News Director

This posting will remain open until filled.

St. Louis Public Radio (STLPR) seeks an experienced, visionary journalist and inspirational leader who will supervise and support a local newsroom of 27 reporters, producers and editors. STLPR is an NPR member station serving the St. Louis region and communities in Rolla, Missouri, and Quincy, Illinois.

The News Director for STLPR supervises all local journalism content for broadcast, digital, social media, streaming and the newsroom's on-demand platforms. They will use their excellent news judgment and strong journalism ethics to guide daily, breaking and enterprise reporting and special projects. They will show deep emotional intelligence to nurture a healthy newsroom culture, where staff are empowered to do their best work and grow professionally. They will center equity in STLPR’s coverage of our diverse region, ensuring our journalism asks difficult questions and pushes the boundaries of storytelling, bringing context, conversation and humanity to the events and ideas that affect life in our region and beyond.

This year, St. Louis Public Radio is celebrating its 50th year in operation. We are looking for someone with the energy, know-how and growth potential to help inform and shape the next era of STLPR’s public service journalism by serving as News Director.

Key responsibilities

• Sets the STLPR newsroom’s editorial vision for covering the bistate region and ensures that editorial standards are met across all newsroom products.
• Leads daily and long-term planning for news, including how stories are covered and how they are distributed to our audience via STLPR’s various platforms. 
• Supervises a team of editors and producers who directly oversee all other newsroom staff. 
• Reports directly to CCO/Content Director. 
• Serves as a member of the station’s senior leadership team, representing the newsroom and contributing to overall organizational strategy.
• Leads recruiting, hiring and retention efforts that aim to build and sustain a newsroom workforce that reflects the diversity of our region and aligns with STLPR’s organizational commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion. 
• Develop, direct, administer and monitor newsroom budget and related functions.
• Leads collaborative journalism efforts between STLPR and external news partners. 
• Support the growth and development of reporters, editors and producers of all levels of experience. 
• Champions the value of local news and public media in on-air membership drives and other fundraising efforts. 
• Edit both audio and web stories for clear, factual, concise and fair reporting that adheres to the highest journalistic standards.

Qualifications

• At least 6 years of professional journalism experience —  public radio or broadcast preferred — including demonstrated leadership and management skills; 
• Experience as an editor, producer or supervisor of journalists and/or editors; 
• A record of success in managing news across multiple platforms, including audio and digital;
• Sharp organizational skills and strong attention to detail;
• Proven ability to tell stories to and for audiences from diverse communities, generations, and life experiences. 

Preferred qualifications

• Knowledge of St. Louis — people and places — and important issues that impact the bi-state region;
• Experience in building positive workplace culture; 
• Deep emotional intelligence.

Salary range: $80,000 - $105,000 annual

Statement of purpose

As a non-profit media organization, St. Louis Public Radio serves hundreds of thousands of people monthly on-air, online and on-demand delivering accuracy and understanding. As a station, our intent is to practice and support mission-driven journalism with staff members who are engaged and committed to equitable and inclusive service, both to our community and to each other. That means we seek to recognize and address bias in ourselves, in our work and in the systems we are a part of. We welcome a broad range of perspectives, experiences and identities to our teams and our news coverage, and we are always working to expand the reach of our service to those who have not felt invited into public media.

Application instructions: 

Please submit samples of stories or projects that you have reported, edited or guided to completion. Explain your role in those stories or projects. Your application should also include a resume and cover letter outlining your qualifications and ideas for how your work can best serve St. Louis area residents.

St. Louis Public Radio is being assisted in this search by Livingston Associates. Inquiries are welcome by calling (410) 243-1974 or emailing us at info@livingstonassociates.net.

Please apply by December 15th, 2022, by following this address: liv.jobs.

We are committed to building a newsroom representative of the St. Louis region. STLPR and UMSL are equal opportunity employers. We enthusiastically encourage members of groups underrepresented in public media to apply.