Job Title: News & Public Affairs Director
Department: News Department
Reports To: Station Manager
FLSA Status: Exempt
Hours: FULL TIME, may include early mornings, evenings, weekends, or flexible hours
Positions Supervised: Associate News Producer, Climate & Environment Reporter, volunteer news and public affairs producers, news department interns
Location: Based in Boulder, CO
Travel: Limited Regional, Frequent Local
Position Summary
The KGNU News & Public Affairs Director is a dynamic, energetic, creative, team-oriented, and talented individual responsible for leading KGNU’s award-winning News Department. The News Director is responsible for coordinating and guiding the editorial agenda, overall direction, and day-to-day operations of the KGNU News Department. The News Director must excel in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented, collaborative environment.
The ideal candidate is a superb journalist and experienced manager with excellent organizational skills and high journalistic standards who brings an inspiring, social, and racial equity-centered editorial vision that will address local news and information gaps with the skills to implement a strategy to achieve it. Our newsroom prioritizes community relevance and engagement.
The News Director leads KGNU’s daily local news coverage across all platforms: radio, podcast, web, social media, and multimedia. The News Director will drive the daily reporting with a combination of energy and calm, creativity and consistency. The News Director will ensure that news coverage and public affairs programming reflect the highest standards of journalistic ethics, audio production, and public service to the KGNU audience and the communities we serve.
The News Director manages our small but mighty team of staff reporters and producers; while providing journalistic guidance, coordination, training, and management of our volunteer reporters, producers, hosts, and interns.
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities Include (but may not be limited to):
- News Department Management/Leadership
- Lead and Manage the overall direction of the KGNU News Department
- Supervise and manage all news department employees, volunteers, and interns
- Maintain the utmost Editorial Integrity across the News Department
- News & Public Affairs Programming
- Uphold and lead editorial direction of KGNU News & Public Affairs Programming
- Develop and maintain KGNU News & Public Affairs online/digital presence
- Find, develop, and recommend News Programming, including recommendations to the overall News & Public Affairs program schedule
- Develop and coordinate News Department Special Programming (Fund Drives, Election Coverage, Occasional Pre-Emptions)
- Production
- Uphold and ensure editorial standards of daily News & Public Affairs content production
- Coordinate, Produce, and Host Morning News Programming
- Coordinate, Develop, and Produce News, Public Affairs, Special, and Election Coverage
- Coordinate and Produce Fund Drive Specials for the News Department, including live on-air pitching
- Support and Train Volunteers/Interns in the News Department
- Train volunteers who contribute to local news & public affairs content production
- Maintain an active intern program for the News Department
- Develop Strategic News Partnerships and Community Engagement
- Represent the KGNU News Department with integrity, respect, and the highest standards
- Work with local organizations to develop relevant reporting partnerships
- Host community engagement opportunities to gain insight into community information needs
The Qualifications listed below represent the required knowledge, skills, and/or abilities.
Required Qualifications:
- Minimum 3 years of related newsroom experience (reporting, editorial, production)
- Minimum 3 years experience in broadcast media production (producing, hosting, reporting, editing)
- Extraordinary interviewing skills, with a positive, inquisitive, and personable presence
- Superb verbal and written communication skills
- Superb editorial integrity and skills
- Demonstrated Excellence in digital audio editing (Audition, Soundforge, Audacity, Hindenburg…)
- High proficiency in office suites; excel, word, Google Docs/Drive
- Proficiency in project management suites (Asana, Airtable, Coda, Trello, etc)
- Demonstrated experience developing strategies to meet local news and information needs
- Proven history of implementing or managing online and Social Media news distribution strategies
- Proficiency in tracking goals & results, generating accurate reports, and recommending direction
- Exceptional organizational skills with attention to detail
- Ability to efficiently carry out multiple activities and responsibilities in one job
- Proven track record working effectively and enthusiastically in collaboration with and managing a wide variety of people of all ages and backgrounds, both in group settings and one-to-one
- Available to work outside of regular hours during required special news coverage cycles, fundraising campaigns, and community events
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bilingual Spanish and English Fluency is an extremely valued skill for this role
- Demonstrated commitment to independent media
- Prior experience working in and passion for community or public radio broadcasting
- Experience developing and editing multimedia, photos, graphics, or video with multimedia software (Photoshop, Premier) for digital publication
- Experience publishing to podcast platforms and proven podcast distribution strategies
- Prior experience publishing to WordPress and online platforms (CorePublisher, Joomla)
- Experience using MailChimp or similar electronic newsletter interfaces
- Demonstrated experience working with and coordinating volunteers
- Prior experience with conflict resolution
- Prior experience developing training resources for media-makers
- Knowledge and understanding of the Colorado media landscape and local issues
Related Experience: On-air public broadcasting, news collection, reporting, general management (community or public media)
Hours, Compensation, and Benefits (Full Time)
- Full Time - including early weekday mornings, some evenings and weekends (requiring flexibility)
- $55,000 – $63,500 Base Salary commensurate with experience
- KGNU values its employees. This position comes with comprehensive health insurance with multiple plan options and optional add-ons, and a generous and flexible PTO policy, among other station benefits.
- This full-time position is based at KGNU’s Boulder, CO studios.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE APPLYING:
Please submit a cover letter (2 pages max), a current up-to-date résumé, links to three (3) audio samples of related past on-air hosting work, links to two (2) written samples, and contact information for three professional references (relevant to this job opening).
In your cover letter please address how the skills, experience, and qualifications that you possess: make you qualified for the demands of this leadership position; how you would contribute to creating a culturally inclusive environment in the role for which you are applying; your strategic approach to ensure KGNU fills the gaps of the local news and informational needs of the growing and diverse communities we serve; and your vision for taking the KGNU News Department into a new era.
All Submissions should be made by email ONLY and directed to the KGNU News & Public Affairs Director Search Committee.
No phone calls, please.
Application Deadline:
Applications submitted by February 5, 2024, will be given priority for review.
Position Open Until Filled.
The need is immediate.
Applications will be reviewed as they arrive.
Interviews will be scheduled accordingly.
An automatic confirmation will be sent to each individual who applies. ONLY APPLICANTS INVITED TO INTERVIEW FOR THE POSITION WILL BE CONTACTED BY EMAIL OR PHONE after review of their application.
KGNU is committed to creating and supporting a culturally inclusive environment through diversity, equity, and inclusivity. KGNU is committed to providing an Equal Employment Opportunity and environment that is free from bullying, discrimination, and/or harassment based on race, age, creed, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or pregnancy, or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law. We strongly encourage applications from people of all genders, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and people with disabilities.
Application Checklist:
- Current Resume/CV
- Cover Letter (2 pages max) addressing the questions cited above
- Contact Information for three professional references
- Attach or Link to three (3) short audio samples of past on-air hosting work
- Attach or Link to two (2) written samples of your journalistic work
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