Position Description
The War Horse is seeking long-term freelance beat reporters to expand our award-winning coverage of the human impact of military service. We are not seeking opinion pieces or breaking news.
Rather, we want reporters who can cultivate contacts and explore how military service and policies affect the lives of service members, veterans, and military families. The articles would delve into complex subjects and overlooked events, offering readers a deeper and more nuanced understanding of military issues. A key ingredient to any War Horse story: we focus on the human element often missing from military and veterans policy discussions.
While we are open to all pitches, here are our priority topics:
MILITARY FAMILIES: Explore the unique challenges military families face, including constant deployments and spousal employment. We are especially interested in working with military spouses who live on base and can offer vivid and nuanced on-the-ground reporting of the military community.
HEALTHCARE: An expansive topic that includes access to services, mental health care, veteran suicide rates, and disabled veterans. We are also interested in the Department of Veterans Affairs, including how it is navigating budget cuts and the ongoing debate between VA and community care options.
WASTE, FRAUD & ABUSE: Service members, families, and veterans are best served when the government is held accountable to its promises. The War Horse has received multiple awards for its investigations and backs up tenacious watchdog reporting with our editors, fact-checkers, and lawyers. We can collaborate with you on promising leads.
Send your resume, three clips, and story pitches to careers@thewarhorse.org. In the subject line, write “Freelance Beat Reporters.” Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
About The War Horse
Founded in 2016 out of concern over legacy media companies’ declining investment in high-quality reporting about military and veteran affairs, The War Horse has become a national leader in the military and reporting communities. Our work has created international headlines and spurred changes to multiple military and federal laws, and has been featured in Vanity Fair, Mother Jones, PBS NewsHour, the Center for Investigative Reporting, and local and national newsrooms across the country. We’ve been awarded the prestigious Edward R. Murrow and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Journalism Awards. Our donors and supporters include Fortune 100 companies, Ivy League universities, leading foundations, philanthropists, and everyday people from around the world. Similarly, The War Horse has fostered conversations in myriad settings, ranging from local communities and high school classrooms to Columbia University and “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart.
Explore more about our impact and read our white paper with the University of Chicago, exploring how a declining military reporting ecosystem jeopardizes U.S. national security.
