Temporary Producer I, Planet Money

OVERVIEW

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Across our organization, we’re building a workplace where collaboration is essential, diverse voices are heard, and inclusion is the key to our success. We are committed to doing the right thing in our journalism and in every role at NPR. This means that integrity, adherence to our ethical standards, and compliance with legal obligations are fundamental responsibilities for every employee at NPR.

Intro to Position

Application Deadline: Friday, August 8th at 5:00PM EST

HOW TO APPLY: 

To apply, please send us your resume and in your cover letter include the following:

• Why this role? Share why you are interested in this position and how it aligns with your career goals.
• Give us some feedback! Choose a recent Planet Money episode and tell us how it would have turned out differently had you been involved—as a producer, or in the pitch or edit room. We thrive on constructive criticism, so we can take it. Don’t hold back, but do deliver critique as you would in an edit, so we can also see how you present notes.
• Highlight your audio work. Please include a link or two to recent projects you’ve produced and mixed. Tell us your role in each piece and why you’re proud of it.

The Planet Money team needs a temporary producer to help keep the show flowing smoothly. We ask our producers to juggle a lot and provide a lot of support and feedback. You’ll mix episodes in Pro Tools, join group edits, and maybe help with re-writes. You may also chase down archival tape or that one lingering loose end for a bigger piece. Maybe you’ll travel with reporters in the field to get just the right scene tape, maybe you’ll make the best of imperfect zoom audio with an economist and all along the way we’ll want you to use excellent judgment on how to multitask efficiently constantly balancing tradeoffs of speed and quality, brevity and depth, and who knows what else. That’s all part of the fun of working on a show that puts out heaps of reporting on podcast, broadcast, short and longform audio, newsletter and TikTok too. We’ll expect you to work independently and communicate constantly,  to know when to ask for help and when to say, leave me alone, it’s time to focus. You’ll get up close experience with some of the best audio storytellers in the business as they work out how to make their (and your) work better each day, line by line, idea by idea.

To be competitive for this position, you should be familiar with the state of the art in audio production, specifically Pro Tools and various remote recording software, and have experience working in a high-volume journalistic audio production environment like a station newsroom or weekly or daily scripted podcast.  If this sounds like something you can and want to do and this opportunity might advance your career goals, please apply. 

This is a union-represented role covered under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with SAG-AFTRA

This is an NPR editorial role covered under the terms of the NPR Ethics Handbook. All editorial staff are bound by this guidance. Editorial staff are defined as staff members who play a role in shaping the journalistic or creative direction of NPR's content, including events.    

Responsibilities 

• Mix and sound design episodes in Pro Tools on tight deadlines to high standards
• Join group edits, re-writes, and generally help shape the crafting of our coverage across mediums.
• Book guests
• Pitch ideas
• Research topics and help hosts prepare
• Fact check episodes, occasionally
• Assists hosts in scripting as needed
• Keep up with the general news and economic and business news alike
• Create and/or maintain team workflow processes, with minimal supervision
• Demonstrates critical thinking and sound editorial judgment in shaping and/or editing stories
• Gather field tape and “found sound” from online and other sources
• Assist in the planning and coordination of live events
• Produce content for digital media, including writing and scheduling social media posts, writing web copy, and newsletters, with independence and minimal revision needed
• Video editing for social posts or video versions of podcasts
• Contribute to the overall journalism of the team generally
• Cultivate, promote, and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in one’s work and in the workplace.
• Demonstrated awareness of intersectional identities and ability to collaborate with people from diverse backgrounds.

Minimum Qualifications

• 3-8 years of experience in a news environment. 
• Experience in podcasting and/or radio broadcasting.
• Ability to edit audio decisively, on deadline in Pro Tools. 
• Familiarity with the latest audio production technology. 
• Strong storytelling sensibilities,
• Commitment to and experience with fact-checking.
• Demonstrated ability to work quickly and efficiently under deadline pressure.
• Ability to handle more than one assignment at a time and prioritize, anticipate, and communicate effectively.
• Ability and willingness to work varied shifts.
• Proven ability to consistently work well with others, demonstrating, at all times, respect for the diverse constituencies at NPR and within the public radio system.
• Ability to use recording equipment to gather field sound.
• Attention to detail. Did you spot the errors in this post? Are you even reading this far in?
• Also, kindness.

Preferred Qualifications

• A natural interest in news.
• An interest in economics, business, or finance or better yet, work experience in these fields.
• Video editing experience. 
• Ambition and interest in improving our web and social media presence.
• Knowledge of narrative audio.

The above duties and responsibilities are not an exhaustive list of required responsibilities, duties and skills. Other duties may be assigned, and this job description can be modified at any time.

Education Requirements

• While we value formal education, especially in the fields we cover, we also value other types of learning; as such, there is no education requirement for this role. 

Work Location & Requirements

• Hybrid Permitted: This is a hybrid permitted role. Some aspects of this role include duties that are better performed at an NPR facility. The employee will be required to be onsite at the New York City office at least 10 days a year. The employee must also reside in an NPR supported location based on the number of onsite days they choose.

Job Type

• This is a temporary (6-month) full time position.

Compensation

-Hourly Rate: The U.S. based anticipated hourly rate for this opportunity is $46.88 per hour. The range displayed reflects the maximum hourly rate NPR expects to provide for new hires for the position across all US locations.

Benefits: NPR offers access to comprehensive benefits for employees and dependents. Regular, full-time employees scheduled to work 30 hours or more per week are eligible to enroll in NPR’s benefits options. Benefits include access to health and wellness, paid time off, and financial well-being. Plan options include medical, dental, vision, life/ accidental death and dismemberment, long-term disability, short-term disability, and voluntary retirement savings to all eligible NPR employees. 

NPR is an Equal Opportunity Employer. NPR is committed to being an inclusive workplace that welcomes diverse and unique perspectives, all working toward the same goal – to create a more informed public. Qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, lactation, and reproductive health decisions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, transgender status, gender non-conforming status, intersex status, sexual stereotypes, nationality, citizenship status, personal appearance, marital status, family status, family responsibilities, military status, veteran status, mental and physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, genetic characteristics of yourself or a family member, political views and affiliation, unemployment status, protective order status, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or any other basis prohibited under applicable law.

If you are a person with a disability needing assistance with the application process, please reach out to employeerelations@npr.org.

You may read NPR’s privacy policy to learn about how NPR may handle information you submit with any application.

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