Overview

KCBS News Director

KCBS Radio, the Bay Area’s leading multimedia news operation, is looking for a dynamic individual to join its award-winning news team.

The News Director will report directly to the KCBS Director of News & Programming, and will support the KCBS Director of News & Programming in all phases of newsroom management and content creation.

The ideal candidate is a talented journalist with leadership experience, a passion for local news, and expertise in multimedia storytelling. Exceptional writing skills are required; command of the unique styles of broadcast and digital writing is required.

The News Director will participate in oversight and development of broadcast and digital news coverage, including breaking news, daily, long-term and enterprise story planning. The News Director will participate in the decision-making process with respect to integrating a variety of platforms into the content creation and distribution process. 

A significant part of the News Director’s work will revolve around editorial review. It is critical that the News Director have a strong understanding of proper grammar, syntax and punctuation, with confidence and experience to effectively coach staff on story selection, story structure, and content delivery. The ideal candidate is skilled at employee training and development, and understands how to communicate clearly with staff.

This position is based in Northern California. The News Director will work primarily in the KCBS newsroom in downtown San Francisco, with occasional field work for station events, live broadcasts and enterprise and breaking news reporting.

Responsibilities

• Lead and/or participate in editorial meetings, including but not limited to daily assignment meetings, daypart specific coverage conversations and long-range brainstorming sessions
• Communicate coverage plans to staff on a regular basis, including but not limited to daily assignment lists, messages about breaking news, and enterprise and/or feature reporting
• Collaborate with news staff regarding assignments and story selection, including but not limited to reporter assignments and newscast “stacking”
• Participate in routine one-on-one conversations with managers and news employees involved in assignments, story selection, and newscast “stacking”
• Collaborate with other members of the KCBS management team to recruit, select, hire, orient/train news employees
• Monitor team productivity, and appraise team performance 
• Work with other managers to provide constructive feedback and coaching to and for the news team
• Take the lead on developing and executing a digital content strategy that grows a large loyal audience
• Coach all KCBS employees on multi-platform content generation
• Oversee social media strategy; manage posts and feeds on all digital platforms
• Develop digital-first story ideas, series, and special projects that complement broadcast news coverage
• Post to social media accounts, compose push notifications and newsletters
• Review and approve podcasts and other specialty multimedia content
• Collaborate with broadcast staff to adapt and tailor stories and other content for digital 
• Ensure all daily content is optimized for SEO
• Use real-time metrics to drive broadcast and digital story decisions
• Work with marketing, audience development, and sales to identify opportunities to expand distribution and revenue potential of broadcast and digital content
• Develop and maintain editorial calendar and schedule 
• Develop clear goals and KPIs around scale, engagement and TLH that hold team accountable for progress 

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree

• 5 years of experience producing, editing, and distributing news content on a variety of platforms, including but not limited to broadcast, audio on demand and/or live internet stream 

• Outstanding news judgment

• A keen understanding of what makes a “good” story; the ability to convey to a colleague how best to cover a story

• Extreme patience, interpersonal skills, and a tolerance for a high-pressure environment

• Experience managing, coaching and mentoring news staff, including but not limited to reporters, producers, and writers

• Strong editing, writing, reporting and story development skills 

• A knack for transforming a piece of audio into a compelling digital article 

• Ability to refine and optimize broadcast audio for digital distribution

• Experience with content management/online publishing systems 

• Command of best practices on all social media platforms

• Excellent communication and presentation skills 

Required & Preferred:

A valid driver’s license, satisfactory completion of a motor vehicle record check, and, if the position requires use of applicant’s own vehicle, proof of insurance, is required.

Additional Information

The anticipated starting salary range for California-based individuals expressing interest in this position is $100,000.00/Yr.

Salary to be determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities and location of the applicant, as well as internal and external equity.

Audacy offers full time employees with a comprehensive benefits package to include: health care coordinator, medical, dental, vision, telemedicine, flexible spending accounts, health savings account, disability, life insurance, critical illness, hospital indemnity, accident insurance, paid time off (sick, vacation, personal, parental, volunteer), 401(k) retirement plan, discounted employee stock purchase, student loan payment assistance program, legal assistance, life assistance program, identity theft protection, discounted home and auto insurance, and pet insurance.

Important Notes:

Please be aware that Audacy will never ask you to send money at any point during the hiring process. Communication from legitimate Audacy representatives will only come from email addresses ending in @audacy.com. If you receive any suspicious requests or communications, please verify their authenticity before responding.

About Us

Audacy, Inc. (NYSE: AUD; OTC: AUDA) is a leading multi-platform audio content and entertainment company with the country’s best collection of local music, news and sports brands, a premium podcast creator, major event producer, and digital innovator. Audacy engages 200 million consumers each month, bringing people together around content that matters to them. Learn more at www.audacyinc.com, Facebook (Audacy Corp), X (@AudacyCorp), LinkedIn (@Audacy-Inc), Instagram (@lifeataudacy) and Threads (@Audacy_Corp).

EEO

Audacy is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. Audacy affords equal employment opportunity to qualified individuals regardless of their race, color, religion or religious creed, sex/ gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, age (over 40), physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or other classification protected by applicable federal, state, or local law, and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Consistent with our commitment to equal employment opportunity, we provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities who need assistance in applying electronically for a position with Audacy, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship. To request a reasonable accommodation for this purpose, please call 1-610-660-5614. Please note that this phone number is to be used solely to request an accommodation with respect to the online application process. Calls for any other reason will not be returned. Reasonable accommodation requests are considered on a case-by-case basis.