Help Real Change Make the Newspaper! Editorial Committee Facilitator

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About: Homeless and low-income people in and around Seattle are bearing witness to the real consequences of policy decisions, not enough jobs that pay a living wage, rising costs of living, and a shortage of affordable healthcare options. They are oftentimes hearing about things that are concerning to them, but lack the connections and resources to find out more and/or learn about how those issues will affect them. The Editorial Committee is a group that solicits these concerns, ideas, and opinions for our Editorial Department to consider as they produce the Real Change newspaper. The group meets for 90 minutes every Tuesday, from 12:00pm - 1:30pm, to brainstorm story ideas for the Real Change newspaper, review the Real Change issue from the week prior, and occasionally votes on unsolicited submissions.

The Editorial Committee Facilitator assists Real Change Newspaper's Editorial Committee by facilitating conversation and soliciting editorial content from committee participants.

The Facilitator is responsible for conducting introductions and orienting new participants, reviewing the Committee Guidelines and what makes a good news story for our reporters to follow-up on, helping guide discussion from ideas to story pitches, and reviewing the Editorial Department’s notes and responses from the week prior.

The Facilitator is also responsible for taking notes during the meeting, and e-mailing them to editorial staff members by 12:00pm the next day (Wednesday).

Individuals who are ideal in this role have a background in journalism and have experience working directly with people who are homeless or experiencing crisis, or have experienced homelessness themselves.

While knowledge of the journalism process is helpful in this role, it is not required as long as you are able and open to learning about this process and work closely with our Editorial Department to understand what the lines are between opinion, theory, and news. It also helps to read a lot of past Real Change newspaper issues to see what kinds of stories we cover and how we cover them, so that you are not replicating ideas we have already reported on extensively.

Time Commitment:

• Approximately 2 hours per week. Meetings are held weekly on Tuesdays from 12:00pm-1:30pm. Committee notes must be typed and e-mailed by noon the following day.
• Minimum one-year commitment

Responsibilities:

• Shepherds the committee through brainstorming sessions, taking care that everyone is heard and that ideas flow freely and in an organized fashion
• Assists in the shaping of thoughts and ideas into viable story pitches/possibilities for assignment to reporters, including educating participants on what makes a good news story
• Creates a weekly agenda
• Conducts introductions, provides an orientation to new participants, and reviews the Committee Guidelines
• Takes notes during the meeting and e-mails them to editorial staff
• Reviews the Editorial Department’s notes and responses from the week prior with the group

Skills Required:

• A good understanding of creative group dynamics
• Familiarity with journalism and the story creation process
• Experience bringing focus to other people's ideas
• Experience running meetings with attendees who may not be experienced in attending or participating in meetings
• Strong listening and effective communication skills
• A sense of humor, and a sense of knowing when not to laugh
• Ability to create and maintain a safe environment
• An understanding of issues faced by those who are homeless
• Detail oriented, committed to quality
• Commitment to social, racial and economic justice
• Comfort with typing notes during meetings, and use of e-mail

We are seeking someone who is able to come in weekly if possible, but if there are two candidates who are available and qualified, we may rotate them every other week. At this time there is no plan to change the time from its current slot of Tuesdays from 12:00-1:30pm, since that's a time that works best for getting vendors into the office for a meeting.