Job Description

Job Description

Our Narrated Articles Producer is responsible for helping to create the best transformation of our newspapers report into spoken, recorded form.

The Producer monitors both the published news and our dockets, and suggests stories that will become timely, informative, and engaging listening experiences. These stories might range from our marquee longform magazine investigations to essays and in-depth explainers. We are eager to embrace experimentation and create new formats as we did for The Sunday Read, a weekly series that publishes in The Daily's podcast feed.

Our Narrated Articles Producer is adept with the techniques and tools of reporting and storycrafting with audio and can build clear, impactful pieces with sound. Just as importantly, our Producer can also verbally communicate the audio presentations creative direction, even in its early stages. The Producer knows how to edit collaboratively whether using Pro Tools or non-audio applications.

More on the Producers day-to-day: Starting from an articles text and working under an Editors supervision, the Producer will propose a storyboard and a plan for execution using the audio read of the story (often recorded by the reporter) as the basis. The Producer would identify when archival materials or additional reporting gathered in the field would enhance the storys narrated presentation.

The Producer will start from source material of the texts narration, and then craft the presentation using creative audio editing as well as sound design and music when warranted. When the narrated article would benefit from additional clarifying content or other narrative material placed into the presentation as a topper, kicker, or interstitial scene the Producer will suggest the thematic direction for this material and propose a plan for capturing it. In many cases, the Producer will record and edit interviews with reporters or other important contributors to create this content.

Job responsibilities include

* Keeping up-to-date on the NYTs news, feature, and other writing across desks and story verticals in order to pitch pieces for a narrated treatment. This might entail attending editorial meetings, contacting reporters and editors, and examining upcoming news budgets.

* Sometimes recording a reporters narration of the story and demonstrating technical and editorial skill while doing so

* Storyboarding and outlining a plan for interesting toppers, kickers, or interstitial scenes, and ultimately writing interview questions to guide the recording of these sections

* Occasionally recording in the field with and without reporters as necessary

* Researching options for archival material if necessary

* Building the audio edit of the story in Pro Tools

* Updating the Pro Tools timeline to incorporate editorial feedback

* Keeping production coordinators and other team members informed of timing for edit deliverables

* Communicating with team members in sound design, music composition, mixing, and finishing to ensure that everyone has the knowledge they need in order to meet their deadlines

* Suggesting and sourcing music and sound design elements/effects

* Demonstrates editorial fluency -- able to identify when stories or parts of stories dont work and why and builds fluency and tools to create solutions

* Exercises editorial judgment reflective of Times mission and principles

* Builds and maintains relationships with Times reporters and editors

Desired skills

* 5+ years of experience in audio production

* Excellent news judgment

* Excellent written and verbal communication skills, detail oriented

* A keen ear for good audio quality and compelling tape

* Fluency in audio editing, music spotting, and sound design using Pro Tools

* Ability to conceptualize and outline/describe story arcs

* Ability to share organized, clean sessions to audio mixers and other finishing staff

* Ability to work with subject matter representing a wide diversity of topics and viewpoints

* A collaborative, can-do attitude that is accepting of challenges

This position is represented by the News Guild of NY

The New York Times is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce, one that reflects the varied global community we serve. Our journalism and the products we build in the service of that journalism greatly benefit from a range of perspectives, which can only come from diversity of all types, across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. Achieving true diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do. It is also the smart thing for our business. So we strongly encourage women, veterans, people with disabilities, people of color and gender nonconforming candidates to apply.

The New York Times Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. The New York Times Company will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local Fair Chance laws.