News Director

Job Description

SUMMARY

Reporting to the General Manager, the News Director provides editorial leadership for all news and public affairs programming at NJ PBS, ensuring the highest standards of journalism and maintaining independence between station operations and any outside political or institutional influence. This role oversees the newsroom, public affairs content, and the station's partnership with news organizations across the state through the NJ News Commons and NJ News Wire, championing accountability journalism in service to New Jersey's communities. This position is expected to lead creation of a new kind of public media newsroom for the state, one that is focused on listening to and serving people’s information needs, and one that is innovative and agile on multiple platforms.

NOTE: Hiring is contingent upon the execution of the contract between the State of New Jersey and Montclair State University.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Set the day-to-day and long-term editorial agenda for NJ PBS news, including leading the newsroom's response to breaking and developing news events across New Jersey.
• Set and uphold editorial standards and journalism ethics for all NJ PBS news and public affairs content.
• Maintain a separation between the newsroom and university administration, state government, and major funders.
• Supervise all news staff.
• Lead daily editorial meetings that combine news judgment, social analytics, and trend identification.
• Drive the creation and development of new news products and services (newsletters, podcasts, etc.).
• Manage the day-to-day working relationship with news partners.
• Develop strategies for covering underrepresented communities across all 21 New Jersey counties.
• Ensure deep community listening is a driving force behind newsroom decisions.
• Manage the news department budget, including personnel, equipment, and production resources.
• Mentor news department staff; foster a diverse, inclusive newsroom culture.
• Represent the station editorially at public events, community forums, and partner organization meetings across New Jersey.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

REQUIRED

• A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in journalism, communications, or a related field.
• Minimum five years of professional experience in the news media industry.
• Demonstrated experience in broadcast and digital news management, including editorial oversight, newsroom operations, and staff supervision.
• Strong news judgment and experience in practicing the highest editorial and ethical standards
• Demonstrated track record of growing audiences on both broadcast and digital platforms.

PREFERRED

• Master's degree from an accredited college or university.
• Experience at a public media PBS-affiliated or NPR-affiliated station.
• Knowledge of the New Jersey media landscape and news ecosystem.
• Experience with multiplatform and digital-first news operations.