Housing Reporter

If you’re a reporter who wants to cover one of the biggest stories in California; who knows that the lack of affordable housing is a crisis driving the nation’s highest poverty rate and an exodus out of state; who is sophisticated about understanding and analyzing complex housing issues like regulations, costs and incentives — then you might be the next housing reporter at CalMatters.

It’s hard to overstate the housing crisis in California, a state where the $700,000 median cost of a home is 2.5 times the national median, more than 150,000 are homeless, more than a third pay half of their income on rent, and construction of badly-needed new homes is far below the state’s minimum targets. CalMatters is one of the leading news organizations in the state on this topic including a housing podcast we co-host with the Los Angeles Times that is an influential grapevine to the broader housing community statewide.

We seek a reporter who’s excited about telling this story. Someone who will closely follow evolving state policies and industry lobbying efforts. Someone who will hear from renters, homeowners, developers, people experiencing homelessness and advocacy groups about their challenges and experiences. Someone who’s an excellent writer with the skill to craft narratives that weave human experience with politics, policy and data. Someone comfortable in social media, on the radio, in front of a camera and at public events. 

In five years, CalMatters has become the largest newsroom covering California policy and politics. We’re a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, and we give our coverage at no cost to more than 200 media outlets in California. As a housing reporter, you’ll be a crucial part of our effort to serve the 40 million Californians who represent one-eighth of the U.S. population. 

Responsibilities include:

• Report and write longform and short stories and multimedia presentations about California housing issues with close attention to state policies and legislation, renter and homeowner experience, industry behavior and advocacy positions.
• Think creatively about formats and tools for communicating housing issues to a broad, statewide audience. Encourage and exemplify a culture of innovation in storytelling.
• Have an understanding of diverse communities across California and aim to shape our coverage to reflect those communities.
• Participate in radio shows, public events and live video.
• Work with our data, visual and social media journalists to create the best presentations of housing stories.

These would be a plus:

• Experienced at housing coverage
• An understanding of housing policy, especially in California
• Based in Sacramento
• Fluent in Spanish or other language relevant to a large California population

We are an expanding and collaborative newsroom, successfully forging a new model for sustainable, intelligent, nonprofit journalism. We’re committed to diversity and especially encourage members of underrepresented communities to apply. If you’re interested, please provide a resume, a cover letter that outlines how you would approach the job and links to at least six online samples of your work. Write to jobs@calmatters.org with the job title in the subject line.