Mill Media is looking for a journalist who wants to be given the time they need to produce great stories. For The Dispatch, you’ll build sources, find evidence, and give readers new insights and revelations as a result. 

What The Dispatch is looking for

This role requires at least two years of experience in journalism. It’s a job for a journalist who believes in the mission, loves the kind of reporting Mill Media does, and is passionate about applying that brand of journalism to many more stories in the years ahead. It needs someone who has a natural flair for writing — who will deliver the kind of stories for readers to look forward to when they open their newsletters.

This role also requires the kind of person who relishes trying to get hold of people on the phone and enjoys chasing stories even if they seem like dead ends; who likes getting to grips with complex issues and can explain those issues clearly to readers.

You will be working closely alongside Kate Knowles and Samuel McIlhagga, including sometimes collaborating on stories, and you will have a lot of contact with the editors and writers from the wider Mill Media team. You will also be expected to pitch in with various non-writing tasks, like helping with social media and liaising with freelancers.

Crucially, this is a role for someone who likes working really hard. This job isn’t easy and doesn’t always fit into the normal working day. Mill Media offers some of the most rigorous and intense training and development in British journalism, which means that you will grow very fast by working with it. But it needs people who are incredibly committed and energised by the task.

Key responsibilities

• Producing consistently high-quality writing for The Dispatch that informs and delights our readers and makes us stand out.
• Generating lots of highly original story ideas every month, both for you and for our other staff and freelance writers, ranging from culture to crime, food to local politics.
• Developing exceptional contacts within Birmingham’s political, cultural and business worlds so that we can break big stories.
• Helping to grow The Dispatch by posting on social media, assisting with our marketing and fostering strong bonds with our community of members.
• Working pattern: This is a full-time role. You will work three days a week at our office in the Jewelry Quarter with Kate and Samuel, and remotely the rest of the time. You will make monthly visits to Mill Media’s office in Manchester.

Attributes required

• Superb writing: Someone who can write stories that our readers don’t just like but love, whether it’s a colour piece, an interview or a newsier feature. A key part of this is being able to write with clarity and distil complex issues for readers.
• Reporting flair: Someone with an unusual talent for unearthing information, including huge energy when pursuing a story, a knack for getting hold of people on the phone and the ability to develop contacts over time.
• Independence: Someone capable of working independently without lots of supervision from editors — that means being exceptionally organised, very communicative with colleagues and self-motivated when working on stories.
• Growth mindset: Someone with an entrepreneurial spirit who is motivated by The Dispatch’s growth as well as our journalism and will enjoy growing our social media accounts and spreading our brand.
• Dispatch values: Someone who is committed to our key editorial values: accuracy, nuance, thoughtfulness, fairness to sources and giving readers the context they need to understand what is going on.

How to apply

This role pays £25,000-30,000pa. To apply for this role, email hiring@millmediaco.uk by Sunday 5 October at the latest, with an explanation (in the body of the email) about why you are interested in working with us and why you think you might be a good fit for this role.

Please also include a few links to some of your favourite work you’ve done and please attach your CV or link to your LinkedIn. Feel free to include story ideas you have that you would like to work on if you joined The Dispatch.

Please mention Journo Resources when you apply, it really helps us out!