Director of News and Public Affairs
About The Position
Austin PBS is seeking an innovative and experienced journalism leader to guide and grow our news and public affairs content serving Central Texas. This candidate will ensure high-quality, relevant, and engaging content that reflects the diverse communities we serve. This position will lead a multidisciplinary team of talented journalists and content professionals, fostering a culture of editorial excellence, collaboration, and innovation across broadcast and digital platforms. Key priorities include growing digital news audiences, developing platform-specific content strategies, and advancing community-centered journalism through partnerships, diverse voices, and solutions-oriented dialogue. Current initiatives under this role include Austin InSight, a weekly news and feature journalism program, and the community-led reporting of Decibel. The ideal candidate brings strong news judgment, team leadership experience, and a track record of producing high-quality content while expanding audience reach across platforms.
Requirements
- Seven to 10 years in journalism plus minimum 2 years in leadership
- Bachelor's degree in video, photography, journalism, or other similar related fields (or the equivalent combination of education and experience)
- Strong leadership skills and demonstrated ability to lead a diverse team toward a common goal
- Demonstrated ability to maintain high journalistic standards and uncompromising ethics
- Understanding and commitment to community engagement through an audience-centered approach
- Must have a creative mindset, enthusiasm for online media, and an understanding of non-commercial news
- Must have proven abilities in planning and coordinating people and operations.
- Please provide cover letter & samples of work (reels, portfolio, writing samples, etc.)
Nice To Haves
- Knowledge of Central Texas community a plus
Responsibilities
- Oversees the editorial vision, mission, strategic plan, priorities and policies for all news and public affairs programs at Austin PBS
- Serve as Executive Producer for Austin InSight and ensure production is consistent with the the vision, mission, goals and editorial policies of the department and station
- Directly supervises reporting and journalism staff and is responsible for recruiting, training and coaching
- Directs and manages all short, medium and long term planning around current and future news and public affairs projects
- Collaborates with other departments to achieve the strategic priorities of the station, which includes but is not limited to fundraising, audience, programming and community engagement goals
- Establishes, fosters and maintains relationships and collaborations with other media organizations
- Communicate with the station’s board of directors, community advisory board and other stakeholder groups regarding news and public affairs content as needed
- Makes public appearances on behalf of the station
- Other duties as assigned
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
Number of Employees
11-50 employees
