This position and its start and end dates are dependent on funding.

 

The city editor of The Daily Barometer works in collaboration with the editor-in-chief of The Daily Barometer to coordinate and produce content pertaining to the City of Corvallis and the broader Benton County community, covering policy, procedure and event issues regarding residents, for the weekly print publication and various online platforms including dailybarometer.com.

 

This position is responsible for overseeing the production and distribution of high-quality media to keep Benton County residents and other interested parties informed of local news, in the increasing ebb of local coverage by professional media.

 

The city editor follows OMN policies and procedures to recruit, lead and supervise student staff while advancing Orange Media Network’s reputation for excellence as a welcoming, engaging and inclusive organization.

 

Pay rate: Averages approximately 10 hours per week, $510 per month

 

Qualifications:

  • Strong interest in local, state and national news
  • Strong understanding of Corvallis city governmental policies and procedures or willingness to learn
  • Understanding of issues affecting residents of the larger Corvallis/Benton County community or willingness to learn
  • Demonstrated experience building relationships with sources
  • Is knowledgeable of or willing to learn InDesign, Photoshop (or other photo editing software), Lightroom, Premier, After Effects, Blox CMS
  • Is knowledgeable of the SPJ Code of Ethics
  • Is knowledgeable in Associated Press style
  • Is knowledgeable in fact checking strategies
  • Is a strong writer, communicator and comfortable with public speaking
  • Is organized and reliable
  • Is experienced with giving and receiving feedback
  • Able to remain professional and calm when working with difficult individuals and situations
  • Is knowledgeable and experienced in building and maintaining relationships with sources, stakeholders, partners, collaborators and the community
  • Meets university eligibility requirements, including but not limited to:
  • Must be currently enrolled at Oregon State University for at least 6 academic credits
  • Must have a minimum GPA of 2.0
  • Must remain in good academic standing from the term prior to selection and during the entire period of employment
  • Due to ongoing COVID-19 response needs, some responsibilities in this position description may need to be adjusted to comply with evolving health and safety expectations that are unknown at the time of this posting. Examples may include: studio and other facility use, social distancing requirements, and the need to conduct work remotely or on-site. The successful applicant will be adaptable to this changing environment.

 

Strongly Preferred Qualifications

  • Prior attendance and participation in OMN Boot Camp

 

Responsibilities

  • City Editor Responsibilities
  • Responsible for managing 3-4 stories per week, as well as any timely stories for the website, relating to the Corvallis community
  • Ensure that all students who submit articles, photos, cartoons and video receive coaching and feedback prior to publishing, so they can learn and improve
  • Work in collaboration with contributors for readouts and with copy editor to review contributors notes and make necessary accuracy checking phone calls before publication
  • Responsible for curating, pitching, assigning and reporting in-depth, investigative and longform stories for The Daily Barometer, both in print and online, in a timely manner (stories will include investigations, cover stories, hard news, breaking news and relevant feature stories).
  • Weekly coverage of city legislature meetings and public facility notices and event announcements
  • Establish and maintain relationships with prominent City of Corvallis figures, including but not limited to the mayor, city councilors, the police chief, the community development director, the city manager, the fire chief, business owners and the parks and recreation director.
  • City Editor will do assignments, readouts and payroll for all city-related news
  • City Editor will be responsible for coverage of city affairs, including but not limited to Corvallis politics, events, financial developments, business and other concerns, as well as breaking news as assigned by the Editor-in-Chief
  • Plan and hold weekly all-staff meetings, in partnership with the News Editor and Associate News Editor, to assign tasks and oversee other activity as needed
  • Take the lead on developing in-depth stories for the print edition of The Daily Barometer that go beyond the headlines and provide insightful, informative and thorough coverage
  • Ensure that all articles have been copyedited in Associated Press (AP) style with the aid of OMN copy editing staff before submitting the publication to printers
  • Create and design pages, make corrections and contribute to completing the print edition and sending it to printers by deadline on Sundays
  • Be available for flexible hours, including nights and weekends
  • Encourage a sense of urgency in the newsroom to ensure breaking news and other coverage is timely and relevant
  • Will recruit and coach a team of writers who are able and willing to gain a thorough understanding of city workings, and take on timely news pertaining to city affairs
  • Actively plan and assign coverage well in advance of known city events
  • Coordinate coverage of breaking news events in collaboration with staff including other teams as needed
  • Check and respond to BaseCamp for project management
  • Ensure that you and your staff complete all OMN surveys
  • Act in a professional manner at all times and create and maintain collegial working relationships with fellow student leaders and organization members
  • Other duties as assigned by the adviser and Director

 

  • Communication
  • Respond to emails, pings and phone calls the same day, professionally representing OMN
  • Notify adviser and the director of OMN immediately should any ethical, legal, personnel or controversial problems occur
  • Collaboration
  • Hold and post 10 regular office hours each week at Orange Media Network, at least half of these hours should be during regular business hours (8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday - Friday). Hours may vary during different stages of the term
  • Ensure Baro fully participates in all OMN events, including OMN Open House, Housing Fair and Launch parties
  • Attend the OMN Student Fee Committee presentations
  • Work with marketing team to develop and implement marketing strategies for Baro and OMN
  • Meet weekly with marketing to review social media posts, strategize, and plan, to increase social media engagement
  • Leadership
  • Be an approachable leader within the OMN organization, capable of seeing things from the 5,000-foot level and representing the entire organization as needed
  • Hold staff accountable to their position descriptions and expectations, and publicly acknowledge and celebrate accomplishment and growth at all levels of the organization
  • Be an enthusiastic leader and representative of OMN
  • Ensure that all students are given opportunities to grow and try new roles, positions and leadership opportunities. Collaborate with adviser on new ways for staff to advance in their skills
  • Provide leadership, coaching, and mentorship to the Baro staff
  • Attendance must be reliable and punctual
  • Hiring and payroll
  • Hire staff in consultation with adviser. Disciplinary action must be approved by adviser, based on University Human Resources guidelines and following OMN’s 3-strike process
  • Follow hiring process and immediately report all new hires and volunteers to the Assistant to the Director for Operations Support so that they can complete payroll forms and obtain card access
  • Confirm with professional staff that all new team members have completed onboarding process and required trainings prior to assigning work
  • Communicates with EIC and News Editor during payroll process
  • Work with advisers to ensure cohort payroll is on time and accurate
  • Delegate
  • Responsible for all duties delegated to staff in their position descriptions
  • Policies and Procedures
  • Follow all OMN policies and procedures and hold all staff and volunteers to all OMN policies and procedures
  • Be a collaborator with fellow OMN leaders in the shared use of facilities and equipment
  • Be good stewards of OMN resources by ensuring that OMN equipment is only used for OMN work
  • Alert professional staff immediately on issues with equipment
  • Proactively collaborate with adviser on anticipating and resolving issues with student staff, productions, participants, guests, readers, listeners, and viewers

CLOSES: Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020

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