Description

This is a critical new role for Michigan Public and presents an exciting opportunity to help develop and lead how we reach, communicate with, and grow our statewide audience. As a managing newsroom leader, you will work with the News Director and Director of Digital Audiences to drive the overall content strategy across our digital channels. That means helping to set the daily agenda and select stories, assigning the right deliverables for each, leading data-driven experiments on storytelling formats, building workflows and support systems for our hardworking editors, reporters and producers, and generally leading by example, while training staff to become ever more digitally fluent.

The right candidate will be an everyday champion for the audience with a commitment to public service journalism. You know when it makes sense to break news on air and when to lead on the web (or even social media), and you have enough experience to suggest critical edits to a vertical video before someone hits "publish." This role will also help lead a culture of data-informed decision-making in the newsroom, using audience insights to expand Michigan Public’s reach and deepen engagement with the communities we serve.

Ultimately, you will help raise the level of journalistic excellence and production quality online that our audience has come to expect from us on air.

This position reports to the News Director and includes supervising others.

This is an onsite position based at our Ann Arbor studio. This position offers a salary range of $90,000 - $110,000 with a comprehensive benefits package.

Responsibilities:
    Work with content directors and editors to shape our daily coverage plans, with emphasis on how we'll serve our digital audiences. Lead daily editorial meetings as needed.

    Collaborate closely with the digital team to champion the use of audience insights and performance data to guide editorial strategy and support measurable growth in Michigan Public’s engaged audience.

    Spearhead daily editorial efforts to meet those goals, providing actionable feedback to editors and other staff about what's working, what's not, why, and what they can do to improve.

    Build a workflow for digital content editing while establishing standards and practices.

    Develop a thorough understanding of the CMS and other publishing systems.

    Help direct long-term coverage plans and special projects.

    Lead experiments to test new storytelling formats and techniques, making data-informed decisions about which could become reusable templates.

    Design and implement workflows, process improvements, and support systems that help staff satisfy overall daily production needs, such as creating a playbook for deploying social media producers or suggesting a technique or a piece of gear.

    Facilitate periodic staff training on best practices for various digital platforms, including technical tutorials.

    Influence overall editorial strategy as Michigan Public charts a course to a sustainable multiplatform future.

    Supervise and mentor staff as assigned.

    Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

    Bachelor’s degree in journalism or a related field, or equivalent education and experience

    Experience supervising staff or guiding newsroom work across teams

    Experience assigning stories, editing news content, directing editorial work, or shaping multiplatform coverage

    Experience using analytics to inform editorial decisions or content strategy

    Experience with digital news production, including at least one specialized area, such as video, photography, data visualization, audio, or web production using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or related tools

    Experience using content management systems or digital publishing tools

Desired Qualifications
    Experience conducting rigorous, rapid experiments focused on public service outcomes, using data analysis and adapting accordingly

    Experience directing third-party platform publishing strategy, such as Apple News, Google Discover, Nextdoor, aggregators, or other channels to reach new audiences

    Experience adapting ethical AI tools or solutions in a newsroom setting

    Experience with broadcast journalism, especially public media

We recognize there may not be a candidate who checks every box here. You don't have to be an expert in every medium, for instance, but you may be an expert in one, with enough familiarity in others to make informed decisions. There also may be important aspects of the job that we haven't considered. If you have strong opinions about what public radio should be in a multiplatform era and think you have what it takes, we'd love to hear from you.

Additional Information

In addition to a career filled with purpose and opportunity, The University of Michigan offers a comprehensive benefits package to help you stay well, protect yourself and your family and plan for a secure future. Benefits include:

        Generous time off

        A retirement plan that provides two-for-one matching contributions with immediate vesting

        Many choices for comprehensive health insurance

        Life insurance

        Long-term disability coverage

        Flexible spending accounts for healthcare and dependent care expenses

Application Deadline:

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended.

Modes of Work

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

Michigan Public EEO Statement:

Michigan Public is committed to attracting and retaining a creative workforce filled with varied perspectives and experiences to enhance and continue our mission of producing trusted content to grow a diverse community of listeners. 

University of Michigan EEO/AA Statement:

The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity employer.

How To Apply

We require a cover letter for consideration for this position and you should attach it as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should not be more than one page.  Include within cover letter the following:

        Address your specific interest in the position

        Describe how your experience aligns with the required qualifications

Apply online at https://michiganpublic.org