Health Reporter

HEALTH REPORTER 

KERA, the public media company of North Texas, is seeking an enterprising and ambitious health reporter to join the KERA News team. 
 

 WHO WE ARE: 

KERA reaches more than 4.5 million people a month through KERA TV, KERA News, KXT, KERA Arts, WRR and the Denton Record Chronicle. 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. 

As we seek to recognize and reflect our audience and communities, we encourage applicants from all backgrounds and points of view to consider employment opportunities at KERA. 

POSITION SUMMARY: 

North Texas is a health care hub serving a booming population. Based at KERA in Dallas, the full-time Health Reporter will cover health care trends, disparities and outcomes across the region and the state. While a knowledge of health policies will be vital, coverage will focus on the people impacted by these policies. 

This reporter will write and produce everything from daily news spots to in-depth features on all of KERA’s platforms: radio, video, social media and keranews.org. This is a great opportunity for a thoughtful, detail-oriented reporter with stellar ideas and strong journalistic experience. We’re looking for someone with a passion for exploring health care disparities in underserved communities, and who’s determined to connect with and elevate the diverse voices of those communities. There will be a focus on solutions journalism and accountability. 

KERA leads The Texas Newsroom -- a regional news hub of public radio stations across the state and NPR -- so the Health Reporter’s stories will air locally, statewide and often nationally. The ideal candidate is someone who can put local stories into broader context. 

This position is FLSA classified as non-exempt, is eligible for overtime and reports directly to the Specialty Beats Editor.  
 

WHAT YOU’LL DO: 

• Tell health stories through the people who are most affected. 

• Lead KERA’s coverage of public health in North Texas and beyond, from Medicaid access to hospital finances to abortion. Create engaging multimedia stories from interviews, research, data and analysis. Find creative ways to report on issues that touch everyone. The goal: High impact with deep substance.  

• Stay on top of major health care news, identify trends, and develop deep knowledge of health care policies and how they affect North Texas communities. 

• Build and maintain a community around the beat – locally, statewide and nationally. This includes hospital leaders, elected officials, experts, researchers, and community members.  

• Produce a mix of daily news and enterprise and investigative stories. 

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

• Cover breaking news in North Texas and beyond, sometimes outside the scope of the beat. Develop distinctive audio and digital stories focused on the KERA listening area, with statewide and national context and impact. 

• Actively participate in KERA fundraising campaigns. 
   

As a KERA employee:    

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

• Perform additional duties as assigned   

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

 
WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL: 

We believe a strong organization includes employees from a variety of backgrounds, with different skills, experiences and passions. If you don't meet every job qualification but have some of these skills and feel you could be a good fit, we'd like to hear from you. Please apply and tell us more about yourself. 

• Passion for health care journalism.  

• Undergraduate degree in journalism, mass communications or related field or equivalent experience. 

• Strong audio reporting and production skills, and solid news writing skills. 

• Ability to generate dynamic, creative story ideas. 

• Ability to shift journalistic modes quickly, from deadline reporting to deep investigative work.  

• Demonstrated commitment to diversity in reporting and sourcing. 

• 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. 

• Reliable transportation required for assignments/activities that involve work outside of the office. 

BONUS IF YOU BRING: 

• Expertise in public health, particularly focused on health disparities in underserved communities. 

• Public radio production experience. 

• 3 or more years of professional journalism experience. 

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

• Fluency in Spanish and/or other languages common in Texas. 

• Experience with one or more of the following: multimedia production, particularly photography or video; working with one or more content management systems; other relevant technical expertise. 
   
   

SALARY RANGE 

$58,000-$68,000 annually depending 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 

• 401k plan with KERA-contribution eligibility after six months of tenure 

• Company culture 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 office 25% of the time. 

HOW TO APPLY: 

Complete the application on KERA’s employment page and attach a resume and cover letter explaining why you are the best fit for the position.