[Hiring] Political Reporter @Daily Maverick

Role Description

Are you a Political Reporter with a passion for decoding South Africa’s complex political landscape? Daily Maverick wants to hear from you!

The Political Reporter role will drive significant political coverage by producing original, compelling, high-impact stories across multiple formats, integrating data insights (such as election trends or public spending), and staying up to date on local, provincial, and national governance.

In this role, you will actively contribute to the development of our junior journalistic talent, while upholding Daily Maverick's core values of truth, accuracy, and transparency in a high-pressure political environment.

Qualifications

• At least 5 years of writing and reporting experience, with a minimum of 2–3 years focused on covering South African politics, governance, or public policy.
• Proven interviewing techniques and specialized information-gathering abilities within political structures, caucuses, and state organs.
• A proven eye for detail and context, with the ability to translate complex political maneuvering or legislative policy into accessible, human-centric narratives.
• Strong adherence to journalistic ethics, including principles of truth, accuracy, transparency, critical thinking, and fierce independence from political factions or corporate influence.
• Proven digital literacy, including familiarity with CMS, Google Work Suite, Slack, and social media/parliamentary monitoring tools for news alerts.
• Demonstrable track record of adhering to deadlines under the pressure of breaking political news, with a commitment to fact-based reporting and a sharp eye for differentiating between political disinformation, spin, and truth.

Requirements

• Integrity & Critical Thinking: An unwavering commitment to ethical practice and the psychological resilience to critically assess information from politically motivated sources, questioning assumptions and underlying biases.
• Proactiveness & Initiative: A self-starting attitude; actively seeks out political scoops, investigative angles, and innovative ways to present political data across various media formats.
• Adaptability & Problem-Solving: Flexible in adjusting to fluid, fast-moving political environments and skilled in safely finding alternative routes to information when stonewalled by officials.
• Empathy, Respect & Boundary Management: Treats sources, readers, and colleagues respectfully and professionally. Demonstrates high emotional intelligence and emotional regulation when interacting with hostile political actors or handling stressful beats.
• Collaboration & Communication: Effectively works with colleagues across departments (e.g., graphics, multimedia) and communicates clearly, both verbally and in writing, with an emphasis on transparency regarding source credibility with editors.
• Analytical Aptitude: Early exposure to data journalism, with a critical eye for data integrity in political contexts (e.g., budget allocations, election analytics).
• Audience Awareness: Basic understanding and application of audience analytics to understand what political insights resonate most with the Daily Maverick community.
• Professional Alignment: Demonstrable track record of producing versatile, high-quality journalism that exemplifies Daily Maverick's ethical standards and commitment to defending South Africa's democracy.