Assignment Editor

Job Description

WGAL, the Hearst Television NBC affiliate in Lancaster, PA, has an opening for a full-time assignment editor. We are seeking a self-motivated individual with newsgathering experience. The successful candidate has excellent organizational and communication skills. Our assignment editors are tasked with finding enterprise stories as well as taking the lead on breaking news.

Job Responsibilities:
• Listen to multiple police scanners which cover dozens of agencies throughout our market.
• Monitor social media for story ideas and news tips.
• Gather and organize press releases, emails, phone calls and viewer tips. Take initiative and decide which of the above will yield compelling content for newscasts.
• Assist news management with content gathering and planning.
• Assist producers, digital editors and reporters with story gathering.
• Keep track of crews in the field and maintain communication with them.
• Furnish content and post to all digital platforms-including but not limited to sending push alerts, Twitter and Facebook posts.

Experience Requirements:
• Must have experience listening to police scanners.
• Must have advanced knowledge of digital platforms, especially social media. Successful candidate will be required to monitor multiple social media accounts in order to gather content and communicate with news makers.
• Must be familiar with local newsgathering technology and terminology.

Qualifications Requirements:
• Must be highly organized.
• Must have the ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Must be able to foster and maintain professional working relationships with newsmakers.
• Must have the ability to gather information from multiple sources simultaneously and quickly communicate it to anchors, reporters, producers and digital editors.
• Must have a sense of urgency and the ability to thrive in a high-pressure breaking news and weather environment.
• Must have the ability to remain calm and level-headed during breaking news situations.
• Must have excellent communication skills.
• Must be willing to work a variety of shifts including weekends, nights and holidays.

Education:
• College degree in broadcast journalism, broadcast news, or related field.
• Military training and experience in related field will be considered.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-rzoo4n-3-145-16-90-42 in your application.