Audience Producer, Chron Job at Houston Chronicle in Houston

Overview

Chron is seeking an audience engagement producer with strong editorial judgment, the ability to write quick-turn trending stories, and a keen understanding of content management systems. The ideal candidate will optimize the Chron home page to highlight our best stories and encourage audience engagement with embeds, data visualization, imagery and video, and recirculation.

Responsibilities

• Manage the Chron site as needed, including writing trending stories and pulling stories from the wires or other sources
• Optimize stories with embeds, recirculation cards or other storytelling devices to keep audiences engaged
• Prepare and send newsletters, notifications and alerts
• Help the audience engagement editor develop and execute site promotion plans
• Share trending search terms and traffic performance during the day with the editorial team to inform planning
• Learn how to use tools like Datawrapper to visually enhance key stories with maps or charts as needed

Requirements

• 1-2 years of relevant experience working in digital publishing or related audience development role
• Excellent news judgment
• Familiarity with content management systems, technical publishing tools like Sailthru and Datawrapper, and analytics like Google GA
• Solid writing and communication skills, including knowledge of AP Style

Preferred Skills

• Experience using audience and analytics tools like Chartbeat, Google Analytics, Looker
• Comfort with data visualization tools like Datawrapper
• Experience working with content management systems and publishing to digital platforms

Challenges

• Time management
• Understanding audience habits and suggesting promotion tactics that serve site visitors, search audiences, newsletter readers

Authority and approvals

• Moving stories on the homepage
• Writing social copy and posting stories to platforms after an initial training and review period

Decision-approval considerations

• Long-term social, search and audience strategy
• Pulling wire stories that may conflict with Chrons original coverage

Measures of success

• Increasing followers and engagement (shares, comments) across various social platforms
• Driving traffic from social, search and newsletters back to Chron content on site
• Overall increase of unique in-DMA audiences
• Overall increase of repeat visitors from target growth markets within Texas

Chron is an essential digital-first local news source serving more than 6 million unique readers a month in Houston and the surrounding region, including Galveston and the Gulf Coast. Chron.com has become the go-to destination for metro and regional readers who are curious about what’s new in Houston and what’s affecting culture and life in the Bayou City.

About Hearst Newspapers: With 2,500 employees across the nation, Hearst Newspapers encompasses a network of 24 daily and 52 weekly publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and Albany Times Union, several top digital-only news and lifestyle sites, marketing services businesses, and entertainment businesses such as King Features Syndicate.

Be part of something bigger – your headline awaits. If you require an accommodation to use our website or regarding the application process, please contact hnpemployment@hearst.com. We will only respond to inquiries concerning requests for a reasonable accommodation through this email address.

Job details

• Seniority level: Entry level
• Employment type: Full-time
• Job function: Design, Art/Creative, and Information Technology
• Industries: Newspaper Publishing