Company Profile

Company Description:

Community Radio for Northern Colorado (CRNC), the parent organization to both Northern Colorado’s NPR Station, KUNC, and the non-commercial music service, The Colorado Sound, aims to strengthen our communities by cultivating the mind and spirit - informing, inspiring and entertaining. To fully live up to this mission, we strive to include diverse voices and amplify those from groups that are rarely heard from in the media.
Located in a pivotal location in one of the fastest-growing parts of the county on the front range of the incredible Rocky Mountains, you have day-access to world-class skiing, camping, biking, and hiking, as well as popular entertainment, educational and cultural institutions such as the Colorado Rockies and Denver Bronco games, the Denver Art Museum, and our beloved legendary music venues, including the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Nearby Fort Collins is a growing destination city with a major university, a strong, growing food and cultural scene, and easy access to rafting, hiking, biking, and exploring.
 
Summary:
This position produces relevant and engaging content that’s primarily focused state government, politics, and state issues including the impact of legislative activities and elections. This position must possess a solid foundation of reporting skills and radio production, and a desire to work as part of a team with a can-do attitude for meeting expectations.
 
Essential Functions:

• Reports, writes and produces original and engaging content that’s focused on state government reporting. Covers all aspects of Colorado politics by identifying key sources and seeking out unique and compelling stories that share the legislative process and live up to KUNC’s and NPR's standards for accuracy, fairness, and newsworthiness.
• Cultivates diverse sources and makes use of reporting tools like FOIA and CORA, database acquisition and analysis and data mining to uncover original stories that matter.
• Emphasizes stories that elevate marginalized voices and shine light on systematic inequities and failures.
• Cover day to day policy hearings, including the introduction of bills, budget resolutions, press conferences – with lawmakers and the governor – as well as other actions that have a direct impact on the residents of Colorado.
• Reports both short-term and medium-term projects, sometimes simultaneously.
• Consistently develops and suggests original story ideas.
• Uses and creates audience engagement opportunities to become informed on topics important to listeners.
• Files original reporting to all editorial platforms, including digital and visual media, social networks, and various audio platforms, with the goal of reaching the largest audiences with the biggest impact.
• Build a robust list of sources who you speak to regularly to both breaking news and understand what is happening in our listening area
• Completes data analysis; requests records under state and federal laws; obtains original documents; completes fact checking and verification.
• Produces news content for newscasts and web and creates sound-rich, in-depth audio and web features.
• Works closely with the editorial team to identify and report on issues and stories.
• Works closely with news team to produce segments of our daily news program. 
• Creates content which includes research, writing, and packaging stories for a variety of platforms.
• Pitches and files to NPR newscast unit and features editor, when appropriate.
• Be available for breaking news situations that the newsroom responds to.
• Contributes general news story ideas and project ideas to the newsroom.
• Attends and participates in newsroom editorial and planning meetings.

 
Additional Responsibilities:

• Participates in station fundraising, development and promotional functions.
• Maintains an active social media presence to engage and inform users.
• Generates newscast content on topics related to ongoing and previous stories.
• Provides breaking news coverage and support as assigned.
• Performs other duties as assigned by News Director and Senior Managing Editor.

 
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
 
Knowledge

• Broadcast, digital recording, and editing equipment.
• FCC guidelines and requirements.
• Wide Orbit or other automation systems.
• Digital and social media concepts and tools.

 
Skills

• On-air presentations, as well as interview, writing and production skills.

• Editorial judgment, fair, accurate news writing, a sense of mission, and interviews and online work as required
• Operating a personal computer with proficient skills in Excel, Outlook, Word and Dropbox.
• Providing oversight and support to new reporters, including assisting with projects and giving guidance on reporting tools.
• Demonstrated understanding of digital and social media concepts and tools and ability to think creatively about digital content.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, while utilizing proper grammar.
• Perform work professionally, with ethics and integrity, and maintain confidentiality when required.
• Comfortable with peer editing and guiding less-experienced colleagues who need support

Abilities

• Productive, responsible, and enterprising individual possessing a grasp of how global, national, and regional issues connect to the KUNC listening area.
• Work with little supervision and exercise good independent judgment.
• Maintain high journalistic standards of objectivity, balance, and fairness.

• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees and the community.

• Think creatively about digital content.

• Handle multiple priorities and simultaneous demands, organizing and completing tasks according to their importance.
• Commit to supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.
• Consistently work well with others, demonstrating at all times respect for the diverse constituencies at KUNC and within the public broadcasting system.

 
Experience and Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED is required.
• Bachelor’s Degree in journalism, broadcast communication or similar field is preferred.

• Three (3) years of prior experience reporting news is required.
• Valid Colorado driver’s license and access to a vehicle is required.
• Must be located in Colorado coverage area for radio station.
• Bilingual in Spanish is preferred.

 
Physical Demands                                              
The employee is required to frequently stand, walk, sit, use hands and fingers, reach and lift with arms, climb, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee is required to frequently lift up to 30 pounds without assistance. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision; distance vision; peripheral vision; depth perception; and the ability to adjust focus.
 
The physical demands described 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 of this position.
 
Work Environment
The employee typically works indoors in a standard office environment but is required to travel to other locations for station events.
 
The job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee and is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change.
 
Community Radio for Northern Colorado’s mission is to strengthen our community by cultivating the mind and spirit - informing, inspiring, and entertaining. To fully live up to this mission, this position must strive to include diverse voices and amplify those from groups that are rarely heard in the media.
 
CRNC is an equal employment opportunity employer. We strive to make CRNC an example for other media organizations by modeling diversity, equity, and inclusion within our organization.