Chief Culture Editor

Job Description

OVERVIEW

Across our organization, we're building a workplace where collaboration is essential, diverse voices are heard, and inclusion is the key to our success.

The Culture Desk Is NPR's hub for coverage of film, television, books, and music as well as visual and performing arts. As these industries re-invent themselves for the 21st century -- with endless distribution outlets, changing consumer habits and new and diverse audiences to attract -- we aim to highlight their most creative work. We bring a keen news focus to works that address meaningful cultural and social change. As part of our public service mission, we showcase the work of established artists and celebrate the careers of legends, alongside mission critical work highlighting new artists, reporting on their challenges and the sustainability of today's business models.

NPR is looking for a creative and dynamic journalist to lead NPR's Culture Desk and serve as Chief Culture Editor. If the intersection of journalism, culture and arts gets you fired up every day, read on.

This full-time leadership position will direct NPR's overall news and feature coverage across the desk and coordinate projects with other teams in the News and Programming Divisions. The editor is responsible for managing the staff as they seek to optimize their journalism for broadcast, digital and podcast audiences. The editor must have excellent news judgment and the ability to work collaboratively across the network. He or she should bring energy and sophisticated ideas, think expansively and creatively about content and the best ways to deliver it. The job requires attention to detail, concern about craft, and an interest in nurturing reporters at various levels of career experience. The editor should have experience and a passion for covering arts and culture that connects with general interest audiences as well as super fans. The position reports to the Executive Editor, with whom all hiring decisions are coordinated for approval.

RESPONSIBILITIES
• Articulate a vision of coverage for the future and the flexibility to shift gears as the world changes and news unfolds.
• Regularly sets desk priorities for coverage beats and themes with a keen focus on a younger and diverse audiences.
• Lead the editing team in planning contextual multi-platform news and feature coverage of arts, culture and entertainment.
• Align the network's strategic goals with the varied products developed, produced and maintained by the desk- from daily and enterprise journalism on the magazine programs and the web to NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, NPR Book Concierge and the NPR arts social channels and newsletters.
• Ensure the Desk's products are integrated with programming, communications, NPR One, marketing and other departments and divisions within NPR.
• Protect the editorial integrity and quality of news online and on the air, ensuring that all stories meet NPR program standards and practices, including standards of fairness, objectivity, and balance.
• Provide regular and constructive feedback and career development for performance evaluations.
• Hire and develop a diverse staff.
• Nurture and grow journalists of all levels of experience.
• Generate story ideas and review pitches, help develop creative storytelling approaches and sources, and determine the best platform for news coverage, including making suggestions for interviews and maintaining contacts.
• Assign, develop and edit original stories from other NPR staff- as needed.
• Supervise at least 12-14 direct reports in multiple cities, including preparing their regular performance reviews, and making effective recommendations regarding any hiring, promotion, and discipline for these positions.

QUALIFICATIONS
• 10+ years of experience editing arts, entertainment and culture stories
• 5+ years of supervisory and managerial experience leading complex teams and breaking news coverage.
• A record of multi-platform leadership.

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree or equivalent in work experience

REQUIRED SKILLS
• Experience in editorial decision-making, including assigning reporters/correspondents.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to handle multiple and complex projects simultaneously under stringent timeframes and changing priorities/conditions.
• Ability to work quickly and efficiently under deadline pressure.
• Ability and willingness to work varied shifts.
• Demonstrated team collaboration and leadership skills.
• Knowledge of audio production.
• Experience in Digital Media, including editing copy.
• Experience editing for radio.

PREFERRED SKILLS
• Familiarity with content management systems and collaboration tools such as Google Docs, Basecamp, etc.
• Familiarity with NPR member stations and public media system.
• Expertise in writing, with excellence in news writing, copy-editing and headline writing.
• Demonstrated ability to generate and execute complex creative ideas, to assimilate and organize large amounts of information.
• Understanding of the changing landscape in media business and audience choices in finding reliable sources of information on multiple platforms.

Want more NPR? Explore the stories behind the stories on our NPR Extra blog. Get social with NPR Extra on Facebook and following @NPRExtra and #NPRLife on Twitter and Instagram. Find more career opportunities at NPR.org/careers and on Twitter at @NPRJobs.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-gmx1em-3-141-198-146-42 in your application.