Midday Audio Producer

About Chicago Public Media

Home to WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Public Media is the largest local non-profit news organization in the country. WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times serve more than 2 million people weekly across broadcast, print, and digital platforms. As a mission-driven organization, we aspire to become the essential and most trusted news source that Chicago turns to each day for understanding the people, events, and ideas that shape our community.

WBEZ is home to local and national news programming as well as a growing portfolio of popular podcasts. WBEZ serves the community with fact-based, objective news and information, and its award-winning journalists ask tough questions, dig deep for answers and expose truths that spark change and foster understanding. WBEZ is supported by 77,000 members, hundreds of corporate sponsors and major donors.  In 2024, Chicago Public Media won 33 national and local awards including from the National Headliner Awards, National Association for Black Journalists, Public Media Journalists Association, Radio Television Digital News Association, Chicago Headline Club, Chicago Journalists Association, Media for a Just Society, and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. 

Chicago Sun-Times is Chicago’s oldest continuously published daily newspaper serving Chicago and is known for its hard-hitting investigative reporting, in-depth political coverage, timely behind-the-scenes sports analysis, and insightful entertainment and cultural coverage. Chicago Sun-Times is the winner of eight Pulitzer Prizes and countless other awards.  In recent years, the Sun-Times has focused on a digital transformation to deliver its news and content to a growing digital audience. Most recently, the Sun-Times dropped the paywall on suntimes.com to expand access to its journalism, and shifted to a community-funded digital membership program supported by voluntary member donations. 

Chicago Public Media believes independent journalism is essential to a well-functioning democracy and access to fact-based, objective news and information is a right of every citizen. We serve the public interest by creating diverse, compelling content that informs, inspires, and enriches. We connect diverse audiences and help them make a difference in the community, the region and the world.  And, we employ 300+ staff who want to belong to an organization that inspires, supports, and challenges them to do their best work.

For more information, please see the Chicago Public Media Annual Report.

Position Summary

The Midday Producer on the Newscasts and News Magazines Desk is the jack of all trades. They support newscast, feature and 2way content produced by the newsroom – including their own original work – to provide a better listening experience that sounds distinctly Chicago. 

As an Audio Producer 2, the Midday Producer is responsible for assisting the production of audio on any and all platforms. They will contribute to a team to help facilitate writing, editing, and updating news copy, tracking down primary sources, recording and producing interviews for anchors, voicing stories, and following major news stories of interest to a diverse audience.

The day-to-day responsibilities for the Midday Producer may vary. They may be asked to help with daily newscast items and 2ways, depending on the news of the day. However, the Midday Producer is not tied to a specific news magazine like the AM or PM Producers. This provides flexibility to create their own original work, including non-narrated and narrated audio features, audio postcards and sound-driven segments. The Midday Producer would be required to sub in for the AM or PM Producers when they are out.

 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

(These include but are not limited to the following.  The company reserves the right to add to, delete, change, or modify the essential duties and responsibilities at any time.)

• Pitch original story ideas, including ideas for daily stories, 2ways and audio features. This can include story ideas for the Midday Producer to tackle, as well as story ideas for other teams/reporters. 
• Midday Producer may be asked to cover other topics as assigned as well, including daily items, 2ways and features.
• Participate in the ideation process for all original content to be created by the Midday Producer: From bouncing questions off of editors as needed for daily newscast items and talking through potential 2way questions, to conceptual edits on features. 
• When creating original work, the Midday Producer would be expected to do their own research, schedule interviews, gather their own scene tape, write scripts and voice stories (as needed), along with the final mix.  
• The Midday Producer would be tasked with supporting audio creation across the news organization. 
  • • This may include: coaching audio and text reporters during 2ways, mixing 2ways, providing assistance, as needed, with Adobe Audition, and writing daily newscast items using tape from text reporters.
• Demonstrates expertise in the duties of Audio Producer 1 and typically has at least two to three years of experience in audio production. 
• Assumes additional leadership and responsibility for production duties associated with shows, newscasts, programs, podcasts or other platforms. 
• Edits scripts and/or copy for shows, newscasts, programs, podcasts or other platforms.  
• Produces complex feature storytelling in live broadcasts, audio, video and/or multimedia contexts with proficiency. 
• Conceptualizes, researches, plans, produces, voices and/or reports stories, podcasts, segments and/or episodes.

 

Skills and Knowledge

• A minimum of 1-3 years of experience in an editorial, creative, and/or media production setting
• Strong writing skills for broadcast web and promotional materials. 
• Demonstrated experience and skill in writing broadcast copy, working with anchors, and producing audio for news programs.
• Demonstrated excitement for the news cycle and strong interest in the Chicago area news and talk ecosystem.
• Strong editorial judgment, resourcefulness and researching abilities.
• Knowledge of public radio, podcasts and talk shows.
• Proven ability to consistently meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated to take initiative to generate creative story ideas for news and strong editorial judgment.
• Team player with high emotional intelligence and ability to collaborate effectively.
• Ability to craft creative approaches to covering major news stories, issues, and ideas, while also executing the small details and tasks involved in production.

 

Education 

Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, humanities or related field.

 

Working Conditions

(The unavoidable, externally imposed conditions under which the work must be performed, and which create hardship for the incumbent including the frequency and duration of occurrence of physical demands, environmental conditions, demands on one’s senses and metal demands.)

• Office environment, radio broadcast studio or at a broadcast transmitter site with extensive public contact and frequent interruptions.
• Travel to off-site locations is/may be required.

 

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical: While performing the duties of this job, the employee will frequently be required to stand; walk; sit; use hands and fingers to handle or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; climb ladders; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 pounds and work in a physically active setting.

Vision: Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Hearing: Hear in the normal audio range with or without correction. 

 

Compensation

The expected pay range for this position is $58,650 to $66,120 per ANNUM.

Chicago Public Media provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the organization reasonably expects to pay for a position.  The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographical location, and external market pay for comparable jobs.

 

Working at Chicago Public Media

At Chicago Public Media, we care deeply about our employees as we know attracting, developing, and growing talent is key to our success and enhancing our impact.  

Our culture is one where collaboration, diversity of ideas, and innovation are encouraged.  We value colleagues who will enhance our culture by bringing new ideas, divergent experiences, and talents to our dynamic workplace.

At Chicago Public Media we believe dedication to a great workplace includes supporting our employees and their families. As a result, we provide a broad and generous benefits package for employees at hire and in the years to come.

Our benefits include a competitive salary and benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, vacation, holidays, life insurance, disability coverage, retirement savings, and a commuter benefits plan.

Chicago Public Media is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we actively seek and welcome people from all backgrounds, orientations, and life experiences to join our team.

 

The essential functions described above are not all-inclusive and are not intended to create any contractual or other legal commitment. Chicago Public Media may change the content or format of this job at any time in its sole and exclusive discretion without notice.