Investigative/Special Projects Executive Producer

Hearst Television, New Orleans, LA, United States

The story is yours!

Salary min: $67,000

Salary max: $72,000

Duration: Full-Time

WDSU is looking for an Executive Producer who can oversee our Investigative team and Special Projects. We need a driven, organized leader who can articulate a vision for long-form investigations, half-hour specials and lead a team towards the vision. The right candidate will be a leader who can develop multi-platform content that succeeds on air and digital platforms. Responsibilities include the ability to manage, coach, and motivate a team of producers, reporters, anchors, and photojournalists who are committed to excellence. The Executive Producer is responsible for the overall content from our investigative team, manages all aspects of investigative breaking news, and investigative angles for the big story of the day. The right candidate must be a pro when it comes to effective communication and decision making under daily deadline pressure. You must have proven ability in making decisions based on strong ethics, experience with public records requests, a solid producing background, and a desire to win. The Executive Producer will work closely with our legal team when it comes to scripts, video, audio, documents, etc. You must be able to research, pitch, and gather investigative stories, as well. The Executive Producer will also take charge when it comes to Special Projects and produce daily newscasts as needed. The ideal candidate can keep a detailed monthly calendar, stay on top of investigative follows, be a resource for the newsroom, collaborate with investigative reporters on stories from beginning to end and write investigative updates as they come in. The Executive Producer will help manage the newsroom as needed, contribute to the editorial process and make solid decisions when called upon in breaking news situations. Overseeing the product is only one facet of the job. You must also be a coach and a leader with the communications skills to make those you supervise better.

Job Responsibilities:

Lead team of investigative reporters and photographer(s) to create insightful, meaningful content
Execute strategies for investigative and special projects that will engage and grow audiences across all platforms.
Responsible for evaluating investigative story pitches, scripts, graphics, set ups, teases, and approval of end product before it makes air
Encourage and train investigative unit as well as general assignment reporters to advance stories through public records and FOIAs
Responding to breaking news and researching investigative angles
Oversight of digital response to breaking news, investigations and investigative reporter social media engagement
Research news tips, pitch investigative story ideas, gather elements, and visualize ways to maximize viewer impact.
Writing compelling investigative stories in active voice
Meeting deadlines and strong organizational skills to request/keep records, calendars, etc
Ensure all content meets company standards for journalistic integrity, legal validity and production quality
Producing and boothing newscasts when needed
Posting stories and video on digital platforms
Oversight of special projects including half-hour specials as assigned
Take active role in editorial meetings and pitch investigative stories/angles in editorial meetings
Must perform administrative duties including scheduling, performance reviews, training and providing critical feedback.
Communicating effectively and clearly with news staff, our team of lawyers, promotions, and production/engineering
In-person attendance is required

Experience Requirements:

Minimum of three years experience in investigative journalism and/or producing experience
Should have demonstrated experience in writing, making public records request and be able to think visually.

Qualifications Requirements:

Have a strong sense of audience desires
Possess outstanding communication and organizational skills.
Strong understanding of media law
Ability to multi-task and coordinate several crews and responsibilities simultaneously.
An ability to summarize information into easy-to-understand components
Creative presentation style, and ability to showcase all resources and elements
Unwavering journalistic integrity and ethical standards
Use of Adobe Premier editing system is a plus

Education:

Related experience and/or training considered as well as a combination of education and experience.
Hearst Television is a proud supporter of military veterans. Related military training and experience will be considered.

About Hearst Television

Every career with Hearst Television is like a story. How it develops, where it takes you, the milestones you reach along the way – you’ve got a lot to look forward to as your unique career story unfolds.

Hearst Television, a subsidiary of Hearst, owns and operates local television and radio stations serving 26 media markets across 39 states reaching over 21 million U.S. television households. Through its partnership with nearly all of the major networks, Hearst Television distributes national content over nearly 70 video channels including programming from ABC, NBC, CBS, CW, MY Net, MeTV, This TV, Estrella and more.

Hearst Television is recognized as one of the industry's premier companies. It has been honored with numerous awards for distinguished journalism and industry innovation, including the Walter Cronkite Award for political journalism, the national Edward R. Murrow Award, the DuPont-Columbia Award and the George Foster Peabody Award.