Now hiring: Economic development reporter

For generations, West Virginia leaders have promised that the next factory, tax break, industrial park, federal grant or major development project will bring prosperity and ensure that communities thrive.

Sometimes those promises deliver. Sometimes they don’t.

Mountain State Spotlight is looking for an economic development reporter who wants to help West Virginians understand which is which, and who wins and loses along the way.

This reporter will go beyond ribbon cuttings, press releases and politicians’ promises to examine how economic development works, and doesn’t work, for West Virginians. Where is public money going? Who makes those decisions? What are taxpayers getting in return? Which communities and workers benefit? Which are being left behind? And what happens years after the cameras and politicians have moved on?

This is a beat about money, jobs and power.

West Virginia needs a reporter who can investigate multimillion-dollar incentive packages and also spend time in communities trying to understand why businesses are thriving or struggling. Our audience needs someone who can scrutinize economic data and government budgets, then talk to workers, business owners and residents to get beyond the numbers, explaining what they mean through people’s lives.

This reporter will also cover the economy from the ground up, with stories about the basic conditions that allow people and communities to participate in a healthy economy. That includes access to affordable child care, transportation, job training and workforce programs, reliable broadband and other infrastructure they need. We want this reporter to examine whether West Virginia is making the investments that help people get and keep good jobs, not just the deals designed to attract the next big company. 

West Virginia is an especially rich place to do this work. For decades, political leaders have presented economic development as an answer to some of the state’s most persistent problems. At the same time, West Virginia has spent enormous sums trying to attract businesses and industries, often with limited transparency and little sustained scrutiny of whether those investments delivered what was promised.

Mountain State Spotlight believes West Virginians deserve to know.

The job: 

You will take primary responsibility for Mountain State Spotlight’s coverage of the forces shaping West Virginia’s economy and the decisions made in the name of economic development.

That means you will:

• Follow the money: Track state and local spending, tax incentives, grants and other public investment intended to create jobs and grow West Virginia’s economy, and hold officials and companies accountable for the promises they make.
• Follow up:  Return to the big announcements months and years later. Did the jobs come? What do they pay? Did the public investment deliver on its promises?
• Explain what’s changing: 
• Help West Virginians understand the forces remaking the state’s economy, from the fortunes of major industries to the challenges faced by small businesses and workers.
• Investigate power:  Dig into and take readers inside the relationships among government, businesses and other powerful interests, including conflicts of interest, secrecy and decisions that benefit private entities at the public’s expense.
• Cover the Legislature with an economic lens:  Show readers how lawmakers make decisions about taxes, spending, regulation and economic development that create winners and losers around the state.
• Watch the agencies:  Closely follow the government agencies and public bodies responsible for economic development, while getting out into the field to see and then show how their programs are actually performing.
• Listen to West Virginians:  Build sources far beyond elected officials and corporate spokespeople, from CEOs and economic development officials to small business owners, hourly workers and residents.
• Work across the newsroom:  Collaborate with other Mountain State Spotlight journalists on ambitious accountability stories and investigations that cross traditional beats.

We don’t expect every story to be a months-long investigation. The successful reporter will be able to move among quick-turn accountability stories, explanatory pieces, enterprise reporting, and deeper investigations, while maintaining sustained scrutiny of the beat.

Why Mountain State Spotlight?

West Virginia is a small state confronting enormous questions about its future, at a moment when the number of journalists available to ask those questions continues to shrink.

Mountain State Spotlight exists to fill that gap.

Founded in 2020, we are an independent, nonprofit newsroom committed to producing accountability journalism that exposes abuses of power by government, business and other institutions and gives West Virginians the information they need to make our state a better place.

We aren’t interested in covering something simply because somebody held a press conference. We want to identify the questions that matter to West Virginians, pursue them aggressively and stay with important stories long enough to make a difference.

We’re growing because West Virginia needs more of that journalism.

Our work is supported by hundreds of West Virginians as well as national and regional philanthropic partners. We have ambitious plans to reach more West Virginians with more powerful journalism. We want our new economic development reporter to help us do it.

You’re a good fit if:

• You’re relentlessly curious about who benefits, who pays and who gets to make the decisions.
• You have sharp news judgment and can turn complicated subjects involving money, policy and institutions into clear, compelling stories for ordinary readers.
• You know how to develop sources who will tell you what isn’t in the press release — and you’re comfortable building relationships with people whose experiences and perspectives differ greatly from your own.
• You’re comfortable digging through budgets, contracts, financial records and economic data. You don’t have to be an economist, but you should be willing to follow numbers wherever they lead.
• You know how to use public records laws — and don’t give up easily when government agencies or private entities try to keep important information secret.
• You can balance short-, medium- and long-term work and understand that sustained accountability journalism often means returning to a subject again and again.
• You want to collaborate with editors, data reporters, audience staff and other journalists to make stories stronger and get them to the West Virginians who need them.
• You want your journalism to matter. You’re interested not simply in documenting what’s wrong, but in producing reporting that gives West Virginians the information they need to understand their communities, hold powerful institutions accountable and make informed decisions about their state’s future.

Data reporting and visualization skills are a plus, as are photography, audio and other forms of storytelling. Experience covering business, government, labor, economic development or rural communities would be valuable. But we care more about your reporting instincts, curiosity, and ability to learn than whether you’ve previously covered a beat with these exact titles.

Experience as a journalist in West Virginia or other rural Appalachian states is a plus, but not mandatory.

We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ people, veterans and people with disabilities. We believe that a newsroom that includes a broad range of life experiences will ultimately produce better journalism.

We’re committed to building a newsroom that cares for its employees, supports their professional growth, pays people equitably, provides work schedule flexibility as needed and offers opportunities for advancement. 

If you meet some, but not all, of our requirements, we still encourage you to get in touch. We’re growing, so if you’re not right for this job, you might be right for the next one.

Compensation and benefits

• Full-time, competitive salary. Our pay range for this position is $50,000-$70,000, and is based on relevant professional experience.  
• Benefits, including 75% company-paid health insurance and 401k.
• Twenty-five days of paid time off in addition to holidays and our annual “dark week” between Christmas and New Year’s.
• Paid parental leave.
• Parking and technology reimbursement.
• Flexible work schedule. Some weekend and evening hours will be required.

To apply, or for more information, email [email protected]. Your application should include: 

• Your resume;
• A cover letter telling us why you are the right person for Mountain State Spotlight’s team. Describe your vision of how you would approach an accountability-focused economic development beat in West Virginia;
• Non-paywalled links or PDF files of at least three examples of your best work.

Applications will be reviewed and interviews scheduled on a rolling basis, giving an advantage to early applicants. For best consideration, please apply before September 18.