Senior Graphics Reporter

OVERVIEW

A thriving, mission-driven multimedia organization, NPR produces award-winning news, information, and music programming in partnership with hundreds of independent public radio stations across the nation. The NPR audience values information, creativity, curiosity, and social responsibility – and our employees do too. We are innovators and leaders in diverse fields, from journalism and digital media to IT and development. Every day, our employees and member stations touch the lives of millions worldwide. 

Across our organization, we’re building a workplace where collaboration is essential, diverse voices are heard, and inclusion is the key to our success. We are committed to doing the right thing in our journalism and in every role at NPR. This means that integrity, adherence to our ethical standards, and compliance with legal obligations are fundamental responsibilities for every employee at NPR.

NPR’s Editorial Graphics team is looking for a civic-minded senior graphics reporter to join us. Our team works on data visualizations, information design, creative story presentations and custom tooling to help tell stories in the NPR newsroom. (You can see some of our past work on our team blog and GitHub account.) We work across a broad range of beats and subject areas — such as the new administration in Washington, D.C., immigration, international conflict, climate change and culture. We also aspire to create more moments of joy. We’re curious to know what you’re passionate about, too.

On this team, you will have to work quickly in a dynamic environment. You will encounter new problems every day and may wear many hats, as a designer, reporter, data wrangler, developer, cartographer, etc. We are always open to new tools and to teammates who bring experience with different technologies and disciplines.

We work closely with journalists and storytelling units around the NPR organization and across our network of member stations, including photographers and video journalists, beat reporters and show producers, copy editors, digital editors and engagement editors.

What We Are Looking For

• Strong news judgment and a sense for what makes a good data or visual story that serves the audience
• Strong communication skills to coordinate with colleagues across the newsroom, understand quickly-changing news situations and explain complex information to diverse audiences
• A team player willing to collaborate in an open environment, working with people across the newsroom with a variety of skill sets and areas of expertise
• Demonstrated initiative and self-starting skills; ability to work independently
• Sincere curiosity, attention to detail and enthusiasm for making things
• A passion for Internet-native storytelling

This is a union-represented role covered under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with SAG-AFTRA. 

This is an NPR editorial role covered under the terms of the NPR Ethics Handbook. All editorial staff are bound by this guidance. Editorial staff are defined as staff members who play a role in shaping the journalistic or creative direction of NPR's content, including events. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Help our audience understand issues in the news through visual storytelling methods, which may include information graphics, data visualization, interactivity and illustration
• Work closely with individual story producers, editors and other teammates to identify opportunities for visual storytelling and data visualization
• Pitch, report and write digital stories — either solo or in collaboration with others
• Assess what work realistically can be executed in the time available and meet agreed-upon deadlines. Have the agility to shift priorities if needed.
• Triage requests and manage larger projects as needed, coordinating with colleagues across the organization
• Uphold and extend existing design standards for NPR graphics and editorial projects
• Help shape our team’s visual storytelling methods and strategy
• Document your work for teammates, newsroom colleagues and/or external audiences, as relevant
• Coach other team members, articulating story, design and code suggestions in a helpful and supportive way

The above duties and responsibilities are not an exhaustive list of required responsibilities, duties and skills. Other duties may be assigned, and this job description can be modified at any time.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• At least five years of experience designing/developing for news (or a similar field)
• Solid news judgment and the ability to think in terms of the information needs of the audience
• Fluency in JavaScript, HTML and CSS, including responsive web design techniques and other modern development practices
• Proficiency with code-based methods for building responsive data visualizations (such as D3) and related tools like ai2html
• Demonstrated ability to create presentations that incorporate video, images, graphics, audio and text
• Experience with Adobe Creative Suite, or other design/visual prototyping software

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• A broad toolbox of visual storytelling skills, but perhaps also an area of specialization such as cartography
• Experience with developing story ideas, reporting and writing for news
• Proficiency with GIS/mapping software (such as ArcMap or QGIS), technologies for producing web-based interactive maps (such as Leaflet or MapLibre) and command-line geo tools
• Experience with data analysis techniques, especially in command-line or scriptable environments like Python / Jupyter Notebook  or R
• Ability to convey interactive story ideas and complex interactions with sketches, wireframes or prototypes.
• Demonstrated experience applying user-centered design thinking to editorial work.
• Experience developing projects with web accessibility best practices in mind
• Experience working with the Git version control system / GitHub
• Experience working iteratively and collaboratively (for example, using Agile or a similar project management process)

EDUCATION REQUIREMENT

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience

WORK LOCATION

• Remote Permitted: This is a remote permitted role. This role is based out of our Washington, DC office but the employee may choose to work on a remote basis from a location that NPR approves.

JOB TYPE

• This is a full time, exempt position.

COMPENSATION

Salary Range: The U.S. based anticipated salary range for this opportunity is $122,500–$145,000 plus benefits. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum salaries NPR expects to provide for new hires for the position across all US locations.

Benefits: NPR offers access to comprehensive benefits for employees and dependents. Regular, full-time employees scheduled to work 30 hours or more per week are eligible to enroll in NPR’s benefits options. Benefits include access to health and wellness, paid time off, and financial well-being. Plan options include medical, dental, vision, life/ accidental death and dismemberment, long-term disability, short-term disability, and voluntary retirement savings to all eligible NPR employees. 

Does this sound like you? If so, we want to hear from you. Please submit a cover letter, your resume, portfolio and (if applicable) GitHub profile.

NPR is an Equal Opportunity Employer. NPR is committed to being an inclusive workplace that welcomes diverse and unique perspectives, all working toward the same goal – to create a more informed public. Qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, lactation, and reproductive health decisions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, transgender status, gender non-conforming status, intersex status, sexual stereotypes, nationality, citizenship status, personal appearance, marital status, family status, family responsibilities, military status, veteran status, mental and physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, genetic characteristics of yourself or a family member, political views and affiliation, unemployment status, protective order status, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or any other basis prohibited under applicable law.

If you are a person with a disability needing assistance with the application process, please reach out to employeerelations@npr.org.

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