Community Vibrancy Reporter

CityBeat is looking for a Community Vibrancy Reporter to help us cover the forces that shape the cultural and social life of our region through a hard-news, public-interest lens. This role goes far beyond event previews: this reporter will investigate the business, policy, equity, and community-impact angles that influence the vibrancy of the Cincinnati/NKY metro. Their work should illuminate how culture connects people, drives economic growth, and reflects the changing identity of our cities.

Salary: $40,000-$45,000 per year, plus benefits 

What We Expect from You:

• Produce original, high-impact journalism on culture and community life, with a focus on accountability, public-interest issues, and systems-level understanding. Two briefs and one byline are expected daily, and longer-form print stories as assigned. 
• Identify and pursue enterprise stories on topics such as arts funding, cultural development, neighborhood change, restaurant economics, safety and compliance issues, labor, accessibility, and how public policy affects cultural institutions and businesses.
• Cover breaking news related to cultural institutions, major events, industry shifts, legal issues, and community controversies.
• Build and maintain strong source networks across the arts sector, hospitality industry, small businesses, neighborhood groups, cultural nonprofits, and local government.
• Use data and public records to deepen reporting on topics such as permitting, inspections, grants, economic trends, and city planning.
• Contribute to multimedia storytelling through video, audio/podcasts, social content, and strong visuals in partnership with the digital team.
• Collaborate closely with editors to plan coverage, pitch creative ideas, and ensure representation of diverse voices and communities.
• Use audience analytics to shape coverage that resonates and grows engagement.
• Represent CityBeat at community events, panels, and conversations as needed.

Skills We Need You to Have:

• 2-3 years of reporting experience, preferably covering cultural, education, business, urban issues, or local government.
• Demonstrated ability to approach “culture coverage” with a public-service mindset—not fluff, but stories with depth and stakes.
• Strong reporting toolkit: interviewing, cultivating sources, enterprise reporting, data literacy, and records requests.
• Ability to produce clean, engaging digital copy on deadline.
• Comfort creating short-form video or willingness to learn quickly.
• Passion for local journalism and for strengthening the cultural fabric of the Cincinnati metro.
• Ability to work occasional evenings or weekends to cover the cultural beat when news happens.

What You Can Expect from Us:

• Full benefits package - medical, dental, vision and life
• PTO and paid holidays
• All the equipment you need to do your job
• Training and support on CityBeat's internal style and our culture
• A giant newsroom full of tiny desks in beautiful downtown Covington, KY

You'll Need to Share Our Mission and Uphold Our Guiding Principles

Mission: LINK Media (CityBeat's parent company) strengthens vibrant communities through independent, sustainable local journalism. 

Guiding Principles:

We are:

Solutions-Focused: We don’t just report the news of the day. We dig deeper, informing our audience about how our community might solve its biggest issues. 

Unapologetic Community Fans: We believe in this community—in what it is today, and what it has the potential to become. We want to see this community advance, and we understand the part that we play in that advancement. 

Inclusive: We explore the issues that affect all of our readers, and give a voice to all segments of our diverse community.

Good Stewards: It is our responsibility to make good use of our resources and to maintain a sustainable business model, so that we may serve the community long into the future.  

Independent: The publication does not make endorsements, and has a commitment to fact-based reporting about the issues that are facing our community. In addition to our reporting, outside opinions from multiple viewpoints will be sought, and clearly marked as such, in order to provide the robust debate that our community needs to make critical decisions about our collective future.