Gannett and the USA TODAY NETWORK are looking for an ambitious, creative, fast-moving and self-starting Audience Growth and Engagement Fellow to join the audience growth team.
The audience growth team works with both local newsrooms and USA TODAY to drive audience on social media, video, audio, newsletters, messaging and emerging platforms.
We’re looking for a self-starter and someone who is nimble, thoughtful and curious. They will be able to spot opportunities for us to engage with our audiences and help us evolve with our platforms and tools.
The ideal candidate will help our local newsrooms coordinate tentpole events and projects, working with in-market journalists to craft well-rounded audience plans and execute new ideas.
They will also help serve as a bridge between our national publication, USA TODAY, and our local newsrooms, working with the team to develop plans to collaborate and elevate key local stories and projects to a national audience.
In addition, this will be an inclusive audience fellowship experience, and the right candidate should expect to also learn and work on local news experiments, newsletters, social media, and alongside the USA TODAY audience team to create and collaborate on stories, photos, videos, graphics and other content, and optimize them for different social/digital platforms.
The candidate should demonstrate a strong understanding of audience metrics, engagement tactics on social media platforms, and search engine optimization. This role can include early morning, night and weekend work.
This 6-month fellowship will run from June 3, 2024 to December 27, 2024. The start date is flexible for the right candidate. This is a remote position, and candidates can be based in any state except for Alaska or Hawaii. Our fellows’ pay is based on the cost of living in the cities they reside in, ranging from $19.28 to $24.04 per hour.
This is a full time 40 hour per week role.
Key features of the program:
- This opportunity is available to military veterans who are interested in pursuing a career in in the journalism industry and working in a Gannett | USA TODAY NETWORK newsroom.
- Fellows will participate in a six-month full-time fellowship.
- Fellows are eligible to participate in the Company’s comprehensive benefits package including, but not limited to, health & insurance, reimbursement & spending accounts and voluntary benefits. Your benefits eligibility effective date is the first of the month following your date of hire and will run through the end of the fellowship. You are also immediately eligible to participate in the 401(k) Savings Plan where a Company match is discretionary.
- Will be assigned to a mentor from Military Veterans in Journalism (MVJ) during the fellowship period.
- Receive coaching and mentoring from the Gannett team and MVJ.
- Develop and refine professional skills for success in the journalism field.
Responsibilities:
- Be detail-oriented and have the ability to multitask.
- Have a passion for audience growth, social media and finding new ways to reach readers including through newsletters, alerts, TikTok, Instagram, Threads and other emerging platforms.
- Work with news teams to develop audience plans and social and visual assets for big projects and help coordinate those plans with national teams.
- Work in tandem with the USA TODAY audience team socializing and optimizing content across platforms.
- Participate in news meetings, to learn about how news developments take shape and which audiences we’re trying to reach.
- Critical thinking and analytical skills will be encouraged and sharpened in a deadline-driven newsroom environment.
Requirements:
- Must be a military veteran who served in any of the six branches of the armed forces of the United States.
- Candidates should demonstrate strong knowledge of social media platforms and a desire to experiment with new formats of storytelling.
- Excellent news judgment.
- Top-notch command of AP writing, editing, spelling, grammar, style and research skills.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills both inside and outside the organization.
- Ability to work not only independently but also as a key contributor to team/network projects.
- Well-organized, detail-oriented and flexible.
- Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment that is constantly evolving.
Application