Posted On: March 6, 2013
Journalism Job
Media Organization: PBS NewsHour
Company Description
PBS NewsHour is the flagship national nightly news program on Public Broadcasting Service.
Job Description
Web Producer: Making Sen$e With Paul Solman
The Web Producer for Making Sen$e is responsible for the production, maintenance, updating and strategy of the Making Sen$e website, which is the online presence of the NewsHour's business and economics correspondent, Paul Solman. The Web Producer should be a self-starter and able to work efficiently and quickly both on their own and as part of a team. The Web Producer should also be extremely detail-oriented, have a sharp memory and a hawk’s eye for copy editing, and be able to work well and with good humor under constant deadline pressure. Ability to multi-task and adjust priorities as the news cycle or editors dictate is mandatory.
The Making Sen$e Web Producer’s duties are further detailed as:
1. The daily posting of Paul Solman- and guest-authored blogs to the Making Sen$e site and the main news blog, the Rundown, using the NewsHour's CMS. Keeping a detailed production calendar to ensure smooth workflow is highly advised.
2. Writing and/or editing headlines, blurbs, posts as needed, and working with design and production teams to enhance projects.
3. Pitching and strategizing with the Making Sen$e team and the Managing Editor about web materials that could either pair with broadcast reports as sidebar-type features or as standalone digital features. We are especially interested in ideas that will garner attention. The web producer will be encouraged to contribute content, from idea through execution.
4. Maintaining the Making Sen$e site so that it is up-to-date with all of our latest content, and so that all funder requirements are met.
5. Reaching out to bloggers and economics-focused Web partners and using social media tools to promote the site’s content, draw traffic and invite user interaction.
6. Working with staff designers to improve the design of the site, and devising new-and-improved ways of organizing the material.
7. Working with the Managing Editor and News Editor to coordinate mutual news priorities and traffic goals between the general NewsHour and Making Sen$e sites.
Necessary skills:
1. Extremely well organized and attentive to detail.
2. Very good writer and copy editor.
3. Good editorial judgment, as well as familiarity with and ability to conform to the nonpartisan standards of the PBS NewsHour. Some journalism background would be nice. Coverage of and/or familiarity with business and economics would be an added plus.
4. Experience using social media tools and other digital platforms to promote content and draw an ever-growing audience to the PBS NewsHour website. Strong understanding of Google Analytics, traffic and audience patterns; ability to theorize on traffic spikes and slumps.
5. Extremely digitally adept and efficient. Familiarity with PBS NewsHour CMS, or ability to master it quickly, a must. Understanding of and previous experience with CMS wysiwig systems preferred. HTML and CSS chops are a plus, as is Photoshop. Ability to shoot on Sony EX3 and edit video on Final Cut Pro. (If lacking any of these technical skills, the candidate will be expected to learn them quickly.)
Metrics of success
1) Increased links from other websites
2) Increased page views and unique visitors
3) Unusual new posts
The Web Producer, Making Sense will report to the Managing Editor for The Online NewsHour. The position is located in the multi-platform newsroom at the PBS NewsHour studios in Arlington, Va.
To Apply
Send resume and cover letter to Tom Kennedy tkennedy@newshour.org.
No phone calls please; Principals only