About CHLY 101.7FM

📷 You’ll work alongside current Midcoast Morning host-producer Joe Pugh, as well as Lauryn Mackenzie our Local Journalism Initiative Reporter and Jesse Woodward, Executive Director at CHLY 101.7FM.

CHLY 101.7 FM is a campus-community radio station of Nanaimo and Vancouver Island University (VIU) students. Beginning as a student club in 1994, and gaining not-for-profit status in 1997 as the Radio Malaspina Society, CHLY-FM was approved for a broadcast license by the CRTC in 2001. Our station is located in the Traditional Territory of the Snu’ney’muxw First Nation, broadcasting from Nanaimo, a small city of approximately 105,000 people located on Vancouver Island.

CHLY has a small staff and over 60+ volunteers made up of Community Members from our broadcast community, and Student members from VIU’s Nanaimo Campus. CHLY has a mandate to report on local stories, support niche programming, local and Canadian artists and underrepresented voices. Each week, locally produced and syndicated programs are broadcast on CHLY 101.7 FM in three different languages. CHLY can also be streamed online, with some programs available via podcast.

What is Midcoast Morning?

Midcoast Morning is our station’s news and current affairs program, reporting on civic institutions, community news, and arts and culture. Currently, the program runs twice a week, but we are looking to expand its coverage to four episodes per week. This program is part of our Nonprofit Newsroom Project.

What is the Nonprofit Newsroom Project?

Simply put, our Nonprofit Newsroom project is our effort as a non-profit organization to build a newsroom motivated by public service journalism rather than profit, filling critical gaps in local news coverage in a region that has been underserved by for-profit media since 2014. Funds raised via memberships, donations, grants, sponsorship and advertising are invested back into the newsroom, by hiring journalists. The project emphasizes in-depth reporting on issues such as local government, the local impact of provincial government, the environment, housing, social justice, education, arts and culture, and general community news.

Job Description

CHLY is seeking a motivated and dynamic reporter with a solid foundation in journalism to cover local news in Nanaimo, as well as Ladysmith, Gabriola, and the Comox Valley (Courtenay, Comox, and Cumberland).

In this position, you will produce two 28-minute long episodes of Midcoast Morning a week for distribution via our broadcast and podcast.

This project is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.

Qualifications & Requirements

The applicant ideally:

Is a resident of the Nanaimo or Vancouver Island area.
Holds a degree or diploma in Journalism, Communications or Arts from an accredited academic or technical institution OR have equivalent experience in broadcast, print/digital journalism or writing (minimum 5 years of journalistic/radio experience);
Has excellent radio, interview and communication skills;
Has excellent writing skills and research. You love storytelling–from the initial pitch to the publication;
Has strong people skills: You are a great listener, speaker and interviewer;
Is deadline-driven and has an eye for detail;
Has knowledge of community and regional concerns or news and a passion for local journalism;
Has strong skills in both a team setting and with independent work;
Has audio production skills and an understanding of the radio community environment;
Has critical thinking and the ability to analyze issues and to remain impartial;
Has social media savvy, for both posting and research purposes.
Has an interest in new models of journalism like non-profit newsrooms.

Other Qualifications & Requirements

An understanding of diversity, different perspectives and sensitive/complex issues;
A desire to drive news and interest in reporting on a range of topics like city hall, courthouse reporting, band council, and issues like affordable housing, employment, environmental concerns, mental health, poverty, Indigenous rights, LGBTQ+ rights, etc;
Pending funding changes, attend editorial meetings with station and LJI coordinators as needed.

We’re looking for dynamic, determined journalists who care about local, community and civic journalism.

Tasks & Responsibilities

The applicant will work with a small team in a non-profit broadcasting environment to:

Through a lens of civic journalism, report on local issues in Nanaimo, and within our Salish Sea broadcast region;
Create audio content for the station’s airwaves;
Multiple social media posts a week;
Transcribe episodes via Decript or Otter for publishing online with the podcast edition;
Provide additional journalism support as needed at the station (ie: news research, news writing, social media support, and support for your fellow journalists);
Attend weekly editorial meetings (30 to 60 minutes per week).

Other Details & Mentoring

Will report to the Executive Director (ED) of CHLY and receive mentoring and direction from them and other staff;
Pending funding changes, may report to, receive direction and training from, and receive editorial input from the National Editors associated with the LJI project nationally;
Staff and station volunteers will provide on-site, hands-on training on station equipment.

Applying

If the above sounds like work you would love, please apply with a cover letter describing why you want to work at the station, a current resume and a few examples of your work (published stories, reels/tape, etc). CHLY 101.7FM encourages applications from a diverse range of candidates, including (but not limited to) women, BIPOC individuals, those who identify as LGBTQ+, and people living with disabilities.

Send resume (with a cover letter + and examples of your work, both print and audio) by November 15th, 2024 to: personnel@chly.ca Subject line: CHLY Hiring Committee - Midcoast Morning / Nonprofit Newsroom Project.

Term: Approximately 10 months, depending on start date, ending August 31st, 2025.

Salary: $25/hour

Work Hours: 24 hours per week. Hours are flexible to facilitate field reporting. Limited remote work is possible with approval from the Executive Director.

Anticipated start date: ASAP.

Anticipated end date: August 31st, 2025.

Note: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.