We’re hiring a staff writer in Birmingham
We’re hiring a staff writer in Birmingham
Applications close soon! Get in touch by Sunday July 7th
Dear Patchers — thanks to everyone who has shared our exclusive story this morning about Akhmed Yakoob. The story is spreading fast on social media — please do share it yourself. The story has just taken us past 800 paying members — a warm welcome to the newbies.
We’re sending an unusual second newsletter today because there are just ten days left to apply to become our second staff writer at The Dispatch. Applications close next Sunday (July 7th) and we would be grateful if you could share this post with anyone you think might be interested in applying. That’s why we’ve liberally sprinkled green Share buttons throughout.
It’s a fantastic role — one of the few jobs in British journalism where you get proper time to work on stories and work with top-class editors (people who have contributed to The Guardian and The New York Times) who really care about good writing and the quality of what we publish. Instead of being asked to file several stories each day, our staff writers tend to write one story per week, often a deep dive into an important local issue ranging from politics to culture to social affairs.
We’re looking for someone who will take pride in growing The Dispatch and will work incredibly hard to make this new publication an unmissable read and an asset to the region.
Role details
Location: Birmingham (we need someone who lives full-time in the West Midlands, or is willing to relocate)
Salary: Dependent on experience (£23k-35k)
Basis: Full-time (including some out-of-hours work)
Office/remote: Three days per week in our co-working space in the city centre, otherwise remote.
Start date: July/August 2024
Application deadline: Sunday, July 7th. Scroll down for details on how to apply.
About us
By taking on this job, you will be joining Mill Media, a pioneering new company that launched The Dispatch in October 2023. Our success so far has been based on a simple idea: giving journalists the time they need to produce great stories.
Since June 2020, this approach has turned Mill Media into a new force in British journalism, described as “One of the most interesting and impressive media startups of the last decade,” by the FT’s John Burn-Murdoch, and as “very, very impressive” by the Wall Street Journal’s Emma Tucker. Most recently Tina Brown, the legendary former editor of Vanity Fair and the New Yorker, said: “If I was a young writer right now, I would want to work for Mill Media.”
Last year, we raised money from a group of our readers, including the CNN chief executive and former New York Times and BBC boss Mark Thompson, who said he was investing because of the “exceptional quality” of our work. You can see all of the roles we are hiring for here.
The Dispatch was founded late last year with a mission to change journalism in Birmingham and the West Midlands by telling the kinds of stories you don’t find in the local press. Led by local journalist Kate Knowles, we have published major investigations into housing providers, lovely features about local people and big essays about Brummie pride. We already have 17,000 readers on our mailing list and more than 800 paying members, which means we are now able to hire a second staff writer to work alongside Kate and our many great freelance contributors.
What we’re looking for
This role requires at least three years of experience in journalism. It’s a job for a journalist who believes in our mission, loves the kind of reporting we do and is passionate about applying our brand of journalism to many more stories in the years ahead. We need someone who has a natural flair for writing — who will deliver the kind of stories our readers look forward to when they open our 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 our founding staff writer Kate Knowles, 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 our social media and liaising with freelancers.
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 a co-working space in Birmingham with Kate, and remotely the rest of the time. You will make fortnightly visits to the company’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.
This role requires at least three years of experience in journalism.
How to apply
To apply for this role, email hiring@millmediaco.uk by Sunday 7 July 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.
If you have any questions, just get in touch via the same email.
Please share this post with friends or on social media — it will massively help us to reach a broad and diverse range of potential applicants.
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