It’s been awhile since Rare, the publication owned by Cox Media Group, has done anything memorable. So all the more fitting that they’ve posted an eye-popping ad for a political reporter who is willing to sleep around and die for her job.
The highlights: She should be “less Paula Zahn, more Zoe Barnes.” She should also have no political leanings, which is about right since Rare can hardly be considered a conservative publication despite inventing itself on the absurd notion that it’s “rare” red meat.
In other words, they want to hire someone in the spirit of Netflix’ “House of Cards” in which the main female reporter dies after she’s pushed in front of a Metro train by a congressman with whom she was having an affair.
The congressman is Francis Underwood. The show intimates in at least a few different episodes that Underwood swings both ways.
It wasn’t clear what the crack on Zahn was all about. She’s 59 and quite experienced. She has played the cello at Carnegie Hall and was an anchor at Fox News, ABC, CBS and CNN. She now hosts a crime series on the Investigation Discovery channel.
Does Rare really want to hire a female reporter who will sleep with her sources for hot tips?
Description:
It’s an exciting time at Rare/Fans 1st Media. We’re expanding and looking for great talent. We have an immediate opening for an experienced political reporter to cover election season and beyond. You should be less Paula Zahn, more Zoe Barnes. The right candidate is an intrepid reporter who knows the way around Capitol Hill but may know a thing or two about the underbelly of our political process. This journalist has no left-right agenda and is beholden only to good juicy stories that will be of interest to our readers inside AND outside the Beltway. This person must be self-motivated, self-directed and thrive on digging up extra information and being first to break a story. Strong writing and social media savvy are a must.
Qualifications:
• An independent spirit that thrives in a startup environment, can make decisions quickly and can handle several tasks at once.
• Extremely organized. Must be able to multi-task, with a proven history of working quickly, efficiently and accurately under deadline pressures.
• Proven ability to work with cross-functional teams to determine target audience needs, evaluate successes of content products and identify areas for improvement.
• Excellent presentation, content management, problem-solving and training/coaching skills.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred
• 3-5 years’ media experience preferred. 2-3 years’ experience as a political reporter preferred.
• Ability to work off hours when needed.
• Strong writing skills and knowledge of AP style
• Experience with WordPress
• Outstanding communication skills and the ability to work with editors remotely
• Thrive in a fast-paced and intensely competitive media market
• The ability to adapt to a fast-changing news environment and provide support at critical times
• Familiarity with online video publishing workflows and infrastructure including media asset management and video editing programs.
Journalists found Rare‘s job posting to be offensive.
“Know what’s annoying about being a woman in journalism?” asks HuffPost‘s Elise Foley on Twitter. “The dudes who try to flirt with you by asking if your life is like Zoe Barnes’.”
Ginger Gibson, senior political reporter at the International Business Times, remarked, “Job post seeks “less Paula Zahn, more Zoe Barnes” b/c reporters should strive to be more like an offensive depiction.”
MSNBC’s Benjy Sarlin paraphrased the job description, writing, “What we’re really looking for is a supremely unethical reporter.”
Since Rare is in located in the same building as The Daily Caller, The Mirror looks forward to running into their Zoe Barnes character in the elevator.
She isn’t killed off until the second seasons so she’s got time.