Earned Media & Storytelling Associate

Citizens for John Kelly · Chicago, Illinois

FULL TIME

Job Description

A major Chicago mayoral campaign is hiring an Earned Media & Storytelling Associate to help drive

our daily communications operation.

We are looking for someone who is hungry, fast, technically capable, visually creative, and

comfortable working like a reporter and producer.

This is a full-time, in-person position in Chicago.

You will help identify stories, research issues, develop facts, create compelling visual and written

material, monitor the news, and conduct the outreach necessary to get stories in front of reporters,

producers, editors, neighborhood outlets, podcasts, radio, television, and digital media.

This position reports directly to the campaign’s Communications Director, a veteran broadcaster with

more than 25 years of on-camera experience, including serving as lead anchor at a major CBS

affiliate.

What You’ll Do

Identify daily and weekly earned-media opportunities
Research Chicago issues using public records, government databases, news archives, reports,

social media, and other sources

Turn research into strong story concepts, visual ideas, and media opportunities
Develop concise research memos, timelines, fact sheets, graphics, charts, maps, and other

supporting materials

Help create visual storytelling concepts for video, social media, press events, and reporter

outreach

Pitch reporters, producers, editors, radio hosts, podcast producers, and neighborhood outlets
Build and maintain media lists and professional relationships with journalists
Follow up persistently and professionally on story pitches
Monitor breaking news, City Hall, public agencies, neighborhoods, and other developments
Help prepare press releases, advisories, briefing materials, social content, and story pitches
Find smaller and medium-sized stories that can generate consistent coverage between major

campaign moments

Track coverage, outreach, contacts, and results
Use technology and AI tools intelligently to accelerate research, monitoring, visualization,

organization, and content development Who We’re Looking For

You may come from journalism, film, video, communications, digital media, research, design, data, or

another field.

What matters is how you think and how you work.

You should be

A strong and curious researcher
A clear and concise writer
A visual thinker who understands that the best way to tell a story is not always through words
Technically proficient and quick to learn new tools
Comfortable with video, graphics, social platforms, data, or digital storytelling
Highly organized and detail-oriented
Persistent and comfortable reaching out directly to reporters and producers
Able to recognize what makes a story interesting and relevant
Comfortable handling large amounts of information under deadline
Resourceful and able to solve problems independently
Willing to work hard and take ownership of assignments

Experience with journalism, student media, video production, photography, graphic design, public

records, research databases, social media research, data visualization, AI tools, digital publishing, or

content production can all be relevant.

The Kind of Person Who Will Succeed Here

You see something happening and immediately want to understand the story behind it.

You want to know what happened, what the evidence shows, who is affected, what the visual is, and

what will make someone pay attention.

Sometimes the answer will be a television story. Sometimes it will be a newspaper article, radio

segment, podcast, short video, chart, photograph, neighborhood event, or visual that makes a

complicated issue easy to understand.

You are also willing to pick up the phone.

This job is about finding stories, developing them, packaging them, and doing the outreach necessary

to get them seen.

Why This Role Is Different

You will work directly inside a fast-moving communications operation and closely with an experienced

television journalist and communications professional.You will learn how stories are discovered, researched, framed, visually developed, pitched, produced,

and ultimately covered.

You will also be given real responsibility early.

For someone at the beginning of their career who wants to become exceptional at research,

storytelling, media, and communications, this is an opportunity to learn quickly while doing

substantive work every day.

Compensation

$4,500–$5,500 per month, depending on experience.

This position is full-time and requires working in person in Chicago.

How to Apply

Submit your résumé and links or examples of work you are proud of.

That work can include video, photography, writing, design, research, social content, data

visualization, student media, documentary work, or another project that demonstrates how you think

and tell stories.

Company	Citizens for John Kelly
Location	Chicago, Illinois
Type	FULL TIME
Niche	Full-time

Explore 1M+ Live Opportunities.

Earned Media & Storytelling Associate

Job Description

You should be

Why This Role Is Different

$4,500–$5,500 per month, depending on experience.