About us

First Draft is a global non-profit with a mission to empower societies with accurate information in critical moments. Through partnerships with news, research, technology and civil society organisations, we work to ensure the integrity of the world’s information ecosystem. We host a global verification and collaborative investigation network through our CrossCheck initiative, work with our expanding community to conduct innovative and experimental research projects, and develop online and offline training designed to expand and embed best practices in newsrooms and journalism schools around the world.

First Draft operates as an independent entity with headquarters in London and a New York bureau housed at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. The Sydney bureau is based at the Centre for Media Transition, University of Technology Sydney.

About the role

First Draft has recently expanded its collaborative projects in APAC and requires a casual Research Reporter for its Sydney Bureau based at the Centre for Media Transition, UTS. We are seeking people who are passionate about tackling the challenges associated with misinformed information.

Your job will be to monitor social media lists for trends or flag important issues and respond with related research/context. From there you will write summaries and reports for First Draft projects and output, respond to the needs of our CrossCheck partners, and assist in writing related academic research. You will support news professionals on the expanding CrossCheck projects in Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific. This may also require assistance in delivering training resources, and help to coordinate First Draft events (note all coronavirus protocols are being observed with events currently held online only and work from home arrangements are in place until further notice from authorities).

The ideal candidate will have immaculate attention to detail and a working understanding of journalism in a professional newsroom. You must be a team player, have confident digital skills, advanced knowledge of monitoring and verification tools and cultural sensitivity. This role is offered as a three-month casual contract. As the bureau is based at the CMT you may also be required to assist students with projects and training from time to time.

In this role, you will be responsible for:

• Daily monitoring and verification of harmful, disruptive or divisive content and claims emerging online with a particular focus initially on Australia and New Zealand.
• Continuous building of boolean search queries and dashboards to improve monitoring and detection of concerning content.
• Respond to issues discovered via monitoring by conducting further online and offline investigations and alert the Bureau Editor or Director of APAC with a written brief for further action.
• Keeping up to date with new apps and relevant technology, as well as update and add to these and other lists as necessary.
• Assisting with collaborative verification and investigations working at all times to the highest professional and ethical standards, noting First Draft’s Responsible Reporting guides
• Assisting with the preparation and publication of daily bulletins and newsletters to share with the CrossCheck International network of journalists, technologists and analysts.
• Writing or contributing to extended summaries for CrossCheck partners, articles for the First Draft website, and assisting in co-writing academic articles.
• Assisting with the development of case studies and localised training materials to help promote best practices amongst journalists in newsrooms across the world.
• Representing First Draft at conferences and training events (currently via online delivery due to Covid-19) to promote and explain our work, standards and recommended practices.
• Working with First Draft’s Training, Editorial and Creative teams to help amplify and explain prominent reports and findings.

Other skills:

• Must be a team member, respond quickly to work messages, and work well both supervised and unsupervised.
• Coordinate and assist with public events (during coronavirus restrictions this is currently limited to face-to-face training, webinars and live-streamed workshops).
• A second language from the APAC region is highly desired.

How to apply

To apply, please email your resume and cover letter explaining your interest in the role with three examples of relevant work to Director APAC: anne@firstdraftnews.com

Closing date: July 24 2020 at 11:59pm (AEST).

About First Draft

Our mission

Today, we need access to accurate, reliable information more than ever before. But it’s never been harder to know what and who to trust, and never easier to be misled.

Misinformation is damaging our communities, all around the world. At First Draft, we work to empower people with the knowledge, understanding, and tools needed to build resilience against harmful, false, and misleading information, in the moments that matter.

Everything we do starts with collaboration. We bring together a global network of journalists to investigate and verify emerging stories. We work with our partners to conduct innovative research projects and develop pioneering training programs. And we share cutting-edge digital tools to help both content creators and the public make better-informed judgments about the information they encounter online.

Our values

Our core values underline the work we do. Our work is pioneering, and conducted with rigor, empowerment, empathy and integrity.

Recruitment policy

First Draft is working hard to build a diverse and inclusive team in each of our locations. We do not discriminate based on race, gender, age, disability, religion, identity or lifestyle. We actively encourage applications from individuals who may traditionally face barriers to entering the fields of journalism, research, product design and training, such as access to education or work experience.

Successful applicants will be offered a position based on their demonstrable knowledge, skills and interest in our work and overall mission. All First Draft employees will be expected to take an active role in maintaining a positive and supportive work environment, as part of a proud, unified, considerate and respectful team. Examples of this are a willingness to support and encourage the professional development of colleagues alongside your own, and an openness to listen to and accept suggestions and criticism in an often challenging and high-pressure environment.

First Draft prioritises the welfare of its staff and actively promotes the awareness and prevention of vicarious trauma and other mental and physical illness associated with researching distressing content, and the long term impact of sedentary or solitary working.