City Bureau

We're hiring an eagle-eyed, collaborative, and patient Civic Editor to develop and manage our civic journalism coverage and oversee editorial projects across multiple beats, using the tools of engagement journalism. Join us in producing information through a racial equity lens and mentoring emerging journalists! 📌 Chicago-based, hybrid 📌 Rolling interviews; Applications close July 19. #Hiring #nonprofitjobs #editorjobs #mediajobs #journalism #localnews #communityengagement

🎉 Milestone alert: we're celebrating 1,000+ Chicago Documenters trained! Our Documenters program trains and pays people to monitor local government, contribute to the public record, and hold power to account. Since we founded Documenters in Chicago 2018, we've trained more than 1,000 people — that’s 1,000 people better equipped to decode and demystify local government processes and advocate for their communities. Read more in our Notebook blog. Founded in Chicago, Documenters has expanded into a multi-local network with partners across the country through our Documenters Network, currently active in 17 cities and counting.

We’re looking for a visionary and collaborative leader to lead product strategy and development across all of City Bureau's programs, including our Documenters.org platform. The Director of Product is a new role at the intersection of technology, civic engagement, and information equity—join us as we create and expand tools to support people-powered local media nationwide! #Hiring #nonprofitjobs #techjobs #civictech #socialimpact #product #productdesign #productstrategy #productmanagement

Earlier this week we were honored to participate in a panel about the impact of community-driven local news in Chicago – and the need to invest in it – with our friends at Invisible Institute, South Side Weekly, Medill Local News Initiative, Public Narrative, and co-hosted by City Club of Chicago, MacArthur Foundation, and The Chicago Community Trust. Our senior reporter Sarah Conway and Invisible Institute’s Trina Reynolds-Tyler discussed the deep community engagement that informed their Pulitzer Prize-winning Missing in Chicago investigation in a panel moderated by Olivia Obineme. In some ways the event felt like a homecoming, because the venue – Experimental Station – was City Bureau’s original home. Our time in that space generated many transformative conversations and partnerships in our earliest days, and it was exciting to see people connecting and talking about new possibilities in Chicago, and how Chicago can continue to influence the national landscape. The local news ecosystem is inspiring, generative, and powerful, and we’re so proud to be part of that story. And if you haven't yet read Missing in Chicago, explore it here: chicagomissingpersons.com #NonprofitNews #LocalNews #Journalism #CivicEngagement

#Hiring! || Are you an emerging journalist looking to develop your #writing and #communityengagement skills? Our Civic Reporting Fellowship is a 16-week training/reporting experience that could be exactly for you! Report on a big-picture issue affecting #Chicago's South and West Sides in a collaborative learning environment, with an emphasis on racial equity and community engagement. Applications are open now thru June 30! https://lnkd.in/efrmvuxD

In 2023 we saw more evidence than ever of the widespread change we can foster. We’re in a key moment in our movement to democratize the tools of journalism, and in this past year we thought deeply about how City Bureau can continue to evolve its structure to support our work moving forward. Our 2023 Annual Report celebrates our programs and partnerships, highlights our impact, reflects staff perspectives, and more. Dive into our report for the full picture on where we’ve been and where we’re going! You’ll see many familiar faces and see the power of staying rooted in the why of our work. https://lnkd.in/gHG6z6xt

💐 With immense gratitude, we’re sharing that after nearly nine years as our co-founder Bettina Chang is stepping away from her role at City Bureau. She has been named a recipient of the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University for 2024-25. From her Editor Office Hours in City Bureau's early days to supporting hundreds of emerging journalists through the Civic Reporting Fellowship and Documenters program in Chicago, and forging so many meaningful partnerships and dialogues through Public Newsrooms and more, Bettina’s impact on our organization and the field of participatory journalism truly cannot be overstated. As Bettina so beautifully reflects, “City Bureau has always been more than a job to me – it’s a proof point for what happens when journalism belongs to everyone.” Bettina will always be a co-founder and champion of our mission, and we are most grateful. Read Bettina’s reflections and a note from our Executive Director Morgan Malone on our blog. And thank you, Bettina, for everything. 💞

🌟 We are incredibly proud to share that City Bureau Senior Reporter Sarah Conway and Invisible Institute Data Director Trina Reynolds-Tyler have won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting for their investigation “Missing in Chicago.” “Missing in Chicago” is a collaborative multimedia investigation that deeply considers several aspects of the missing persons crisis, including failures in state law, police misconduct, the impact on families, and potential solutions. This honor is especially significant because of our innovative approach to local journalism, which is reflected in the “Missing in Chicago” project. City Bureau was founded in 2016 as a media lab committed to reimagining journalism and making it more accessible and inclusive. Our work focuses on reporting that reflects community priorities and meets local information needs, and we run paid programs that train community members in journalism skills. The same editorial team that wrote this Pulitzer winning investigation is also training the next generation of Chicago community reporters through our Civic Reporting Fellowship. This Pulitzer is proof that investigative journalism driven by community is alive, well, and a catalyst for the world we know to be possible. Huge congratulations to our reporters and our teams!

We're thrilled to share that our senior reporter Sarah Conway and Invisible Institute's Trina Reynolds-Tyler were honored earlier this week at the 2024 Izzy Awards for Missing in Chicago. Recognized by the Park Center for Independent Media, judges praised their reporting as exemplifying "many of the qualities of the best local journalism being produced today: deeply investigative, collaborative, data-driven, community-focused...with an emphasis on multimedia narrative." Congratulations, Sarah, Trina, and team — your impactful work sets a high standard. Explore the investigation: https://lnkd.in/d_JWYKr7 #IzzyAwards #MissingInChicago #JournalismExcellence

✨ We're putting some shine on our new #DocumentersNetwork sites and their recent accomplishments! From startup newsrooms to our first worker-owned co-op, these teams are redefining how residents and journalists work together to bring essential information to their communities. These new communities from across the country joined us and have spent the last nine months recruiting, equipping, and paying local residents to attend and document local public meetings. Read all about them! ✨ Indianapolis Documenters, powered by Mirror Indy ✨ Grand Rapids Documenters, powered by Grand Rapids Community Media Center ✨ Akron Documenters, powered by Signal Akron ✨ San Diego Documenters, powered by inewsource ✨ Spokane Documenters, powered by Range Media https://lnkd.in/eDu_vBX9