Company Profile

Company Description:

Overview

Licensed to San Diego State University, KPBS Radio, Television & Online serves San Diego County with news, information, entertainment and cultural content.  The organization presents local and national content that is valued and trusted by the community.  KPBS also produces and distributes content about San Diego that is valued by local, regional, national and international audiences and is worthy of support.

KPBS News serves a countywide audience with news, information, cultural, and entertainment programming. KPBS is the public media station for San Diego, providing quality in-depth news and news analysis on all of its platforms -- TV, radio and digital. The mission of the news division is to provide balanced, accurate reports about the people and issues impacting the residents of San Diego & Imperial counties.

The Senior Producer for Radio News ensures we prioritize coverage of the region’s breaking news along with a mix of thought-provoking, accountability-driven stories that teach the audience something new. The Senior Producer for Radio News works under the supervision of the Director of News & Editorial Strategy (DNES) to help manage the day-to-day production of Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition Saturday (WESAT) and Weekend Edition Sunday (WESUN) on radio, as well as KPBS News podcasts.  The Senior Producer for Radio News will edit/review daily news on radio and, when needed, TV and digital. The Senior Producer for Radio News provides input and assistance for grant and donor reports on projects as needed, with support and oversight from the DNES. This position will also coordinate closely with the Radio Operations Manager to maintain clocks, manage breaking news, deliver content and refine workflows. 

Responsibilities

Managing/Directing/Monitoring Shows:  The Senior Producer for Radio News will be the station advocate for ME, ATC, WESAT and WESUN. The Senior Producer is the newsroom’s manager of the daily radio national news magazines , working with other editors/producers to make sure local daily news coverage on radio is timely, thorough and high quality. The Senior Producer is responsible for helping implement the programming strategies for these shows.  This person will maintain show clocks and will review show rundowns to assess news value, quality, and high journalistic standards, provide regular feedback to fellow editors, reporters and anchors, and engage in regular air checks and listening/viewing sessions. This person will make themselves available at a moment’s notice to manage news content issues that may arise during the course of the national news magazines.  

The Senior Producer will be responsible for tracking the daily local news content for ME, ATC, WESAT and WESUN. This includes keeping the assignment board up-to-date, managing the amount of daily spot production and ensuring that spot and feature scripts and audio are filed properly by deadline on a daily basis. The Senior Producer for Radio News is responsible for helping the station get breaking news on the air in a timely manner.  The Senior Producer will create a ME show plan each evening for the following day, and will review the ATC show plan each afternoon. The Senior Producer will be responsible for training backup anchors and replacement anchors for ME, ATC, WESAT and WESUN. The Senior Producer also works with student assistants to identify and repurpose interviews and packages from Midday Edition and Evening Edition, and to pull in stories from news partners, which include the California Newsroom, Cap Radio, The California Report and the Fronteras network.

Supervising:  The Senior Producer will work closely with the anchors of ME, ATC, WESAT and WESUN and to give daily feedback on performance issues, guidance on story selection and troubleshooting issues. The Senior Producer will hold direct reports accountable for meeting the goals and expectations established for their positions in the newsroom.  The Senior Producer will conduct performance evaluations with direct reports based on regular and on-going communication throughout the year. The Senior Producer will also spend time actively and continuously recruiting candidates, and serving on hiring committees for various newsroom hires. 

Editing News: The Senior Producer for Radio News will write & edit radio copy/audio daily. In doing so, the person will help to ensure that writing is focused, spare, and conversational (if you wouldn’t speak it, don’t write it), while also being lively and animated. Broadcast stories should move the narrative forward, allowing the writer to “get out of the way” of stories that appear to unfold spontaneously. The Senior Producer helps reporters not only to write with style but to create audio-rich radio. 

The Senior Producer is responsible for the on-air content being timely, balanced and accurate, and is always pushing the envelope with the quality of our content and engagement, in collaboration with other editors and producers. The Senior Producer regularly checks wires, online news and broadcast sources.

Assigning and editing duties will periodically fall on weekends and evenings and as news coverage requires.  The Senior Producer for Radio News will also be asked to periodically fill in for news editors when they take personal time off.

Administration: The Senior Producer for Radio News will help the news division’s administrative processes in that person’s team areas, including personnel, budgets, and grant/donor reports. The Senior Producer for Radio News will aim to spend budgets as effectively as possible, and will alert the DNES to suggested spending priorities on staffing and equipment needs for the next fiscal year.

The Senior Producer for Radio News helps to maintain news planning documents by updating with reporter movements and assignments, upcoming news pegs, and air/release dates of station news stories. The Senior Producer apprises the DNES of errors and necessary corrections, audience feedback, and any high-stakes story situations that entail potential legal action, anonymous sourcing, or ethical issues. The Senior Producer for Radio News will also coordinate stories shared with and provided by KPBS news partners, including NPR, the California Report, Cap Radio and the Fronteras network.

Station and Community Outreach: The Senior Producer for Radio News maintains an ongoing effective relationship with various KPBS departments, and the local community. The Senior Producer for Radio News will be asked to make appearances at various KPBS events as appropriate. They will participate in on-air fundraising for the station.

Qualifications

● Bachelor’s degree in journalism or equivalent experience.

● At least 4 years full-time professional experience as a  news show or news magazine producer.
● Prior experience creating, editing and managing news content

Preferred Experience:

● At least 2 years full-time supervisory experience.
● Experience with short and long-term planning.
● Experience working with current San Diego regional issues.
● Video and/or audio editing experience.

ADDITIONAL APPLICANT INFORMATION:

• The COVID-19 vaccine is required by the CSU for all SDSU Research Foundation employees as a condition of employment.   Should you be offered a position, you will be required to provide proof of vaccination status.  Individuals who obtain an approved medical or religious exemption on file will be required to complete regular COVID-19 testing
• A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with SDSU Research Foundation
• San Diego State University Research Foundation is an EEO/AA/Disability/Vets Employer