Senior Investigative Reporter – City Journal

Senior Investigative Reporter – City Journal 

Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (MI) is a community of scholars, journalists, activists, and civic leaders who are united by a shared commitment to advancing economic opportunity, individual liberty, and the rule of law in America and its great cities. We are seeking a like-minded Senior Investigative Reporter who will work on a new team focused on misgovernance and public accountability in California.  

The team will operate through City Journal, MI’s magazine of urban affairs, and be helmed by Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow and investigative journalist Christopher F. Rufo. It will focus on issues of waste, fraud, abuse in the Golden State, working to hold public actors accountable and preserve the public trust. The senior reporter will identify under-covered or undiscovered stories about these issues (and others) and bring them to public attention. 

Senior reporters will collaborate with Rufo and the editors at City Journal (CJ) to produce rigorous investigative reporting from multiple angles. A successful candidate will have a demonstrated history of covering a diversity of topics using a variety of techniques, especially on-the-ground reporting.  

This is an “impact journalism” role, with the goal of not only reporting the facts, but making real and immediate change. Vital is an ability to tell compelling stories, and identify elements of those stories which will effectively drive reform.  

Required qualifications 

• California-based. Experience reporting on the state preferred. 

• Five-plus years of experience in investigative journalism or similar role. 

• A proven ability to source, investigate, and break significant stories. 

• Demonstrated track record of reporting that drives real change. 

• Experience with document- and record-based reporting.  

• Dogged commitment to accurate reporting of the facts. 

• Demonstrated media presence; success doing TV, radio, and podcast hits. 

• Willingness to travel for on-the-ground reporting. 

• Team-oriented approach to reporting; a willingness to share by-lines and research and reporting with colleagues, working with direction from Rufo and CJ editors. 

• Familiarity with the work of Rufo, CJ, and MI, and a desire to work in support of MI’s mission. 

• Spanish-language fluency a significant plus, but not required. 

Candidates will be expected to be based in California, or relocate if hired.  

Benefits 

MI offers generous benefits, including a hybrid work environment, four weeks paid vacation, a Flexible Fridays program, paid paternity/maternity leave, medical and dental coverage, medical and dependent care FSA, mental health benefits, remote medicine, paid company cell phone, life insurance, and a 401(k) with a company-funded match. MI staff also benefit from the opportunity to collaborate and socialize with prominent scholars in our policy space. 

The salary range for this position is $120,000 to $225,000/year. The salary offered to a candidate will depend on skills, experience, and education.