📷 Work on Gabriola as one of two journalists!

About the Life on Gabriola

The Life on Gabriola Media Society is a non-profit society that has been incorporated under the Societies Act of BC in order to receive the funding for this Local Journalism Initiative. Going forward, it also hopes to undertake a project in arts and entertainment journalism for Gabriola and area, and to support journalism, the arts, and the community generally.

What is the Local Journalism Initiative (LJI)?

The Life on Gabriola Media Society seeks two journalists with video journalism background for paid positions beginning July 17, 2023.

The positions will be funded under the Local Journalism Initiative, a program of the federal government intended to support “civic journalism” in communities underserved by existing media. For our media sector, it is administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).

Our programming will be produced primarily in video form and provide coverage of events and issues on Gabriola Island and neighbouring islands, and in the Salish Sea region generally. The journalists hired will work with local volunteers to produce the programming, which will be distributed to the public via online and other platforms, including a national community media portal established and maintained by CACTUS and the Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec.

The project will run through March 31, 2024, with the possibility of renewal.

Job descriptions

We are seeking:

a full-time Lead Journalist with significant professional background in TV, online, documentary, or other video journalism, and
a full-time Associate Journalist with basic journalism training plus experience in video production.

The Lead Journalist and the Associate Journalist will work together to cover local news, including the activities of public bodies and organizations having a significant impact upon the community. They will also supervise local volunteers, who will play a large role in creating an average of four hours of programming per week.

Qualifications

Applicants will ideally live on Gabriola Island or Vancouver Island (adjacent Gulf Islands included).

The Lead Journalist will ideally

Have at least five years of professional journalism experience, including video journalism.
Have strong management, collaborative, and people skills, and be capable of supervising the work of the Associate Journalist as well as that of local volunteers.
Be prepared to train volunteers in the fundamentals of accurate, fair, and effective journalism, as well as video production and online distribution.

The Associate Journalist will ideally

Have a degree or diploma in Journalism, Communications, or Media Studies OR equivalent experience working in a college, university, professional, non-profit, or other setting.
Have experience and skills in shooting, editing, and producing video.
Have strong collaborative and people skills, and be capable of supervising the work of local volunteers.
Be able to train volunteers in video production and online distribution.
Have strong written skills.

Applicants for both positions will ideally

Be motivated self-starters, capable of generating story ideas appropriate to the coverage area (Gabriola and neighbouring islands, and the Salish Sea region generally), and reporting and carrying them through to completion in video form.
Be able to travel in the coverage area, and also be comfortable with remote work, using Zoom, Slack, and other online tools.
Be able to use social media to distribute and promote programming.
Be knowledgeable about public issues and concerns in the coverage area.
Have a passion for serving the community through journalism.

Duties

The Lead Journalist will be responsible for producing, posting, and promoting at least one hour and an average of two hours of video programming per week, whether self-produced or produced by supervising the work of volunteers. They will report to an appointee of the board of the Life on Gabriola Media Society, who will work with the journalist to ensure the objectives of the project are met.
The Associate Journalist will be responsible for producing, posting, and promoting at least one hour and an average of two hours of video programming per week, whether self-produced or produced by supervising the work of volunteers. They will also prepare a monthly summary of stories and events covered, to be published both online and in print. They will report to the Lead Journalist.

Term of contract and remuneration

Both journalists will be hired as contractors for a term of July 17, 2023 through March 31, 2024, with the possibility of renewal. The contract includes three weeks paid vacation.
Payment for Lead Journalist position: $25-$28/hr., commensurate with qualifications and experience, for 35 hours/week.
Payment for Associate Journalist: $20-25/hr., commensurate with qualifications and experience, for 35 hours/week.
Travel to Gabriola Island will be required, but work may also be done remotely.

To apply

Please send a cover letter identifying which position you are applying for and telling us why you’d like to work on the project, to gabriolamediasociety@gmail.com, Subject line: Journalism application

Include a resumé, and at least three examples of your work, including links to video work.

We encourage applications from under-represented communities, including IBPOC, LGBTQ2S+, and neurodivergent journalists, and journalists with disabilities. If anything in this hiring process presents barriers to your application, please contact us so that we may provide accommodation.

Deadline for applications: July 10, 2023.

More about the Life on Gabriola Media Society

The Society will provide Gabriola Island and the surrounding communities of Valdes, Mudge, Link, DeCourcy, Ruxton, and Pylades, and the Salish Sea region generally, with a community news platform capable of performing the following:

a. providing local and Canadian artists with a broadcast platform on an alternative, commercial-free community news and entertainment service;
b. offering the general public an intelligent, innovative, entertaining alternative to the programming fare currently offered;
c. communicating, with the highest standards of journalism, the concerns, interests and activities of Gabriola and the Salish Sea region generally to the public;
d. giving groups from the community (other than partisan political or religious groups) an opportunity to communicate with their members and with the general public;
e. giving individuals an opportunity to develop and use their creative talents on all our platforms.