Sports Director / Mobile, Alabama

Nexstar Media Group, Inc.•Mobile, AL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Sports Director leads our local sports coverage team and collaborates with news and production teammates to produce stories, segments, and programs for all platforms (broadcast, digital, social, & streaming) including the production of a daily, nationally syndicated sports talk-show. The Sports Director collaborates with Sales and Marketing teammates to help pitch and secure sponsorships for sports segments and programs.

Requirements

Strong news judgment and high journalistic integrity
Superior on-camera presence and confidence
Work well under pressure --- ability to handle breaking news and last-minute changes with aplomb
Low-to-zero call/approach reluctance --- ability to confidently engage with athletes, coaches, administrators, boosters, those affected by stories, and others to cultivate story leads and information
Excellent communication skills, both oral and written with the ability to ad lib
Professional savvy and collegial demeanor when interacting with colleagues and members of the public
Strong, candid knowledge of self & capabilities and display the willingness and ability to take action to learn, improve, and grow
Fluency in English
Flexibility to work any shift
Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, or a related or complimentary field of study; or an equivalent combination of education and work-related experience required.
Mastery of AP writing style to author digital, social, streaming, and on-air content
Confident and capable visual storyteller who is able to gather compelling video, strong natural sound, and solid interviews with field video gear to produce people-centered stories and segments
Strong non-linear video editing skills required
Mastery of setup, operation, and troubleshooting of Open Broadcast Software (OBS), vMix, and/or other similar streaming software programs
Basic understanding of camera settings, studio lighting, and audio processing
Desire to experiment and innovate in an evolving digital space while maintaining professionalism and journalistic principles
Valid driver’s license required for hire. A clean driving record is required and must be maintained to be able to safely & confidently operate company motor vehicles

Nice To Haves

A minimum of three (3) years of experience as a Sports Director preferred.
familiarity with Adobe Premiere video editing software preferred
Familiarity and confidence with ENPS rundown and story management system preferred
Familiarity and confidence with Wordpress digital content publishing system preferred

Responsibilities

Anchor nightly sportscasts on WKRG-TV News 5 and WFNA-TV Gulf Coast CW.
Produce and host weekly, half-hour sports program “Sports Overtime” airing Sundays at 10:35pm CDT.
Present stories on camera with accuracy in a professional, dynamic, and engaging manner
Produce special projects and other duties as assigned
Serve as an ambassador for the station at local community events & activities
Research/gather/analyze information, interviews, and video to produce accurate, complete, in-depth, relevant, and fair reports for all platforms
Ensure that all content produced meets company standards for journalistic integrity, timeliness, and production quality
Author strong copy with correct grammar, punctuation, editorial style, and formatting to meet the requirements of each digital, social, and on-air distribution platform
Quickly solidify presence on all key beats and develop strong professional relationships with reliable sources
Daily, pitch & break exclusive, enterprise sports stories for all content platforms
Report/shoot/edit video and audio content of varying lengths/formats to meet the requirements of each content platform
Update and maintain online and social media presence to connect and converse with audience and generate story leads and content
Report live for all content platforms
Cooperate and communicate clearly, directly, and regularly with content teammates and other station departments
Co-host and collaborate with team to produce and deliver our nationally syndicated sports talk-show “Southeast Sports+” streaming weekdays 2pm-4pm CDT.
Be able to confidently and capably technically “one man band” the planning and execution of the show via OBS and vMix.
Strengthen and expand positive working relationships with our partner sports departments across Nexstar and other industry collaborators and connections to build awareness of the show and leverage opportunities to scale coverage and distribution
Develop OBS scene collections and evangelize best practices for livestreams across all WKRG platforms
Become an in-house expert for production of pre-produced and breaking OTT programs
Track talk OTT show metrics to identify opportunities for improvement, marketing, and distribution
Willingness to learn and understand the IT and engineering elements required for successful livestreaming