Business News Editor

The Opportunity

OPB is seeking its first dedicated Business News Editor to build and lead business coverage across Oregon and Southwest Washington. You'll hire OPB’s second business reporter, guide a team of reporters, break consequential news, and shape the conversations driving our region's economy and future. If you're a strategic editor with strong news instincts, we want to hear from you.

Position Details

 This News Editor leads OPB’s business coverage in Oregon and Southwest Washington, assigning and editing stories for a team of up to three reporters for the radio and digital, and planning and leading coverage of breaking, daily and enterprise reporting on business and business-adjacent topics across radio, digital and video spaces. 

This position serves as a member of OPB’s news editing team. The primary focus of this leadership role will be expanding and deepening OPB’s business coverage, with the goal of breaking news and leading the regional conversation. Once in the role, this editor will be responsible for hiring OPB’s second fulltime business reporter.

Daily duties include editing newscast items, radio and digital stories, magazine conversation scripts and longer-term investigations and projects. This position will also collaborate with News Editors on other teams and work with reporters and visual journalists on other teams across Oregon and Southwest Washington to deliver sharp and comprehensive business news to OPB’s audience. This editor may also take a leadership role on one or more “topic teams” that involve reporters from multiple beats. This position is exempt from the union and does not create content.

Responsibilities 

90% - Supervise and edit a team of business reporters:

• Help reporters build beats and sources
• Provide strong guidance through stories from idea generation to final product 
• Edit stories for radio and digital platforms, including newscast items, short web stories, enterprise and watchdog features and magazine conversations.
• Ensure OPB’s business coverage is the regional leader in both speed and substance by monitoring other sources and leading iterative reporting efforts when news breaks.
• Lead business team to break news and stay on top of basic business coverage of major Oregon and Southwest Washington employers and industries, such as Nike, Intel, Columbia Sportswear and others.
• Lead coverage of regional business topics that intersect with other beat teams, such as data centers, energy, agricultural, affordability and economic prosperity.
• Ensure that reporters adhere to editorial and ethics policies, and maintain high journalistic standards to ensure that accuracy, thoroughness, and fairness are central characteristics of all content presented.
• Leads team in a way that fosters an environment of belonging and in which diverse backgrounds, experiences, ideas and work styles are valued.  
• Supports the growth and development of team members offering coaching, recognition, and feedback to optimize performance and employee engagement.  
• Ensures team understands their work priorities, responsibilities and contributions and how they align with department goals, organizational strategies and mission

5% - Represent OPB in public settings, both news-related (on air appearances on Think Out Loud®, newsmagazines) and for fundraising and member service purposes.

5% - Other duties, as assigned.

Working Conditions

• Work environment: Most work is done in an office, studio or other indoor location with extended periods working at a computer.
• Schedule: This position typically works Monday-Friday, though some weekend work is possible.
• Physical demands: Lifting and carrying equipment up to 20 pounds is sometimes required.
• Travel: Occasional travel within Oregon and Southwest Washington is required.
• Driving: Valid Oregon or Washington drivers license is required.

Supervisory Responsibilities

The position plans, assigns and approves work, responds to grievances, disciplines and rewards, recommends hiring and hires, recommends salary adjustments, prepares and signs performance reviews and leads project teams for up to three reporters.

Required Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or a related field, or equivalent combination of experience that provides the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities for this position.
• 5-8 years of professional journalism experience, including at least two years covering business news and experience covering a beat.
• 1 year of supervisory experience including leading and fostering a sense of belonging, guiding team through high stress situations and supporting the growth and development of employee(s).

Minimum Position Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Experience editing and covering business news.
• Demonstrated ability to meet daily deadlines.
• Exceptional time management, organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with editors and reporters in Portland and in OPB’s regional bureaus.
• Ability to represent OPB in the community
• Ability to recognize a wide range of stories appropriate for OPB across radio and digital platforms.
• Ability to work with digital audio workstations and office computer software.
• Enthusiasm for the mission of OPB and for the role of public media in a changing journalism environment.

Preferred Position Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• 2 years supervisory experience including leading and fostering a sense of belonging, guiding team through high stress situations and supporting the growth and development of employee(s).
• Experience using digital audio recording and editing equipment. 
• Experience editing reporters for radio or web.
• A voracious news consumer with a passion for journalism.
• Bilingual in English and another language, preferably one spoken in communities in the Pacific Northwest (for example, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Russian).

Additional Information

• This full time, regular status position that reports to the News Director, is unrepresented and benefits eligible.
• The expected hiring range for this role is between $98,000-105,000 per year; compensation will depend on the qualifications of the selected candidate.