Our journalism at the San Antonio Heron is powered primarily by freelance reporters and photographers. Here are some of the part-time positions we’re currently seeking.
Positions we are seeking
» Reporter (part-time): We need a detail-oriented self-starter who can cover a variety of stories: from neighborhood issues to new restaurant openings to government meetings. The candidate must be available to work around 10 hours during the week with the possibility of weekend assignments.
This job is less about getting scoops and more about having a drive to fully understand how the downtown area is changing, and why. To get to that level of understanding, it will take a lot hard work on the part of this reporter—asking tough questions of prominent elected officials, talking to people in the neighborhoods, and reading many boring reports and studies. Pay depends on the candidate’s experience level.
» Freelance photographer: We’re also looking for photographers who can shoot a variety of assignments from weekend festivals to council meetings. Pay depends on the candidate’s experience level. A journalism school background with some photo and video skills are strongly recommended.
All interested candidates should send their resume and clips to hello@saheron.com.
Testimonials
Some excellent journalists have come through the Heron. Hear from a few of them:
‘Took those skills with me’
“I started freelancing for the Heron during the Covid pandemic. I had just moved to San Antonio after graduating from journalism school in the United Kingdom and was looking for somewhere to plant my feet in the industry. A reporter at the San Antonio Express-News recommended that I reach out to the Heron, and soonafter I hit the ground running. I started reporting on issues that directly impacted San Antonio residents, covering everything from the Black Lives Matter movement to neighborhood gentrification. It was my first real journalism job. I didn’t have any prior professional experience. But working at the Heron gave me a chance to hone my reporting and writing skills. I took those skills with me when I went on to write for national publications, including the Guardian and BuzzFeed News. Freelancing for the Heron is definitely worth the time. I wouldn’t be the journalist I am now without the experience I gained there.”
— Michelle Del Rey, reporter Albany Times-Union, Hearst fellow
‘Gives a platform’
“In 2018, I wasn’t sure whether I’d ever be a journalist again.
I was in my final semester at UTSA, living in Washington, D.C., as part of the UT Archer Fellowship, interning at the Library of Congress’ John W. Kluge Center. I enjoyed working in the Library, but I was there, truthfully, because I was rejected by every news outlet I applied to. I was demoralized, to put it lightly.
The semester before, I was a news editor for The Paisano, the independent student newspaper for the UTSA community. I had a great writing staff, reported on anything I was curious about, and had a great support system. That was gone now: I was back in my hometown, Port Isabel, not sure what to do next.
I took a chance and applied to a help wanted ad at the San Antonio Heron, a news site I had been following my whole senior year at UTSA. By the next week, I was back in San Antonio to do my test run, reporting on the downtown I had seen changing throughout my time at UTSA.
For six months at the Heron, I did the old school, dogged journalism I thought had died long before my time in a newsroom. I knocked on doors, asked tough questions of officials and real estate developers and, most importantly, embedded myself into some of San Antonio’s inner city neighborhoods. To date, the best projects I’ve worked on, all of which centered on San Antonio’s gentrification, were done at the Heron.
As a then (and still) young reporter, the Heron’s insistence to speak with (and more importantly listen to) San Antonio’s urban residents was integral to my development as a journalist. This sounds like a given across media outlets, but I assure you it’s not. Most of the residents I spoke to had never met a journalist beforehand, nor had even seen them in their neighborhoods. The Heron gives a platform to those who need their voices amplified the most.
I carry my experiences at the Heron with me today still, now as a border and immigration reporter for Texas Public Radio. After you interview a mayor one-on-one in a crowded restaurant seconds after they win an election; sit with a Government Hill resident on their porch for hours talking about how their neighborhood has changed; and confront real estate developers at city meetings on their apartment projects, you can report on anything.
— Gaige Davila, border and immigration reporter, Texas Public Radio
What we’re about
We are the journalism nerds.
The Heron very much attempts to gather all the facts and viewpoints, and present them in an objective way so that we’re not swaying the reader in either direction; they decide on their own how they feel about the topic. We’re just the conduit between the newsmakers and the reader.
The San Antonio Heron is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace and encourages people of all backgrounds to apply.
Learn more about the Heron’s mission here.
Contact the Heron at hello@saheron.com | @sanantonioheron on Twitter | Facebook