An Investigative Journalist

MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism is looking for an ambitious and creative reporter to join its team. This team focuses on accountability journalism and is a fearless watchdog to powerful officeholders and institutions.

The MNN reporters are hungry to find and publish exclusive news of importance to our community. They like to produce deeper dives as well as quicker-turnaround reports at times. They are skilled at developing sources, attracting tips and regularly obtaining public records. They love to collect and analyze data.

They are ambitious storytellers who understand that deep reporting and creative sourcing is vital to good storytelling. They are self-starters who are always ready to collaborate with the team and across the newsroom. They are committed to fairness and accuracy, in fact and in tone, and bring a strong grounding in journalism ethics.

The best candidate for this job is also insatiably curious about what is important to readers in Lesotho, Southern Africa and the world, and is driven to use all tools, as well as digital metrics and social media, to draw more audience to our vital journalism.

This reporter will:

• Be hungry to produce exclusive accountability reporting that our audience will want to read.
• Have a knack for finding fresh, compelling story ideas, with a clear focus on topics and issues of keen interest and relevance to local readers.
• Find and use data from a wide range of sources to deepen reporting and storytelling.
• Develop broad sources representing the racial, ethnic, economic and political diversity in Lesotho.
• Write stories that are complete, fair and provide context for readers, even on tight deadlines.
• Use judgment in determining the best digital tools and platforms for conveying news to readers in varying circumstances.
• Engage the public: Present events, news coverage and enterprise/public service reporting in a manner in which readers understand the need for action/involvement.
• Help formulate departmental goals and actively seek to meet them.
• Participate in training sessions and seek out learning opportunities to keep skills updated in a continuously evolving industry.
• Be a master of social media – both as a news-gathering tool and as a way to push the news out quickly and build our audience, as well as your own brand.

Education and knowledge:

• A University degree is required.
• At least three years of investigative journalism experience is preferred.
• Background in accountability journalism, video and online media preferred.

This reporter also must have:

• Enthusiasm for learning new skills and technologies.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including empathy and the ability to take and give constructive criticism.
• Comfort with a job that will be demanding, fast-paced and constantly evolving.
• Fluency in written and spoken Sesotho and English.
• Spot local, regional or national trends and find ways to make them relevant to MNN readers.
• Commitment to accurate, ethical journalism.
• Understanding of audience metrics – which stories are resonating with readers and which are not? And the desire to mine that data for guidance on how to build and engage an audience.
• The ability to regularly enhance stories with third-party video, embedded tweets, documents and links.

HOW TO APPLY: Please email your cover letter, CV, three references and links to your writing samples to mnncij.lesotho@gmail.com by Friday, 23 December 2022. The successful candidate will enter a ten (10) months contract with a possibility of renewal based on performance with the MNN.

About MNN: MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism is Lesotho’s only non-profit news entity that specialises in in-depth reporting to promote accountability and transparency. MNN survives solely on donor funds and this has successfully insulated its editorial policy from commercial and political biases. The organisation was formed by seasoned journalists who have devoted much of their working lives to deploying journalism to advocate for human rights and an open society in Lesotho. Since its inception, MNN has worked tirelessly to expose corruption, wrongdoing, and any other forms of malfeasance. MNN mainly publishes its investigative stories on its website – https://lescij.org/.