The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for.
The Science desk of the New York Times is looking for a creative, energetic reporter to cover the world of space exploration. We’re looking for a heartbeat of stories that capture the wonder, the successes and failures, the big dreams and big personalities of the space world, whether at private space companies like SpaceX or in the orbit of NASA. The ideal candidate will be an accomplished multimedia journalist who can report and produce both text and video. You are adept at moving quickly on breaking news including launch coverage and other fixtures of the daily beat, but also able to identify stories with visual potential and eager to pursue a wide array of types of stories, including developing ambitious visual enterprise stories.
This is an in-office position and includes regular attendance in a New York Times bureau four days each week. There may also be flexibility to work remotely per departmental guidance.
Responsibilities:
• Pitch, report and produce news, enterprise and explanatory stories in both text and video, including on-camera reporting.
• Contribute to live and developing-news coverage, including launches, mission milestones, anomalies and breaking developments.
• Help to develop well-structured scripts for linear videos and combine text and visuals in multimedia formats.
• Monitor wires, local and regional outlets, social media feeds and other sources for developing storylines and reporting opportunities that help explain the beat and advance ongoing storylines, keeping us ahead of national competitors.
• Cultivate existing sources and develop new ones to land exclusive stories to cover this beat authoritatively.
• Work collaboratively across the newsroom including with editors, video producers, video and photo editors and motion graphics colleagues to develop stories from pitch through publication.
• Ensure visual accuracy, fair representation and rigorous fact-checking.
• Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.
• This role reports to the Space Editor.
Basic Qualifications:
• 5+ years of experience covering space or science-related topics
• Experience covering complex subjects with elegance, sensitivity and fairness
• A portfolio that demonstrates you are well-versed in a range of topics, and have a growing circle of sources across storylines
• Demonstrated understanding of the video production process and creative instincts that go beyond traditional text formats
• A willingness to be flexible as the news demands and the newsroom's needs evolve
• An openness to trying new storytelling approaches, and a demonstrated ability to communicate clearly
Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience working as a reporter in high-pressure, deadline-driven newsrooms
• Experience covering live events, launches, breaking news or rapidly developing stories
• A strong understanding of Times style and standards
• Proven experience leading field productions, writing scripts and crafting compelling narratives.
• On-camera experience
• Proficient in Adobe Premiere Pro
• Ability to shoot video
REQ-020785
Additional Compensation and Benefits
For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, employee stock purchase plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.
For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.
The annual base pay range for this role is between:
$113,270.67—$136,000 USD
Candidate Use of GenAI Tools:
We’re excited to learn more about you and your experience. To keep our hiring process as fair and authentic as possible, we ask that you submit your own work and not use GenAI tools to generate substantive content during the application and interview process.
If you’re an engineering candidate, we’ll let you know what specific GenAI tools you are permitted to use for your technical assessment.
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