Want to write about rural food (and drink!) labor issues across the region?

We're looking for the right Central or Eastern Kentuckian for the job.

Coyote Den, Prestonsburg, KY

On Friday, we shared our first audio story featuring Jeff Royalty, a Four Roses distiller who helped lead a (successful!) 2018 strike in order to protect healthcare benefits for future generations of local employees. Now, we’re hiring someone to cover labor issues just like this—in food, beverage, dining, distilleries, candy factories, you name it—across Central and Eastern Kentucky.

Help Wanted: The Goldenrod’s Food and Drink Labor Writer
This position is for one longform (~1,200 to 2,000 word) story a month beginning in October 2021, with a base pay of $600 per piece depending on scope, level of reporting, travel expenses, etc. The candidate must be based in Central or Eastern Kentucky and would ideally have a working knowledge of the food and drink industry in the region. Professional reporting experience in a newsroom isn’t necessary.

One of the major goals for this role is to fill a gap in coverage. Small towns and rural areas have just as many workplace issues as big cities when it comes to the service industry, but often don’t have the journalistic bandwidth to cover them. So, sure, “celebrity” chef Mario Batali paying a $600K settlement to accusers might make national headlines, but the same action happening on a smaller scale inside a local Taco Bell franchise would get glanced over, through it deserves just as much attention. (This is hypothetical! All Taco Bells in the region are aboveboard, as far as I know.)

There’s a lot of room to make this beat your own, but the focus is on workers—not just getting comment from management, local government or others in positions of power and moving on. Once again: we want to center the voices of workers. For example, food and drink employees are part of a sector more likely to die of COVID-19 even than many other essential workers. What does that mean for local fast food employees and their families in places like current national coronavirus hot spot Knox County? Let’s find out!

Please email thegoldenrodnews@gmail.com with a little bit about yourself, where you’re based (reminder: Central and Eastern Kentucky only!) and why this role is important to you. No need for resumes or a formal cover letter, we’ll follow up to start a conversation. Applications are accepted through October 4—two weeks from today.
Let’s work together to build a regional model for rural food and drink labor reporting. Because—at its core—food is about politics and power, and deserves to be treated as a serious issue in every community.

Oh! And if you have someone in mind who would be perfect for this job, feel free to share: