FiscalNote

Staff Writer, Defense

FiscalNote

full-time

Posted on:

Origin:  • 🇺🇸 United States • District of Columbia, Washington

Visit company website
✨ AI Apply
Manual Apply

Salary

💰 $80,000 - $90,000 per year

Job Level

Mid-LevelSenior

About the role

  • CQ Roll Call seeks an experienced, versatile and motivated journalist to join a team of reporters covering defense and national security issues. This is a role for someone who can generate distinctive coverage of defense policy and spending through the lenses of Congress and the Pentagon for a sophisticated audience.
  • The position is based in Washington, DC and requires daily reporting from the Capitol.
  • Producing daily and enterprise stories as part of a four-person team
  • Thriving in a fast-paced, subscriber-focused newsroom where journalism is produced for two websites, a newspaper that publishes when Congress is in session, and dozens of newsletters in front of and behind a paywall
  • Contributing to CQ Defense, a subscription newsletter that publishes weekdays when Congress is in session
  • Contributing to legislative tracking (coverage of markups and vote entry) on all major legislation and nominations. You will work in tandem with the Legislative Research and Committees teams on coverage of the annual defense policy bill, known as the NDAA, as it moves through both chambers to the president’s desk. Coverage also includes the Defense and Military Construction-VA appropriations bills
  • Staying on top of developments about defense and national security in all branches of government, especially the work of the congressional committees with jurisdiction over the Defense Department. The subjects include contracting, counterterrorism, intelligence, national security infrastructure, homeland security, the U.S. military and National Guard, among others
  • Collaborating with the Multimedia team on visuals, graphics, audio and other storytelling forms to enhance your reporting
  • Writing profile stories about members of Congress on the Armed Services committees, and other lawmakers and congressional candidates that feed CQ’s Guide to the New Congress and other products about members
  • Participating in webinars and other corporate activities to amplify your journalism.

Requirements

  • 3+ years of experience as a reporter at newspapers, news websites, magazines, wire services and other news outlets. Experience in Washington, D.C., for a subscription news outlet, wire service or news bureau covering defense, national security and military topics is strongly recommended
  • An ability to find new, creative ways to scrutinize the intersection between Congress and the Pentagon
  • A college degree is helpful but not essential. Equivalent, relevant work experience is what matters
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills and mastery of AP style
  • Strong understanding of defense and national security and the ability to convey your passion for the subject to readers
  • A commitment to the journalistic values of accuracy, objectivity, fairness and editorial independence.