Honolulu Civil Beat is looking for an experienced reporter to cover the Hawaii Legislature and state agencies, and master our new Digital Democracy tool to land scoops and hold the government accountable.
This reporter will aim to quickly become deeply sourced to land nuanced explainers and investigative pieces that highlight what the state government is doing – or not doing – to address the pressing needs of residents of this unique state.
Digital Democracy, developed by CalMatters, uses AI to gather public testimony, campaign donations, lawmakers' votes and more into an interactive, intuitive database. The "tip sheets" it produces can help guide newsrooms to potential stories. Our state government reporter will be expected to spot the best ones and then do the nuts-and-bolts reporting and newsroom collaboration to land high-impact stories.
Part of this job involves training Civil Beat reporters and outside groups – such as nonprofit leaders and researchers – in how to use Digital Democracy, and obtaining state data sets to make the tool more robust.
We are interested in Hawaii-based journalists with database experience who want to make the Legislature their new beat, one they will own. We are also interested in journalists from the mainland with those skills, who may have covered a state legislature and are interested in delving into Hawaii's unique political landscape.
This is a Honolulu-based position and we anticipate bringing someone on board in advance of the 2027 legislative session, which begins on January 20.
