The Indiana Lawyer, the state’s premier source of legal news, seeks a reporter to cover the state’s appellate and supreme courts as well as broader legal issues impacting the state and debated at the Indiana Legislature.
The law is at the center of many of the state’s most important stories, from the reemergence of death penalty executions to the rights of protesters on college campuses to battles over access to state government data. We are looking for a reporter who can quickly file stories on these issues for our website and daily e-newsletter as well as write long-form pieces for our biweekly print edition that put the issues in context and explain what it all means.
As part of The Indiana Lawyer’s four-person news team, you’ll also be a member of the larger IBJ Media newsroom that includes another 21 reporters, editors and designers who cover business in central Indiana for the Indianapolis Business Journal and statewide for Inside INdiana Business. Your stories will have an opportunity to be published by those media outlets as well.
The Indiana Lawyer is an award-winning locally owned news outlet. We cover the courts and the legal industry, but from a broad perspective. So while you’ll definitely write about the court system and the state attorney general, you’ll also have the chance to dig into other topics, such as the legal issues facing college sports, the DEI limitations placed on colleges and law schools, government and politics, the business of law and the impact of executive orders on the legal system.
The state courts reporter will be expected to write two to three daily stories each week and two enterprise stories every two weeks for our biweekly print edition. The ideal candidate will have at least two years of newsroom experience, but we will consider new college graduates who have worked at least two internships.
Job requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in journalism.
- Newsroom experience.
- A basic understanding of the court system and a willingness and curiosity to learn that system on an in-depth level.
- Critical thinking skills that enable you to read and understand court documents.
- A willingness to ask hard questions
- Ability to work independently and generate story ideas
- Ability to shoot smartphone images
- Fast, thorough writing
- Experience promoting content on LinkedIn or a willingness to learn quickly
The Indiana Lawyer offers a chance to work in an affordable capital city with a metro area population of more than 2 million people but in a smaller newsroom with plenty of opportunity to make a big impact statewide. In Indianapolis, you will find professional sports, world-class museums and performance venues, and neighborhoods filled with great restaurants, bike trails and parks.
The Lawyer’s offices are located on the city’s historic Monument Circle—the literal and figurative heart of Indianapolis, just blocks from stadiums, the Statehouse, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, a rapid-transit bus line and much more. Our commutes are short, our public transportation is expanding and our city and suburbs are both thriving.
To apply, email a resume, a cover letter explaining why the position appeals to you and examples of stories you’ve written to Editor Greg Weaver (gweaver@ibj.com) and Managing Editor Daniel Carson (dcarson@ibj.com).
