Digital Producer

The Center for Investigative Reporting, Inc. • Washington, DC

1d • $85,000 - $100,000 • Onsite

About The Position

We started this year with 26 million views in a single month. This role will build on that momentum. The Digital Producer will work across the full range of what modern video journalism looks like, including evolving our podcast properties into video-native experiences and extending the quick-turn, talent-forward video operation that keeps CIR visible and vital across every platform that matters.

This is a cross-organization position serving both Reveal and Mother Jones brands. You'll own important parts of the transformation of how our video podcasts reach audiences on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. You'll also be working on a team that makes video feel like a natural, sustainable part of how CIR reporters tell stories every day—not a separate production track. The ideal candidate thinks in formats: what works as a long-form video episode, what gets clipped and shared, what puts a reporter's expertise on display in 90 seconds. You know the video landscape well, have strong opinions about where it's going, and are ready to build something distinctive for one of the most ambitious newsrooms in the country. You bring a journalist's instincts to everything you produce—you follow the news, you spot the story or a scoop that needs to be a video right now, and you can turn it around fast. You'll work closely with reporters to generate ideas and get ahead of the conversation, not just react to it.

Requirements

• 6 years in video production with a focus on social video and video podcasting.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating your ability to produce visually compelling, editorially ambitious video content.
• Deep fluency in the video ecosystem—you watch shows and social video of all kinds, you know what's working, you have opinions about guest framing and thumbnail strategy, and you can articulate why some videos break out and others don't.
• Expert proficiency in video editing and post-production tools—Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, and AI-assisted workflows—plus familiarity with remote recording platforms (Riverside, Zencastr) and podcast production workflows.
• Strong editorial instincts. You understand investigative journalism, you can identify the most compelling moments in a conversation or story, and you know how to package them for maximum impact across formats.
• Experience coaching on-screen talent.
• A builder's mentality. You're comfortable standing up new workflows from scratch.
• A collaborative, low-ego approach. You'll work across teams and brands in a newsroom full of strong personalities and opinions. You bring your own point of view but know how to build consensus and move fast.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in public media, investigative journalism, or nonprofit newsrooms.
• Familiarity with audio production and the conventions of narrative podcast storytelling.
• A sense of humor is always a plus.

Responsibilities

• Work on expanding Reveal and More To The Story into video formats, making each show feel intentional and native to video.
• Conceive, pitch, and pilot new video podcast series.
• Produce video of all kinds, from concept through post—including scripting, shooting, directing, editing, and packaging across platforms.
• Collaborate with reporters, editors, and audio producers across properties to integrate video seamlessly into existing editorial workflows.
• Build and manage a sustainable production pipeline that delivers on a regular cadence across multiple formats and channels.
• Work on the vodcast and social video distribution strategies across YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and emerging platforms—understanding the distinct audience behaviors for each.
• Develop clip and highlight strategies that turn long-form episodes and shows into high-performing short-form content—field reports, straight-to-camera commentaries, interview clips, and more—for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
• Track performance metrics, surface insights, and adjust tactics based on what's working.
• Stay plugged into the rapidly evolving video podcast landscape.
• Coach on-screen talent—reporters, hosts, and guests—on presence, delivery, and the specific demands of video, helping people who are brilliant on tape or on the page become equally so on camera.
• Help build a culture where reporters across the newsroom continue to see video as a natural extension of their storytelling toolkit—and build on our many successes to date.
• Collaborate with the digital and social teams to ensure video production is integrated into a broader strategy, not siloed.
• Establish and refine setups, remote recording workflows, and post-production processes—whether in-bureau or on-location.
• Evaluate and implement tools and technologies—from camera and lighting rigs to editing software and AI-assisted workflows—that keep production quality high and turnaround fast.
• Develop templates and production playbooks so that video quality is scalable.
• Producing DC-based reporters and talent out of the DC bureau.

Benefits

• health, dental, and vision benefits for our employees and their dependents (premiums fully paid by CIR)
• paid vacation starting at three weeks per year
• pretax commuter benefits and FSA and HSA programs
• a flex-hours program
• a 37.5-hour workweek

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed