Job Description

A Producer II at Today, Explained and Explain it To Me takes a leadership role in finding, conceptualizing, planning and executing episodes of the show. This person has a strong innate sense of how to make Today, Explained and Explain it To Me episodes shine. They are fascinated by the world around them and exhilarated by the prospect of covering a second Trump administration. They read the news throughout the day each day and look forward to finding unique angles on the events and actions in the world around them.

A Today, Explained and Explain it To Me Producer II thinks strategically about show programming: coming up with smart, original pitches; booking and interviewing guests aggressively to find the right interview subject; and editing and scoring episodes using a high degree of editorial decisionmaking. The right person for this position is delighted by innovating on foundational news formats like the standard two-way, has demonstrated a knack for taking unexpected approaches to curiosity-driven stories, and loves making audio sound beautiful. The best candidate for this role also has demonstrated skill and experience as an editor, with the ability to pick the best stories, make tough decisions about editorial changes and cuts, and ensure they are creating the best final product. They are a mature team member who does not shrink from operational tasks, enjoys process and operations, and loves to conjure order from chaos. They relish working with others and in mentoring more junior producers as part of their daily workflow.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Take an editorial lead on researching, planning and writing timely and distinctive story segments 
• Find new formats, interesting structures, and strong guest bookings so we can explain the news of the day clearly and with an eye to audiences of all persuasions — never underestimating the audience’s intelligence or overestimating their information
• Assemble strong, thorough research prep and write host questions that tackle all the top issues
• Own and project manage complex episodes, working on multiple episodes simultaneously
• Help with the operational aspects of producing a daily show along with a weekly show
• Serve as editor on episodes of both shows as needed 
• Train on posting Today, Explained to the radio 
• Pitch stories based around the news multiple times each week 
• Find ways to report and produce enterprise stories 
• Produce creative formats that use research and reporting in nonstandard ways
• Utilize scoring and clip choices to elevate the sound of each episode, while abiding by fair use guidelines
• Support colleagues, providing solutions to workflow or editorial challenges, and mentor more junior producers as needed
• Communicate collaboratively on pitches and episode structure, finding yourself able to identify when a story needs to change direction and work with editorial leads on finding new angles. 
• Help prepare the show for public radio delivery as needed, including making editorial cuts to content to help create fundraising or rerun episodes for the public radio audience.

WHO YOU ARE

A voracious learner who finds themselves obsessed with domestic and global news, and reads news for pleasure as well as to envision new exciting segments. Ideally this person enjoys digging into everything from the latest election polling to new music trends, and has a couple discreet areas of specialization. 

What you’ll bring:

• 5-10 years working in audio journalism 
• Significant experience creating audio stories as part of a fast-moving, collaborative team under deadline pressure
• Experience working in a newsroom 
• Strong booking experience and the dogged determination and skills to find top-rated, unexpected guests on a daily basis
• High proficiency in audio editing/mixing in ProTools, and strength in musical scoring
• An ear for great tape and interest in developing inventive approaches to audio storytelling
• Experience with project management and process development
• A highly organized approach to workflow, and an interest in improving overall team processes and expectations
• Experience scripting and editing compelling, curiosity-driven stories or segments
• A track record of developing stories that draw on diverse perspectives/source lists
• A passion for explanatory journalism
• Creativity and a desire to be innovative

If you think you have what it takes, but don't meet every single point in our job posting, please apply with a cover letter to let us know how you believe you can bring your unique skills to the Vox Media team or get in touch! We’ve hired chefs who became editors, DJs who became UX designers, and sommeliers who became writers. 

WHERE YOU’LL WORK

This position is based in either Washington, DC, or New York, NY, and the candidate will work from the Vox office 2 days a week. Skill, comfort, and proficiency in field production around the DC area are required.

 

WHY VOX MEDIA?

WHAT WE OFFER

This is a permanent, full-time position. This job is benefits-eligible. We pride ourselves in providing comprehensive benefits to support all of our employees wherever they are in life. You can find more information about our benefitshere.

This role is a part of the Vox Media Union, represented by the Writers Guild of America, East

 

OUR DEI+ COMMITMENT

Vox Media is committed to building an inclusive environment where everyone can show up as their authentic selves and create their best work. We recognize that great stories, platforms, products and services come from people with all manner of backgrounds and experiences. We recognize that our commitments require ongoing work and sustained attention, as well as adaptation to new insights and best practices. We keep ourdiversity data public for the sake of accountability, transparency and communication. Learn more about our valueshere, and our approach to corporate citizenshiphere. 

Vox Media is an Equal Opportunity Employer and qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, disability, national origin, protected veteran status, age, or any other status protected by applicable national, federal, state, or local law. Vox Media will also consider all qualified applicants with criminal histories in accordance with applicable Fair Chance laws. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations as part of the application process to candidates with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation as part of the application process, please contact our People & Culture team (recruitment@voxmedia.com).

 

WHAT COMES NEXT

Our recruiting team will go through applications in a timely manner. Please note that our recruiting team will only contact you from @voxmedia.com email addresses, never via text message. Read more about how our recruiting team operates, and how to protect yourself from recruitment fraud,here.

Job Tags

Permanent employment, Full time, Work at office, Local area, 2 days per week,

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