KCUR 89.3, Kansas City’s NPR affiliate, is hiring an editor to lead our coverage of race, culture, the arts, food, sports – all the things that make Kansas City a unique and vibrant place.

Since its earliest days as a trading post on the Missouri River and the site of a dangerous borderland between a slave state and a free state, through its wide-open time as a meatpacking hub and one birthplace of jazz, to its current era as a sprawling Midwestern metropolis with championship athletic teams and world-class cultural aspirations, Kansas City has always been a place of connection, conflict, creation and recreation. In other words, a place with great stories everywhere.

We seek an editor to work with staff reporters and freelance contributors as well as our community engagement editor to make sure our audiences are informed and inspired by their city every day. KCUR is a highly collaborative environment, and we’re looking for someone who can energize mid-career journalists with new ideas at the same time as they’re helping emerging reporters grow. Our new colleague must share our commitment to serving our audiences by reflecting the fullest view of the place we call home. This position reports directly to the Director of Content-Journalism.

Major Responsibilities

• Maintains a positive and welcoming work environment, upholding the highest standards of journalism and ethical management practices.
• Works with other editors and a team of reporters to create and audio and digital content that excels, specifically in the areas of race and culture, food, the arts, sports, history and random areas of joy, challenge and intrigue.
• Generates story ideas and assigns and edits stories. Coordinates assignments, edits and schedules air- and publication dates with other KCUR content leaders.
• Ensures the smooth production and delivery of audio and digital content across existing and new platforms.
• Maintains an efficient approach to news gathering and reporting that produces in-depth coverage of distinction, including in breaking news situations.
• Establishes and maintains contracts and pay for freelance reporters.
• Edits and works with talk show team, as well as reporters in the Kansas News Service, Harvest Public Media, the Midwest Newsroom and other collaborations as needed.
• Maintains and enforces KCUR and AP digital style.
• Facilitates an environment for the ethical practice of journalism and enforces ethical principles.
• Works as a reporter or creates digital content as needed.
• Participates in the station’s community engagement efforts.
• May oversee the work of interns.
• Participates in assigned fund-raising and outreach activities, on air and off.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum qualifications

A Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least 4 years of experience from which comparable knowledge and skills can be acquired is necessary.

Preferred qualifications

• Three to five years of experience producing or editing news and feature content for audio and digital platforms.
• At least three years of experience as an editor.
• Work experience in a radio or public media organization.
• Excellent verbal/written communication skills.
• Demonstrated excellence in news judgment and ability to generate engaging story ideas.
• Knowledge and commitment to AP style.
• Knowledge of the Kansas City region from a cultural and news perspective.
• Ability to cover or direct breaking news as well as long-form, innovative storytelling.
• Ability to work accurately under tight deadlines.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Aggressive, enthusiastic, and self-motivated approach to journalism.
• Ability to multitask and work on diverse projects simultaneously in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment.
• Demonstrated data-driven judgment, analysis and understanding of KPIs.
• Experience with content management systems.
• Demonstrated ability to take direction and work collaboratively with various personalities.
• Ability and willingness to work a varied schedule.
• Enthusiasm for the role of public media in a changing journalism environment.
• Experience with digital audio editing (e.g. Adobe Audition), field recording equipment, and other audio production tools.

Salary

$53,600 - $70,000, to commensurate with experience, education, and internal equity. 

Send Application Materials To: 

KCUR 89.3 is the NPR affiliate in Kansas City and is an editorially independent community service of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Please apply online at UMKC’s website: https://info.umkc.edu/hr/careers/  Select “Staff Positions,” then “View Jobs,” then “View All Jobs.”  Application deadline is April 24, 2022.