Staff Writer

**Education’s pendulum shift**

Education is one of the most important and complex sectors that _The Ken_ has been covering. Encompassing schools and colleges, students, learning, coaching, pedagogy, regulation, edtechs, curriculums, skills and careers, it is incredibly interconnected and hard to narrow down.

Understanding and writing on education requires someone with a genuine appreciation for the impact of education and learning, plus a keen interest in how technology, policy, venture capital, business models and innovation can make a difference at scale.

We are looking for driven, deliberate and enterprising reporters who will utilise and form deep connections in leading companies, venture capital firms, and wider ecosystems to source and tell powerful stories about the various shifts around the business, regulation and effectiveness of education in a post-pandemic India.

Given the complexity of education ecosystems, a key skill will be the ability to observe and map out connections in order to synthesize the larger picture. For instance, when India announced it’s Common University Entrance Test, we wrote about its dual nature. While it opens new opportunities for Byju’s, Unacademy and their offline peers, students are paying a high price.

A key trait valued in _The Ken’_s newsroom is curiosity. Those tracking the edtech giant Byju’s knew its financial statements for 2021 was pending. So we investigated the reason for the delay and discovered the audit reckoning Byju’s now faces.

Lastly, we are looking for reporters with the talent or desire for digging up the right hook and narrative to tell stories that are simple, compelling, and resonate even with lay readers. That’s why we wrote about Physics Wallah. It is a disruptive force in India’s test-prep market, thanks to its record-low prices and quality teaching. Our story looked at the reason behind its cult status and how it needs to outgrow that.

While this role primarily focuses on writing core stories for _The Ken_, there will be an opportunity and expectation to develop more types of story-telling formats like newsletters.

**But, why stories?**

Because it’s not enough to merely report news events. Or to just collate events and facts into an article, and hope for readers to do the work of understanding their relevance.

At _The Ken_ we believe in writing original and deeply reported business stories with a strong narrative element. Whether a long form feature or a sharp newsletter or a data-driven analysis, we pay a lot of attention to getting our storytelling right. That means giving our writers enough time to report, write and edit their stories - on average around 10-12 days for just one story.

They are also given enough creative space to tell their stories using words and visuals. A dedicated Desk Edit team works behind the scenes to provide valuable feedback all across the idea or pitch right till the published final draft. And being a subscriber-driven organization, the feedback doesn’t stop after publishing. Our global community of subscribers is a rich daily source of feedback and learning around every story.

**And why you**

Not many organizations these days ask what journalists want. Instead, roles are often structured around what they’re expected to deliver. We like to think of it in reverse. Great journalism comes from newsrooms that place journalists and their interests, ambitions and preferences at the centre of their storytelling.

We started _The Ken_ in 2016 with the desire to create a place where talented, ethical and ambitious journalists could build and sustain a newsroom to tell important stories without being pressured to file “exclusives”, churn out copycat pieces or meet impossible story “targets”.

Today, a Staff Writer writes about 2-3 stories a month. Some also write their own weekly newsletters, to build a stronger and more personal connect with their subscribers.

Our journalists are supported to formulate their own point of view. The stories they do aren’t thrust upon them, but come from their own innate desire to tell them. This means we’re looking for reporters who want to learn and improve; tell their own original stories; and develop and hone their own points of view.

Writing on Edtech for _The Ken_ means adding to its body of work. Over the years we have acquired the reputation of being the destination for reading the most important education stories. The stories catch the attention of a wide range of stakeholders from concerned users to decision makers and policy makers who are empowered to act based on the insights from the stories.

In addition, you are
- Self-driven and ambitious, able to source original stories and insights from your network
- Ability to synthesise multiple reporting perspectives into a compelling, explanatory narrative
- Able to see ahead of news cycles, and see what is likely to happen over a 6-12 month horizon
- Able to stick your neck out with in