Production Talent Is the New Bottleneck
The companies doing the hiring couldn’t be more different from one another. An independent news outlet, an interior design startup, and a sports media venture are all searching for the same core skill set: someone who can manage content from concept through publish, coordinate freelancers, and make smart editorial decisions without constant supervision.
That convergence tells you something. Production expertise has become the connective tissue of modern media, regardless of vertical. The person who can wrangle a breaking news livestream can also orchestrate a short-form travel series, because the underlying muscles are identical: editorial judgment, timeline management, and comfort working asynchronously with distributed teams.
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What’s also notable today is the salary transparency. Several of these roles lead with specific compensation ranges, which makes comparison shopping much easier for candidates weighing their options. If you’ve been building production chops at a single outlet, now is a good time to see how transferable those skills really are.
Today’s Hot Jobs
Senior Producer at Status Coup News
Why this one matters: Status Coup is an independent, investigative-first news operation that built its audience on on-the-ground reporting, the kind legacy outlets have largely abandoned. This senior producer role sits directly under the CEO and essentially runs the editorial engine: assigning edits, managing reporters and freelancers, and maintaining quality control across a growing library of live and recorded content. At $80,000 to $85,000 with benefits, it’s a fully remote role that puts you at the center of a newsroom punching well above its weight.
What they need from you:
- Experience managing video edits and communicating revision notes to producers and editors
- Ability to oversee and organize a growing team of reporters, producers, editors, and freelance contributors
- Strong alignment with investigative, accountability-driven journalism values
- Comfort working in a high-volume content environment across both live and recorded formats
Apply to the Senior Producer role at Status Coup News
Social Media Producer at Showplace
The hook: This part-time, remote role comes with a twist that most social media jobs don’t: regular travel to job sites across the country. Showplace designs and launches high-performing Airbnb and short-term rental properties, and they need someone who can show up on location, capture compelling before-and-after video, and turn it into scroll-stopping content for Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. At $35 per hour with all travel expenses covered, it’s a genuinely flexible gig (20 to 30 hours per week) for a producer who wants variety in their workweek.
Core requirements:
- Ability to film, edit, and publish short-form vertical video across multiple platforms
- Comfort being on camera and filming yourself during site visits and installs
- Ownership of the full content lifecycle from capture to publish
- Strategic mindset for making social media drive actual business results
Apply to the Social Media Producer position at Showplace
Media Director at Marketing for Change
What makes this different: Marketing for Change is a behavioral science-driven ad agency focused entirely on social change campaigns. This Media Director role is a senior leadership position where you’ll build out the agency’s media planning, buying, and earned exposure practice across regional, state, and national campaigns. The work sits at the intersection of research, creative storytelling, and media investment, all aimed at influencing behavior rather than selling products. For someone who’s mastered traditional media strategy and wants their expertise to serve a larger purpose, this is a rare find.
Key qualifications:
- Recognized leadership experience in media planning and buying
- Deep expertise across specialized channels including digital, broadcast, and earned media
- Entrepreneurial mindset with experience scaling a practice or team
- Ability to translate behavioral research insights into actionable media strategies
Apply to the Media Director role at Marketing for Change
Producer and Showrunner at Mustard Squad HQ
Worth a closer look: This is a ground-floor opportunity to build a sports video series from scratch. Mustard Squad HQ is launching a three-month proof of concept (April through June 2026) to produce stadium-focused videos in an educational, comedic tone. You’d write scripts, coordinate freelance hosts and videographers, manage production end-to-end, and own the analytics. The initial rate is $2,500 per month for part-time work, with a clear path to $4,500 per month full-time plus performance bonuses if the concept proves out. For producers who’ve wanted to build something from the ground up, this is that chance.
What you’ll need:
- 5+ years of media production experience with a portfolio of work you’ve produced and managed
- Proven ability to manage freelancers and run operations with minimal oversight
- Strong written communication skills for an async-first working environment
- Sports knowledge (baseball preferred) is a plus but not required
Apply to the Producer and Showrunner role at Mustard Squad HQ
The Takeaway for Job Seekers
If your resume still frames your production skills narrowly (e.g., “news producer” or “social media manager”), today’s listings are a clear signal to broaden your positioning. The companies hiring right now care less about which industry you came from and more about whether you can independently manage a content pipeline from start to finish. Update your portfolio to emphasize transferable production workflows, team coordination, and cross-platform output.
If you’re weighing multiple offers or trying to decide between very different industries, Mediabistro’s guide on what to do when you get a job offer is worth reading before you commit. The producers who thrive in 2026 will be the ones who position themselves as operational leaders, not specialists tied to a single format or beat.
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