Society for Conservation Biology is hiring: Reporter in Helena

The Society for Conservation Biology is hiring a part-time reporter for The Monitor in Helena, MT, focusing on rural Jefferson County. The role involves engaging with local communities and covering key institutions and issues affecting the area. Ideal candidates are passionate about local news, flexible, and willing to cover events during evenings and weekends. The position offers $19-22/hour and the opportunity for impactful journalism in a trusted publication.
The Monitor , a dynamic Montana weekly and online news site, is seeking a sharp and ambitious part-time reporter to help us cover rural Jefferson County, with special focus on the northern communities of Montana City, Clancy and Jefferson City.

Are you willing to spend time on the ground, meeting locals and building the connections and trusted relationships that lead to impactful reporting? We expect your coverage to focus on the institutions that ground rural life: schools, municipalities, county bodies, and key businesses.

You'll also explore questions likely to shape life in the West for generations to come: Will people find ways to hold onto their land as property values rise? How might infrastructure and services, government and developers, keep pace with and address population growth? There is an urgent need need for informed, high-impact journalism that helps people navigate their future and drives change.

The Monitor has served Jefferson County for over a century. Our independent and authoritative local coverage has earned considerable trust and engagement, enabling us to increase paid circulation by 50 percent in the last few years.

As we shift to a digital-first approach and focus on "tentpole" issues such as economic development, land use, housing, and mental and environmental health, we're looking for:
• An entrepreneurial journalist who is passionate about local news
• Someone who lives in or near Jefferson County,Helena or Butte, or is willing to move
• Enthusiasm about solutions-focused reporting (or eagerness to learn)
• Flexibility: You will cover some events on evenings and occasionally on weekends.
• Independent yet collaborative mindset. You should be comfortable charting your own course, yet excited to be a key partner in our growing enterprise

What we offer:
• $19-22/hour, with some flexibility in hours
• Commitment to Quality: The Monitor has won Montana's general excellence award for small papers the last four years
• Opportunity to experiment, take risks, and pursue big stories
• Flexibility and encouragement to combine weekly news reporting with longer-term enterprise projects

For reporters just starting out, this is an ideal opportunity to gain experience in a dynamic context. For more experienced journalists, it's a chance to do meaningful reporting that could strengthen the fabric of a rural community - perhaps in combination with your freelance writing.

Diversity of perspective, identity, and experience is important to us. We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds and make all employment decisions without regard to race, age, gender, sexual orientation, or other factors protected by federal, state, or local law.

Interested? Send a letter explaining why you would be a great fit, along with your resume and portfolio links, to Monitor publisher Keith Hammonds, keith@boulder-monitor.com.
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