible scheduling and hybrid work environment

· 403b plan with KERA-match after 1 year

· Culture intentionally focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging

· Robust employee assistance program available to the employee and all members of their household

LOCATION:

KERA welcomes a hybrid working environment. We expect that this position will work out of our Dallas and/or Ft. Worth offices 25% of the time.

HOW TO APPLY:

· Complete the application on KERA’s employment page.

· Please include a cover letter indicating why you are excited about joining the KERA team
 

KERA is an Equal Opportunity Employer

KERA believes that diversity is important to our success. We are committed to equal employment opportunity and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, religion, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by law.