Energy Reporter

The Houston Landing is growing our team of passionate people on a mission to advance democracy in our communities and strengthen the lives of all Houstonians one story at a time. Houston Landing is an independent, nonprofit digital news operation that will cover a broad range of topics serving the Greater Houston community. Houston Landing is initially supported by a coalition of three of Houston’s leading philanthropies including Arnold Ventures, The Houston Endowment and the Kinder Foundation.

At Houston Landing, we are expanding our newsroom team to include an energy reporter responsible for telling important, timely and engaging stories about Houston’s position as the energy capital of the world. Nearly 5,000 energy-related companies call Houston home, including many Fortune 500 companies. The energy industry here employs some 250,000 workers. This position is full time and will be based in Houston.

Requirements

What you’ll do:

• You’ll cover important and compelling news that emerges from one of the most critical beats in Houston and Texas, one that impacts every person who lives in this state – energy and our reliance on it. These stories will range from compelling breaking news that needs to be written quickly to enterprise or feature stories that might take a week or more of reporting.
• You’ll be responsible for tracking the impact of the many Fortune 400 energy companies with headquarters in the Houston area such as Exxon-Mobil, Phillips 66, ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum and NRG Energy.
• You’ll write about trends in renewable energy. Texas is the country’s largest generator of solar and wind energy.
• You’ll write about the Texas electric grid whose catastrophic failure in 2021 underscored its critical importance.
• You’ll collaborate with our environmental reporter on how energy development and consumption impacts our environment and climate change.
• You’ll find compelling human interest stories about the powerful people who control the levers of the energy industry and the people who are most harmed when those levers work against them.
• You’ll keep public agencies and other institutions in Houston and Texas accountable in their roles as watchdogs and regulators of the industry.
• You will produce explainers and guides that help our communities understand and navigate complex and urgent energy issues.
• You will align your beat coverage around one of our key pillars: producing stories that offer solutions and improve civic engagement.
• You will ensure your reporting prioritizes community information needs and includes diverse perspectives.

Who you are:

• You have three or more years of journalism experience with a track record of doing enterprise and accountability reporting.
• You have experience using multiple digital platforms to tell a story.
• You have a flexible attitude that allows you to thrive at a digital startup and think creatively.
• You are a curious, organized person who is always on the lookout for good story ideas and who knows how to stay on task to make those stories a reality.
• You are committed to our mission of finding a new path for quality journalism.
• You have a collaborative spirit, strong communication skills and a willingness to listen to diverse perspectives.
• You’re committed to accuracy and meeting deadlines.

Benefits

Our Values

EXCELLENCE: We wake up every day with the intent to be the best at what we do. We hustle. We have grit. When we make mistakes, we’ll learn from them.

INCLUSION: We aren’t all the same, and those differences are what make us better. We’ll respect each person’s uniqueness. Perspective, context and life experiences help us to tell the story.

AMBITION: We will be bold and creative, open to all ideas big or small. We really mean it.

FUN: We are not making widgets, although there is nothing wrong with widgets. We tell stories and stories are often fun, so we believe in having lots of fun.

‍COLLABORATION: We are all in this together. We may not always agree, but we will listen to each other and communicate candidly and respectfully.

Benefits

• Compensation commensurate with experience, minimum of $68,000
• 401(k)
• Healthcare 100% premium paid for employee and 50% for dependents
• 20 vacation days
• Ten personal/sick days
• Generous paid parental leave
• Hybrid work policy (initially we all work together to build culture)
• Stipend for development / learning

We’re committed to building an inclusive organization that represents the people and communities we serve. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, veterans, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities.