News Director

Overview

Yellowstone Public Radio ( YPR ) is a region-wide public radio service licensed to Montana State University Billings, broadcasting twenty-four hours a day to a large portion of central and eastern Montana and northern Wyoming. The primary signal originates at the Joseph S. Sample Studios on the MSUB campus as KEMC
-FM in Billings. KEMC
-FM repeats on eleven additional transmitters and twenty-four translators within YPR’s broadcast area.

This position is not eligible for sponsorship.

• Working Title:
  
  Working Title News Director
• Brief
  
  Position Overview:
  
  Under direction of the General Manager, the News Director is responsible for the editorial direction and day-to-day management of YPR’s news team. This includes, but is not limited to, creating and implementing short and long term strategies and goals for news production and reporting, both on-air and on YPR’s digital platforms; maintaining the editorial integrity and professionalism of YPR’s news reporting;
  
  overseeing the daily planning, scheduling, and editing of news stories for broadcast and digital; managing a team of reporters and freelance content providers, including story assignments, shift scheduling, and coordinating story edits; acting as the liaison between YPR and National Public Radio ( NPR ); creating and implementing content-sharing opportunities with other public radio stations; and acts as a backup on-air host for YPR’s live-hosted newscasts.

Position Information

• Department Yellowstone Public Radio/KEMC
• Division Yellowstone Public Radio/KEMC
• Appointment Type Professional
• Contract Term Fiscal Year
• Semester
• FTE 1.0
• Benefits Eligible Yes
• Compensation Annual
• Salary range: $67,000.00 to $72,000.00 annually, commensurate with experience, education, and qualifications
• Contract Type LOA
• Recruitment Type Open

• Work-life balance
• Holidays: 10 paid holidays per year and 1 Floating Holiday
• Vacation: 15 days per year (new employees to 10 years; after 10 years accrual rate increases)
• Sick Leave – Earned at an accrual rate of .0416125 per hour in pay status
• Employee and Dependent Tuition Waiver
• Professional development opportunities
• Employee wellness and access to an Employee Assistance Program
• Medical benefits
• Campus benefits and retirement plan information are available via MUS/MSU Billings
• Opportunities for career growth

• Develops, creates, and implements YPR’s news reporting strategies and goals. Responsible for development, management, production, and editing of regional news programming. Directs a team of news reporters and freelance content providers. Plans news program specials and series. Supervises coverage of statewide elections and state legislative sessions. Schedules and implements news content for broadcast and digital platforms. Oversees and contributes to the news department’s social media.
• Supervises news department employees, student workers, and interns; assigns stories and oversees pitches; trains staff; evaluates performance; and, when necessary, recommends disciplinary actions. Oversees purchase of equipment and software for news reporting.
• Maintains the editorial integrity and professionalism of YPR’s newsroom. Ensures factual reporting, directs editorial best practices, maintains publishing guidelines resources, and communicates with listeners. Supervises retractions, corrections, or other modifications to content as needed.
• Oversees daily meetings and coordination to plan the day’s reporting. Supervises reporters on sources, story direction, fact-checking, and edits or assigns editors for each story. Oversees the transition from broadcast to published digital content. Coordinates YPR’s Twitter feed and collaborates on content sharing with Montana Public Radio.
• Represents YPR in communications with NPR. Directs staff on pitching stories to NPR; researches and implements NPR best practices; pursues collaborative opportunities with other news organizations; seeks opportunities to submit YPR programming for local, state, and national awards.
• Directs and supervises on-air news hosts. Provides voice coaching and feedback to ensure professional delivery. Acts as…