Website Hubbard Broadcasting
Description:
WTOP is looking for a forward-thinking individual to help oversee day-to-day operations of our newsroom. The News Director is responsible for ensuring WTOP’s radio content is compelling and impactful, and resonates with our target audience. The news director helps ensure WTOP’s content meets our high journalistic standards to secure our position, today and in the future, as the dominant trusted source for news that matters to people in the D.C. region.
Responsibilities:
- Oversee quality control of WTOP’s radio product. Work directly with producers, reporters and other newsroom leaders and staff to ensure story choice, writing and production are of the highest quality and meet WTOP’s compelling content standards.
- Develop story ideas that meet WTOP’s stated goals and target audience
- Assign stories and events for reporters to cover
- Continually identify programming that can be used as benchmark material on WTOP to drive listening. This new programming can appear on an hourly, daily or weekly basis.
- Help oversee newsroom decision making during breaking news situations
- Supervise 20-25 direct reports, ensuring individual growth of staff members, approving timecards, conducting air checks and annual reviews, overseeing training, creating schedules, handling sick calls and approving expense reports. Provide regular feedback to direct reports.
- Work with Digital News Director and Director of Marketing to help ensure cohesion of news products across platforms
- Coordinate weather coverage with external partner
- Coordinate coverage for large-scale special events such as elections and reporter series
- Create, update and maintain training guides to ensure quality control and mission are met. Oversee onboarding and training of new employees.
- Be insightful, knowledgeable and open-minded to assist in writing news policy, subject guidelines for staff
- Develop new and innovative content
- Collaborate with sales team to optimize revenue opportunities
Requirements:
- Minimum 5-10 years’ experience managing a newsroom
- Degree in Journalism, Communications, or related field (preferred)
- Radio newsroom experience and knowledge of the radio industry a must
- Advanced understanding of compelling storytelling in an audio medium and how to use sound to create theater of the mind for listeners
- Possess the necessary skills to actively listen to WTOP and critique stories to ensure they are accurately written, unbiased, balanced and structured in broadcast style. Have a discerning ear to recognize what details a story may be lacking, and the knowledge and skill to advise how to make the story more complete/accurate.
- Strong leadership skills and ability to motivate a diverse workforce covered by a collective bargaining agreement that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to develop and maintain relationships with all staff members, along with the ability to handle sensitive personnel issues
- Must have an advanced attention to detail and ability to troubleshoot
- Excellent news judgment and knowledge of current events/pop-culture/trending stories
- Ability to think critically and adeptly while managing in a fast-paced, highly-charged and aggressive news environment; work effectively under pressure, multitask, prioritize, organize and meet deadlines.
- High level of initiative required and the ability to work independently
- Experience operating within established budgets
- Ability to work established schedule and other hours, as needed. Must be available for on-call weekend shifts, as needed.
- Project an appropriate professional appearance and demeanor
- Ability to work in compliance with company policies and procedures
- Ability to communicate in English, both verbally and in writing
- Manual dexterity and fine motor skills to manipulate computer keys and general office equipment
- Ability to read, hear and speak clearly, and follow both oral and written direction
- Requires the ability to think critically and make sound editorial decisions
- Ability to articulate information in clear, concise manner to others
- Must be able to perform the essential functions of the job. The Company will make reasonable physical accommodations to facilitate the ability to perform essential job functions.
Contact:
Apply Online
Apply online at https://recruiting.adp.com/srccar/public/RTI.home?d=ExternalCareerSite&_icx=v02umPV2IfoiCKYJ_zYy8vfMVR2zWaDVxn76sB7_caSUqqJihGkYFgv9shFHdZjUlly&c=2175307&_dissimuloSSO=m6xxsnApIYQ:2iV9DP63TuaQf4mUqr2WdmSo2VM#/
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