Crime Reporter – Portland Press Herald

The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram seeks an outstanding journalist to cover crime and public safety. The top candidate for this position will have a distinguished record of using public documents, data and compelling interviews to break news, reveal truths, hold the powerful accountable and tell tales that go deeper than what official sources will tell us.

We are an ambitious news organization with high standards, and we need a self-motivated reporter who can do it all – from dailies and compelling narratives to investigations and data-driven journalism. We want enterprise reporting – serious, probing enterprise journalism that identifies trends, unearths important news, exposes wrongdoing and spotlights achievements. We want watchdog journalism, and we want storytelling.

This is an intense beat. You have to stay on top of breaking news, reports and trends, and develop sources in your coverage area so that you break news ahead of the competition. But we don’t just want a steady diet of quick dailies. We need serious, probing enterprise journalism that rises to Sunday A1 and the top of our home page.

Successful candidates will have several years of daily experience in an important role and be able to submit clips that demonstrate proficiency working with FOIAs, public records, court filings and other documents. We need a reporter who is aggressive but not arrogant, who is confident but works collaboratively with editors.

For the right candidate, this is a fantastic opportunity. But you must be able to juggle a lot – big enterprise stories, Page One dailies and breaking news. You also must be adept at working with data and comfortable in a digital-first environment.

If you are the best at what you do and share our passion for ambitious journalism, this is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. You will be part of Maine’s finest and largest newsgathering operation, and you’ll live in a region with an extraordinarily high quality of life. Send your resume and five examples of your best work to Executive Editor Steve Greenlee at sgreenlee@pressherald.com.

We offer:

  • Health, dental and vision insurance
  • Short/long-term disability and life insurance
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • 401k with company match

We are an EEO employer.