Senior Editor, Forum & Talk Programming

Job Description

Position Summary:

A Senior Editor at KQED leads a team of journalists to report and produce news and feature content that informs and connects with our audience in a timely fashion. They encourage team members to shine, fostering creative approaches to telling the daily, weekly and monthly news, while not overlooking trends and unusual content that make our coverage and region unique in the nation. 

Senior Editor, Forum & Talk Programming

This role supervises strategic planning, expansion and growth, editorial planning and program production of KQED’s two flagship hours of programming, Forum, and supervises nearly a dozen employees, including two experienced hosts. Forum is one of the country’s most listened-to local talk radio shows, and reaches more than 300,000 listeners on average every month. 
 
This senior editor supports the show’s two lead producers in building and refining the editorial and creative direction for the program. The senior editor manages and mentors the staff of producers and engagement producers, their day-to-day work, and supports  their professional growth.
 
For more than three decades, Forum has helped lead the conversation in the Bay Area and California, providing essential news and authentic conversations on the country’s most popular public radio station. 
This senior editor is a dynamic, highly experienced leader with a vision for new and enterprising ways to grow engagement and programming, drive live  conversation on radio, and grow Forum’s presence on digital platforms. This vital team leader will also work to help Forum best serve its existing audience while also expanding its reach and seeking to serve a younger and more diverse audience. The Senior Editor is a key member of KQED’s senior editorial leadership team.

A senior editor works in collaboration with other KQED editors and journalists to provide coverage of significant issues, assigning and editing daily news, in-depth features and projects, and helping to direct reporters and interns in producing stories for multiple KQED programs, KQED’s digital platforms and NPR.

Senior editors at KQED are expected to manage teams of reporters and producers and journalists, on both content and journalistic issues, but also personnel and management issues.

The editor is responsible for scheduling, assigning, and coordinating their own reporting staff as well as communicating and coordinating coverage with other editors and journalists in the newsroom.

KQED is focused on recruiting and retaining a diverse group of talented journalists and media makers, who reflect and represent the communities we serve. The journalist in this senior editor role will help to create an inclusive culture and ensure that journalists from marginalized communities are able to inject their unique perspectives into the ideas and the workflow of KQED’s journalism. 

KQED envisions a public media organization with a culture that centers on human dignity, equity, and belonging. This will enable us to better serve and reflect the Bay Area through diverse and inclusive storytelling. 

We value the contributions of marginalized people in society — including Black, Indigenous, and all people of color,  people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ people — and we believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do, and we strongly encourage members of these communities to apply.

KQED Code of Ethics  https://www.kqed.org/about/code-ethics

The mission that drives us: KQED provide citizens of Northern California with a community-supported alternative to commercial media.   We provide citizens with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions; convene community dialogue; bring the arts to everyone and engage audiences to share their stories. We help students and teachers thrive in 21st-century classrooms, and take people of all ages on journeys of exploration- exposing them to new people, places and ideas.

This role will work hybrid between working in KQED's newly renovated headquarters and working remotely. KQED requires employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Salary Information: $112,000-$140,000 Annually

Essential Functions:

• Edits, assigns and oversees daily, weekly, monthly and longer-term news coverage.
• Delivers content in a timely manner.
• Is responsive to team needs and follows through on issues pertaining to employment
  Manages team members, including professional development, job performance and regular check-ins.
• Coordinates edited stories with production.
• Coordinates social engagement outreach efforts to support reporting
• Fills in for other editors as appropriate.
• Represents KQED internally and externally.
• Performs other essential duties as required.

Knowledge/Experience Required:

• Four years minimum experience as broadcast, print and/or online journalist, including news reporting, editing and production.
• Excellent reporting and editing skills. 
• Excellent news judgment. 
• Strong time management skills.
• Thorough command of journalistic principles, ethics and standards. 
• Strong command of sound editing and radio production techniques. 
• Experience with digital editing and production.
• Ability to work inclusively with a diverse staff
• Proven collaboration skills — which are essential in working with fellow KQED staffers across departments and with partner organizations
• Ability to stay organized and prioritize tasks when working on multiple projects at once
• Adherence to media laws; understanding of media licensing agreements 

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