The Eastern Shore Cooperator continues to look for a part-time reporter through an extension of the Canada Summer Jobs program. The position will start in late October and run for 12 weeks at 15 hours per week, at the current Nova Scotia minimum wage of $12.95/hour. Applicants must be between the ages of 15 and 30. You do not have to be a current student, or intending to go back to school, to apply for this position.
The Cooperator is a non-profit cooperative that publishes a monthly print newspaper distributed by Canada Post to 14,000 households, plus a supporting webpage and Facebook page. The paper is now in its 8th year of publication, covering the area from the Prestons and Lawrencetown in the west to Ecum Secum in the east, as well as up the Musquodoboit Valley to Upper Musquodoboit.
The paper covers a broad range of issues and events of interest to the rural communities it serves, including the impact of governmental policies and regulations, business openings and closings, local sports, health care and emergency room closing, and affordable housing. There is regular coverage of local artists and craftspeople.
The Cooperator’s editor Richard Bell is an award-winning writer who has editing the paper since its beginning. He has mentored a succession of Canada Summer Jobs interns since 2017. The reporter will work with the editor to develop story ideas, conduct interviews, attend public meetings, monitor local Facebook groups, build up the events calendar, assist with proofreading, research background material, and write stories for both the printed edition of the paper and for use on the website and on the Facebook page. The reporter will also do both still and video photography in connection with story assignments.
If you are interested in applying, please send a resume or C.V., plus three non-fiction writing samples, to [email protected]. We are especially interested in applicants from the eastern, western, and northern areas of our coverage. Access to a car for assignments is desirable. We have worked with CSJ interns under strict Covid-19 regulations, conducting almost all work by phone or online. We will adjust the nature of the work in light of changing Covid-19 regulations this fall.