Assistant News Director

Job Description

WHTM in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is currently seeking a motivated and skilled individual to join our team as an Assistant News Director, playing a pivotal role in our mission to inform and engage our audience. As the Assistant News Director, you will collaborate closely with the News Director to oversee all aspects of news, weather, and sports programming production. In the absence of the News Director, you will step into this leadership role. Your duties will encompass a wide range of responsibilities, including but not limited to:

Essential Duties:
• Assisting in the management of the News Department, excluding production.
• Participating in planning, staffing, training, and conducting performance evaluations for the News Department.
• Providing coaching, leadership, and guidance in storytelling to team members.
• Offering valuable insights on hiring, evaluation, promotion, and employee termination decisions.
• Developing a comprehensive news coverage strategy for our station and website.
• Conducting daily critiques of newscasts to enhance coverage and provide mentoring feedback to the news staff.
• Assigning projects to the team and ensuring that deadlines are consistently met.
• Implementing daily and long-term strategic plans in collaboration with the staff.
• Ensuring the achievement of viewer rating goals.
• Making decisions on programming and evaluating equipment needs for quality programming.
• Responsively addressing coverage questions and issues.
• Filling in as a producer or assignment manager as needed.
• Serves as the News Director in his/her absence.

Education Requirement:
• Bachelor's Degree (TV/film or equivalent experience may substitute) in television broadcast/production.

Work Experience:
• Strong communication skills, both oral and written.
• A minimum of two years' experience in news programming production, with some leadership experience preferred, depending on market size.
• An ability to identify the developmental needs of others and provide coaching and mentorship.
• Proficiency in using digital and social media platforms in the newsgathering process and presentation.
• The capability to adapt effectively to daily coverage plans as new content and breaking news unfolds.
• Proficiency with computers, telephones, copiers, scanners, fax machines, and other office equipment.
• Strong organizational skills to meet deadlines, prioritize assignments, and manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Effective listening skills to understand employee needs and collaborate with the team to develop solutions.
Other Relevant Information:
• This role operates in a high-stress environment with deadline pressures and the unpredictability of breaking news, which can occur at any time.
• Day-to-day multitasking and simultaneous management of multiple projects with frequent changes in direction and priority are essential.
• The employee in this position must be comfortable working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions.
• Repetitive movements may be required.
• Work may be conducted in various lighting conditions, ranging from extremely bright to inadequate.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-rz2b4n-18-222-124-172-42 in your application.