Features Reporter, Power & Culture

Few cities have as much private wealth, or as much of it shaping public life, as San Francisco. Tech fortunes fund our museums, symphonies, and parks. Philanthropists rename hospitals and buy up entire arts colleges. Billionaires and their political committees decide who runs City Hall. This reporter will show readers who holds that power, how they use it, and what it means for everyone else. Also, what they do in their spare time with their limitless cash.

The beat ranges widely, digging deeply into finances, investing, and political giving, while making forays into art, culture, philanthropy, and the personal lives of the wealthy and powerful. Your reporting will take you into the boardrooms of the city’s major cultural institutions, the war rooms propping up ballot measures and campaigns, and the green rooms of conferences and galas.

The job calls for both the elegant profile and the hard-nosed investigation, long-term projects that will win awards and daily quickturns that will win the news cycle. This position has produced some of The Standard’s most ambitious work, including deeply reported investigations into the city’s leading cultural institutions and figures. We’re looking for someone who can build on that record.

Responsibilities

- Report and write features, profiles, scoops, and accountability investigations on the Bay Area’s foremost cultural institutions, biggest companies, and most powerful and wealthy residents
- Build deep sources among donors, board members, social players, nonprofit leaders, artists and gallerists, political operatives, and the moguls they work for
- Follow the money through campaign finance filings, nonprofit tax returns (990s), property records, and public records requests
- Pitch and produce a steady mix of quick-turn stories and long-form investigative reporting
- Work with editors and our photo, video, and design teams to publish ambitious, visually rich stories
- Occasionally represent The Standard at events, panels, and the social functions the beat requires

What You Bring

- At least three years of professional reporting experience, with clips that show both strong feature writing and accountability reporting
- A record of breaking news and building sources in hard-to-access worlds
- An authoritative handle on SF’s cultural institutions, philanthropic networks, and political landscape
- Comfort with financial documents, including campaign finance disclosures, IRS 990s and corporate filings
- A distinctive voice and the judgment to write about the powerful with skepticism, fairness, and wit. Profile-writing experience is a plus.
- Skill at handling sensitive sourcing and legally complex stories
- Strong AP style and clean, accurate copy
- Experience covering arts, culture, philanthropy, or money in politics is a plus, as are data skills and Spanish or Cantonese

Where/When You’ll Work

We are an in-person newsroom based in San Francisco and do not offer remote work. The job sometimes requires early mornings, evenings or weekends, including events that come with the beat.

Benefits & Perks

- Target salary range of $80,000 to $110,000; actual pay depends on experience and other candidate-specific factors
- Competitive and equitable total compensation packages
- Stock options
- Comprehensive medical, dental and vision insurance
- Flexible paid time off
- Professional development opportunities

Apply

Please submit a résumé, a short memo explaining why you (and not Claude) are perfect for this job, and three to five clips that show your best work. We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every qualification.

The San Francisco Standard is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive newsroom.