Director of Audience

Hearst•Dallas, TX

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Dallas Morning News is seeking a strategic, innovative newsroom leader to direct audience engagement and help deepen the newsroom’s connection with its community. As a member of the newsroom’s senior leadership team, the Director of Audience will help execute newsroom priorities, develop strategic initiatives, and work closely with Hearst Newspapers’ editorial leadership. The role focuses on growing audiences and digital subscriptions through experimentation, effective use of audience analytics, and engagement strategies across platforms. The Director will help set and manage audience goals for newsroom teams, democratize analytics through training and coaching, and lead efforts to evaluate journalism performance and improve engagement. This person will collaborate with editors and other senior leaders, bring strong news judgment to breaking news and story development, and provide day-to-day supervision and employee management for assigned staff. The Dallas Morning News reaches more than 4 million people each week across print, digital, and social platforms. Staff work in the office at least three days a week.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in journalism or a related field.
At least 5 years of audience engagement experience, including management experience.
Ability to turn audience data into actionable strategies for driving subscriptions and expanding reach.
Deep understanding of SEO, audience analytics, and social media.
Ability to innovate and quickly iterate on strategies for engaging audiences.
Strong news judgment and commitment to accuracy.
Track record of adapting quickly and moving at the speed of news.
Strong communication and collaboration skills.
Significant track record in growing audiences and developing innovative strategies.
Strong change-management skills.
Ability to remain calm under pressure and work with continuous deadlines; organization, enthusiasm, compassion, and creativity.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement core strategies and goals for audience engagement.
Democratize audience analytics across the newsroom through training, coaching, and mentoring.
Lead efforts to analyze journalism performance, understand the audience, and improve engagement.
Help set and manage audience goals for newsroom teams.
Take a hands-on approach to breaking news across digital platforms.
Build strong relationships with staff and foster their growth and development.
Use exceptional news judgment to recognize the digital potential of stories that will resonate with the audience.
Work with editors to shape coverage that deepens engagement with the digital audience.
Provide day-to-day leadership and supervision to assigned staff, ensuring operational goals and objectives are met effectively and efficiently.
Manage recruitment, interviewing, selection, onboarding, and retention.
Conduct regular performance evaluations and provide constructive feedback and coaching to support employee development and accountability.
Administer progressive discipline and counseling as needed, in alignment with company policies and procedures.
Oversee scheduling, workload distribution, and delegation of responsibilities to support balanced team performance and productivity.