The Houston Chronicle is looking to hire an investigative reporter to join our award-winning investigations team, the largest team of its kind in Texas. This is a chance for an ambitious accountability-focused journalist to mold their own beat and collaborate widely across a newsroom that’s been named the state’s best for seven of the past eight years by the Texas Managing Editors.
Our reporters work in topic areas such as state and local government accountability, suburban growth and development, the oil and gas industry, healthcare, criminal justice and more. Our goal is to serve our readers, answer their burning questions and make a difference with reporting that calls attention to problems, finds answers and tracks solutions.
This new hire will report to the Senior Director of Investigations and be a part of the local investigative reporting team that has been nationally recognized for its impact and scope. Recently, our team’s work was awarded first place by the Online News Association and National Headliner Awards, as well as by SABEW and Best of the West. Our work was also a finalist for the Livingston Awards and semifinalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting.
Key Responsibilities
Pitches, reports and produces coverage that drives conversation and impacts the way the region’s power brokers make decisions and exert their influence.
- Owns all of the subsequent reporting, impact and updates around key investigative storylines.
- Collaborates with other reporters, editors, visual journalists and audience colleagues to elevate our accountability and high-impact reporting in ways that engage our core audience and give new audiences a reason to subscribe.
- Works with visual, audience and data colleagues to present investigations in new and engaging formats that go beyond traditional print storytelling.
We’re Looking For Someone Who
Has at least five years producing original accountability stories that have had a major impact on laws, lives and hearts.
- Has strong familiarity with Texas and moves quickly, identifying opportunities for investigative stories and delving into them with speed, rigor and fairness.
- Will thrive in a fast-paced and collaborative environment, juggling priorities and writing with clarity, care and precision.
- Is well versed in investigative reporting skills, including working with data and filing public records requests at the local, state and federal levels.
- Has demonstrated ability to find audiences for their work on different platforms through a variety of story formats as well as on social media.
- Is experienced with scripting and producing videos to accompany or enhance written investigations.
Can build data visualizations and databases to bring complex stories to life.
Success is measured by
Produces exclusive coverage that lands with impact and drives conversation — giving new audiences a reason to convert and keeping our core audience coming back for more.
- Publishes content at a cadence that ensures we are regularly offering exclusive, must-read impact and accountability work to our audience.
Takes the biggest accountability stories of the day and elevates them into quick-turn investigative stories or seeds them into long-term rolling series.
About the Houston Chronicle:
The Houston Chronicle, recognized for its Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism, serves its 2.3 million residents with content and marketing solutions across two of Houston’s largest websites — HoustonChronicle.com and Chron.com , along with our magazine, television and newspaper brands. Our mission is to spark conversations that inspire action to create a better Houston. All our content and the innovative business solutions we provide invite Houstonians to join conversations about a community we’ve been committed to covering and helping prosper for more than 120 years. The community we all call home.
About Hearst Newspapers:
With 2,500 employees across the nation, HNP encompasses a network of 24 daily and 52 weekly publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and Albany Times Union, several top digital-only news and lifestyle sites, marketing services businesses, and entertainment businesses such as King Features Syndicate.
At HNP, we are investing in new and innovative ways to tell stories – growing newsrooms, diversifying tools, evolving platforms – to support the millions of people who trust us each month to help them make decisions, take action and be inspired.
Be a part of something bigger – your headline awaits.
Recognizing the diverse needs of our candidates, if you are interested in applying for employment and need assistance or an accommodation to use our website or regarding the application process, please contact us by email at [email protected]. Please do not use this email address to inquire about the status of applications. We will only respond to inquiries concerning requests for a reasonable accommodation through this email address.
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Skills Required
- At least five years producing original accountability stories with major impact
- Strong familiarity with Texas and regional issues
- Experienced in investigative reporting skills, including filing public records requests at local, state and federal levels
- Skilled working with data, building data visualizations and databases to support investigations
- Experience scripting and producing videos to accompany investigations
- Demonstrated ability to find and grow audiences across platforms and social media
- Ability to work quickly and collaboratively, juggling priorities while writing with clarity and precision
Hearst Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Hearst and has not been reviewed or approved by Hearst.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as comprehensive, including medical plan choice, full in-network preventive coverage, dental and vision, telemedicine, prescription coverage, and fertility resources. Mental-health resources and other wellbeing services (e.g., therapy sessions, crisis support, virtual physical therapy, and chronic-condition programs) further strengthen the health offering.
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Retirement Support — Retirement support is positioned as meaningful through a 401(k) plan with company matching and Hearst covering plan administration fees. Performance bonuses are also noted as available in some roles, adding an additional rewards component beyond base pay.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off benefits include paid holidays, paid sick days, and vacation time with a commonly cited annual range, alongside paid parental leave and family medical leave. A remote work program and flexibility signals are also included as part of the overall rewards experience.
Hearst Insights
What We Do
Hearst is a leading global, diversified media, information and services company with more than 360 businesses. Its major interests include ownership in cable television networks such as A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime and ESPN; global financial services leader Fitch Group; Hearst Health, a group of medical information and services businesses; transportation assets including CAMP Systems International, a major provider of software-as-a-service solutions for managing maintenance of jets and helicopters; 33 television stations such as WCVB-TV in Boston and KCRA-TV in Sacramento, California, which reach a combined 19 percent of U.S. viewers; newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Times Union (Albany, New York); more than 300 magazines around the world, including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Men's Health and Car and Driver, and digital services businesses such as iCrossing and KUBRA; and investments in emerging digital entertainment companies such as Complex Networks.
