Assistant News Director

About the role

The Assistant News Director assists the News Director with all aspects of news, weather and sports programming production, and serves as the News Director in his/her absence.

Responsibilities

• Assists the News Director with management of all aspects of the News Department (other than Production)
• Assists with planning, staffing, training, and performance evaluations for the News Department
• Consults on decisions regarding hiring, evaluation, promotion and termination of employees
• Develops news coverage strategy for the station and its website
• Critiques newscasts daily to correct errors, improve coverage and provide mentoring feedback to news staff
• Assigns projects to staff and verifies that deadlines are being met
• Ensures achievement of viewer rating goals
• Determines programming and evaluation of equipment needs to produce quality programming
• Responds to coverage questions
• Serves as the News Director in his/her absence
• Performs other duties as assigned

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and work-related experience
• Fluency in English
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written
• Minimum two years’ experience in news programming production, with some leadership experience preferred (depending on market size)
• Ability to identify the developmental needs of others and to coach, mentor or otherwise help others to improve their knowledge or skills
• Proficiency with computers, telephones, copiers, scanners, fax machines and other office equipment
• Ability to meet deadlines, prioritize assignments and handle multiple tasks simultaneously
• Ability to effectively listen to fully understand employee needs and communicate with a team to shape a solution