From chasing down senators on Capitol Hill to poring over city council meeting transcripts, the jobs of political journalists are varied and change from publication to publication.
At the National Press Club Journalism Institute’s third Career Office Hour of 2026, Coy Draytona of Axios and Dave Clarke of Punchbowl News shared insights into their organizations’ structures and what they look for when recruiting for political journalism roles.
Draytona is the editorial recruiter at Axios, where she works closely with editorial leadership to hire reporters and editors for a wide range of newsroom and digital roles across the country. Clarke is Punchbowl News’ policy editor and has spent two decades covering D.C. for publications including the Washington Post, Politico, Reuters, and CQ.
Draytona and Clarke dug into the specific skills they look for in job applicants, ways to think about networking and AI in the application process, common mistakes they see from job seekers, and more.
Skills that recruiters and hiring managers seek
Axios and Punchbowl News are quite different: The former is a national outlet that launched in 2017 to cover business, tech, and politics with national and local branches, plus a pro-tier subscription for exclusives. Punchbowl is a smaller, nonpartisan startup founded in 2021 to cover Congress and the White House.
Despite the varying makeups of their media orgs, Draytona and Clarke look for similar skills for when they’re hiring political reporters: The ability to break news, get scoops, and build source relationships that lead to quality journalism.
Both described a need for journalists to be multifaceted and comfortable with making multimedia content like vertical video or podcasts. And at the least, they look for an openness to artificial intelligence and willingness to explore AI’s possible uses in journalism — even if the actual reporting work is still human-powered.
When it comes to the policy beat specifically, Clarke said he seeks journalists who understand how politics motivate decisions, whether it’s on the campaign trail or in the White House. Draytona added that Axios looks for specialized reporters who can shed some light on a new area of expertise.
Breaking in as a student or early-career reporter
For journalists just starting their careers — whether during university or soon after — Clarke recommended pursuing internships and fellowships, especially at major organizations like POLITICO, The Washington Post, CNN, or Bloomberg. Students can also consider writing for their college newspapers to gain experience and clips. Trade publications are another good place to start, he said.
Clarke and Draytona suggested that all political journalism job hopefuls, regardless of age, create beat memos that outline how they’ll cover politics for a specific organization when applying. The memo should demonstrate both your knowledge of the subject area and a plan of how your reporting strategy will contribute to a newsroom’s coverage plan.
“The more specific you can be, the better,” Clarke said.
Networking “horizontally” instead of “vertically”
Draytona suggested a networking strategy of connecting with peers, especially fellow reporters, to build up your skillset and learn about the workings of a news organization.
“Get in touch with people that do really good work, that are able to break news, that have really good sources,” she said.
Draytona called it “networking horizontally” as opposed to “vertically” with executives and higher ups.
“[There have] been so many reporters that have recommended other reporters that are really good at what they do, and those recommendations and those referrals go a long way because people internally respect the work that they do,” Draytona explained.
She added that it’s a “more organic” way to network, rather than cold emailing or reaching out on LinkedIn to a media executive who may have less connection to the day-to-day of the newsroom.
Avoiding common mistakes on applications
Draytona noted a particular red flag she’s seen on applications and in interviews: mentioning “investigative reporting.” While that’s not a bad skill to have in general, she noted that longform investigations are not Axios’ area of expertise.
The publication leans heavily into short-form articles and newsletters, a concept that Axios calls “smart brevity,” for easy readability and scanability.
If applicants highlight their investigative skills, “it just raises red flags and concerns that people wouldn’t adapt well or even want to do the short-form writing,” Draytona explained.
Clarke said in general it’s a red flag when a job seeker doesn’t seem to know much about the specific place where they’re applying for a job. While he invites questions, he said it’s obvious when someone has done little or no research.
“Know the organization you’re applying to and the job you’re applying for,” he advised. “Tailor your cover letter, beat memo, [and] resume communications about that.”
Clarke also offered a final word of caution: Be careful with your social media presence, as employers may be watching — and political sources are particularly prone to digging into the journalists who cover them. Don’t post anything you wouldn’t want aired publicly.
Tags: Career