Audience Engagement Editor, Local at Gannett in Gannett, Virginia

Job Description:

Audience Engagement Editor, Local

The USA TODAY NETWORK is looking for an audience engagement editor to join our audience growth team, which partners with local newsrooms on experiments that drive audience on social, video, audio, messaging and emerging platforms. We're looking for someone nimble, thoughtful and curious who can evolve with our platforms and tools - and with our readers, viewers and listeners on the other end.

The audience editor will be a collaborative member of a team that partners with newsrooms to experiment in sprints - digging in and testing our theories and strategies quickly and then helping newsrooms develop sustainability plans for successful initiatives. This role is right for you if you're constantly monitoring the latest trends in social media, messaging and emerging platforms and love to experiment and innovate.

The ideal candidate should have experience creating compelling storytelling experiences native to social media, newsletters or digital storytelling. You should also have expertise in SEO, audience listening and creating sophisticated audience plans to surface our news coverage during major tentpole events and network-wide projects.

The audience engagement editor will work in close partnership with local newsrooms and the rest of the local audience strategy team to create assets around audience engagement experiments, both online and in-person. This role requires a deep understanding of readers' off-platform habits, beyond typical social media, to create authentic experiences to connect with new audiences and deepen relationships with existing audiences.

In this role, you'll be expected to have on-the-ground knowledge of our newsrooms' projects and initiatives. This role is right for you if you're not afraid to be vocal if we are missing important coverage or engagement opportunities. Ideally, you also know how to monitor metrics, using them to keep the audience and local community at the heart of everything you do. You must be able to adapt to the ever-changing trends of audience habits and stay up to date with new, emerging platforms.

This is a role for someone who has a passion for engagement and is energized by the opportunity to help our newsrooms reach younger and traditionally underserved readers.

This role could include night and weekend work for tentpole events and major breaking news.

This position is remote and can be based anywhere in the US, except for Alaska and Hawaii. If you live near one of our local newsrooms, you may have the option to use that as a base of operations.

This is a new and unique role, and we understand not every applicant will have this specific combination of skills and experience. But if this job sounds exciting to you and you have ideas that can contribute to our vision, please consider applying.

The successful candidate will need to:

• Be detail-oriented and have the ability to multitask on multiple initiatives.
• Participate in news meetings to stay informed about coverage plans and major projects.
• Help coordinate and execute experiments that utilize social media, newsletters or emerging platforms, monitoring metrics and results and pivoting where needed.
• Be hands-on in creating new content, like graphics or video and experiences to support newsrooms' efforts to deepen relationships with their audiences.
• Innovate around audience growth and what local consumers are talking about, including forming relationships with local influencers.
• Partner with local journalists, content strategy, USA TODAY and other departments to help shape, coach and execute audience plans for major tentpole events, breaking news and network-wide initiatives.
• Think beyond traditional social media to engage with audiences. • Help with live coverage for breaking news and tentpole events.
• Other duties as assigned by a manager.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's or master's degree in communications, journalism, marketing or related field preferred or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 2+ years newsroom experience in an audience-focused role, preferably in a digitally focused news organization.
• Experience creating news content and assets optimized for social media, newsletters or search, including during breaking news.
• Knowledge of best practices for SEO, Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, X, YouTube and TikTok at a minimum.
• Experience using analytics tools such as Parse.ly, Google Analytics, Google Trends, and social and newsletter engagement insights to make data-informed decisions.
• Social media graphic design, newsletter management, and video editing experience is preferred.
• Devotion to peer-to-peer training, as both a teacher and student.
• Commitment to detail, accuracy and fairness and an understanding of journalistic ethics and best practices.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate across teams, as needed.
• Ability to multitask and excel under deadline pressure, using time efficiently.

Application Instructions

We are eager to learn more about you and how you fit this role. When you apply, don't limit your upload to a resume; show us what you've done. To do so, put together a single document file that includes the following, in this order:

1. Your resume - one to two pages.
2. A cover letter that outlines how you would approach the job.

It is important that these items be assembled into a single document and uploaded in PDF format. Completing these steps will ensure that your application receives the highest consideration.

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The annualized base salary for this role will range between $38,700 and 93,150 . Variable compensation is not reflected in these figures and based on the role, may be applicable. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, location, and union representation, if applicable.
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