Audience Producer

The Texas Tribune, the state’s go-to source for Texas politics and public policy news, is hiring a weekend audience producer to work on the Tribune’s audience team — from Wednesday through Sunday — to help the Tribune own news moments wherever readers are discussing them online.

We’re looking for someone who is obsessed with the news. You know what to share, and what not to share — especially when a sketchy story flies across your Twitter feed. You’re someone who can take an obscure policy development and explain why it matters in 280 characters or less. You know how to humanize policy issues for social readers. You translate wonky investigations into viral tweetstorms. You have an eye for shareable headlines, strong quotes and eyebrow-raising data points. You know a good lede is not necessarily good Facebook copy, a good headline is not necessarily a good Tweet and a good lead image is not necessarily a good Instagram post. You like talking to readers, answering their questions and taking constructive feedback. You work well with others and are comfortable prioritizing inbound requests from multiple different teams. You know how to draft subject lines and write newsletters that ensure an email audience is kept up to date on the most important Texas policy and politics news.

We’re looking for someone who can partner with the rest of the audience team in efforts to identify communities we aren’t reaching and the journalism needed to reach and serve those readers in off-platform social spaces. You know how to navigate Facebook groups, Reddit threads and other spaces where readers are consuming information. You're open and willing to contribute to creative solutions as we scale to reach more Texans who are underserved by news organizations, like identifying opportunities for collaborations, new distribution channels and novel projects that can help redefine what it means to audience engagement in a community-centered manner — especially for other non-profit news organizations that look to the Texas Tribune as a model on how to do this work.

We have an excellent marketing team — and this is not a marketing position. Our audience producer is a journalist who uses our social feeds to write, edit and report the news to different audiences with different needs. The Texas Tribune does important journalism. Our audience team helps our team ensure that journalism is read.

This role will report to the assistant director of audience and can be based anywhere in Texas, though we have a slight preference for employees based in, or willing to move to, Austin.

The salary for this position starts at $55,000 + depending on qualifications.

Your responsibilities include:

• BA/BS degree and 2+ years of relevant experience OR equivalent combination of education and relevant experience. Experience in your student newsrooms or college internship counts towards this.

• A solid understanding of Texas news and politics
• Prior experience working in a fast-paced dynamic newsroom on deadlines or in breaking news situations
• Experience serving and engaging with marginalized, underserved communities, especially Texas’ fastest-growing populations: young and ethnically diverse Texans
• Experience with tools like Crowdtangle, Google Analytics and social media management applications like Sprout Social, Hootsuite or Buffer (we use Sprout Social)
• Experience editing multimedia, including social images and video clips

We know there are great candidates who won’t check all of these boxes, and we know you might bring important skills that we haven’t considered. If that’s you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself.

About The Texas Tribune

Here’s what you should know about the Tribune. From day one we’ve had disruption, innovation and risk-taking in our DNA. We’re ambitious as all get out but still have the punch-above-your-weight mentality of a scrappy start-up. We believe we can meet the demands of our audience and our own expectations for excellence without breaking the bank — or our staff. We understand not everything is a story for us — we have to make choices — but we’re always looking to expand our boundaries. We’re nonprofit because the challenging economic reality for media these days obligates us to find a different way, reliable and sustainable, to fund serious journalism. We’re nonpartisan because we live in the United States of Confirmation Bias — and we don’t need to be part of the problem. We don’t need to be yet another source of information affirming the voices and perspectives that are already in people’s heads. At the same time, nonpartisan is not non-thinking. We call B.S. when B.S. needs to be called.

All of us at the Trib believe the best way to achieve that mission is to resemble the state we cover. We’re committed to building an inclusive newsroom for people of all backgrounds and ages, and we’re taking steps to meet that commitment. We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply for this role, including women, people of color, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities.

The Texas Tribune office is located in downtown Austin, steps away from the Texas Capitol building. This position can be based anywhere in Texas. We have colleagues in the organization that come into the office on a regular basis and colleagues that are based in various cities throughout the United States.

This job is full time and has the following benefits:

• Medical, vision and dental insurance
• A cellphone stipend
• 20 days of paid time off each year
• Up to 16 weeks of paid family leave plus four weeks of additional job protection
• 401(k) matching
• Support for professional training and attending industry conferences
• Remote working flexibility

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

How to Apply

Click here to submit your application by August 19 with a résumé and cover letter. We can't wait to hear from you.

The Texas Tribune is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to diversity and building an inclusive environment for all, and we encourage applicants of all identities, backgrounds, ages, and abilities to apply. Learn more about The Texas Tribune here.