Discovery Producer

The Star Tribune is the Upper Midwest’s largest news organization, with audience numbers consistently in the top five in the nation among regional and national peers. Building on an extraordinary legacy that includes seven Pulitzer Prizes and hundreds of other awards, the Star Tribune is an unrivaled force for journalistic excellence in Minnesota. It is also a company under transformation – realigning its core purpose for a new age of media consumption through innovative new partnerships, technology strategies, and a refreshed strategic direction. Our company has a new vision to create the leading model for local news in America – driving innovation in media to make every Minnesotan’s life better. We’re looking for dynamic team members to help create that model – people who care about journalism and democracy and are eager to reinvent one of our state’s most trusted companies for a new era of growth that embraces emerging technologies and strategies for excellence.

Job Description:

The Star Tribune, a Pulitzer Prize-winning, locally owned newsroom, is looking for a high-impact digital producer who can help us use data, modern best practices and emerging technologies to help grow our audience.

A central challenge of any modern newsroom is ensuring that readers discover the right stories, at the right times, in the formats and venues that are most relevant to them. At times, that might mean ensuring they show up prominently in search results; repackaging stories from the archives to give them a second life; or identifying trends in search and readership data that can help shape our coverage.

As generative AI and other technologies rapidly reshape the way readers find and interact with journalism, this producer will help us stay ahead of those trends — figuring out new and creative ways to surface our journalism in front of readers when they want and need it most.

About you:
You are a steady and empathic leader who enjoys poring over data, empowering others with your strategic vision and basking in collective success. Change is a constant in the news industry – and you love raising a hand when it comes to leading the way. The ideal candidate embraces this era of nonstop evolution, attacking every challenge with fierce curiosity.

About us:
Our newsroom of 230 journalists produces breaking news stories, deeply reported narratives, explanatory pieces, high-impact investigative reports and powerful visual journalism. The Audience team is in the middle of it all – working across departments to ensure maximum exposure for our coverage. We are the Upper Midwest’s largest source of news and information with a weekly readership of 1.3 million people across Minnesota and with subscribers in all 50 states.

What you’ll do:

Build and lead a strategy that incorporates search, generative AI and other tools to connect our audience with our journalism in the right places, at the right times.
Redefine our best practices and create a continual learning agenda that inspires colleagues.
Partner with news departments to execute search and discovery strategies on everything from specific breaking news events to special projects. Create a playbook that empowers staffers to identify trending topics and produce and package stories with evergreen value.
Work with news departments to create coverage calendars and plans to maximize audience on planned and recurring coverage.
Work with our Product department to apply data, AI tools and other technology to our day-to-day discovery strategy.

Qualifications:
We are committed to diversity and creating an inclusive newsroom, and we encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply. Don’t worry if your experience doesn’t match this job description exactly — you may still be a great candidate for this position. If you apply, please let us know how your skills and experience relate to the role and its objectives.

Relevant newsroom experience, preferably in audience/digital roles. (But surprise us if you’ve done other related work.)
A keen understanding of search can be used to help shape and promote coverage, along with a vision for how those techniques should evolve to keep pace with industry trends.
Strong project management skills to help scale training across teams and departments.
Proficient in building and analyzing analytics reports that illustrate key takeaways.
Empathic communicator who recognizes that strategy lives and dies on how it is delivered.
Goal-oriented leader – or emerging leader – with a track record of getting buy-in and results.
Innovator with an eye for what’s just around the corner (how can we harness A.I. to support our search-centric journalism?).

Pay for this position is based on experience, as noted in the contract of Star Tribune and the Minnesota Newspaper and Communications Guild.

Schedule:
Flexible daytime hours during the week, with potential for some weekend shifts.

To apply:
Please upload a resume and link to a portfolio of your work.