Entertainment IndustryJob Opening for Co-Host, Reporter (Planet Money) in NPR (New York, NY 10036)

A thriving, mission-driven multimedia organization, NPR produces award-winning news, information, and music programming in partnership with hundreds of independent public radio stations across the nation. The NPR audience values information, creativity, curiosity, and social responsibility – and our employees do too. We are innovators and leaders in diverse fields, from journalism and digital media to IT and development. Every day, our employees and member stations touch the lives of millions worldwide.

Across our organization, we’re building a workplace where collaboration is essential, diverse voices are heard, and inclusion is the key to our success.

JOB SUMMARY

This job is a chance to help millions of listeners make sense of one of the most confusing moments in our nation’s – and the world’s – history. You’ll have to juggle themes of fairness, well-being, inequality, power, race, nationalism along with efficiency, productivity, innovation and all the other usual economic vocabulary words.

We’re looking for a new co-host/reporter with expertise in economics and/or finance to join an extremely collaborative and tight-knit team with broad creative freedom to tell stories however we can. Sometimes it’s a character narrative, other times it’s field reporting or an expert interview, or leaping into the economy ourselves, like buying 1,000 barrels of oil or a load of Christmas trees and trying to go into business ourselves. Humor, antics, empathy, pathos, metaphor, song or anything else: we deploy whatever tools we need to best explain, engage and entertain.

We are open to candidates from non-traditional backgrounds within journalism, business, finance, education or anywhere else, but you must be a team player, critical thinker, kind colleague, curious about economics and able to hit tight deadlines. Please read on for details, including what you must submit to apply.

We don’t expect any one candidate will have all of the following, but …

The Ideal Candidate will …

Be an analytical thinker with a sense of humor and narrative.
Have a deep understanding of economics, finance and business.
Have a knack for translating complex, nuanced knowledge into simple, clear, entertaining audio for lay listeners.
More importantly, also WANT to translate that information to lay listeners, not just the investor or business audience.
Have an on-air presence that sounds informal, smart, friendly and engaging in a scripted and unscripted setting.
Be able to hit a deadline.
Have a nose for character and narrative.
Be able to report, book, edit, interview, and write scripts for the ear, or ready to learn all that.
Be well sourced in the fields we cover, or demonstrate ability to source up.
Be able to write a joke or land a joke when needed, and also know when not to tell one.
Be energized by the challenges of the job like how to describe a chart on the radio.

Who Should Apply?

We are open to candidates from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, including those working in economics or finance who do non-journalistic storytelling; or teachers; or something we haven’t thought of.

Maybe you’re a radio reporter with tons of co-hosting experience, daily news metabolism, and a PhD in economics and a previous life writing sitcoms – if you exist please apply.
Maybe you are someone who teaches economics to high school kids and also happens to host a podcast in your spare time with a comedic flare.
Or maybe you’ve written a ton of articles about the inequalities of getting bank loans or systemic unintended consequences of salary negotiations and have your own YouTube channel you just love working on.
Or maybe you work(ed) in finance or at the Federal Reserve and your job was to explain complicated processes to outsiders all day long and you want to do it into a microphone now.
But seriously about deadlines: This is not a job for someone who gets too precious about every detail and let’s perfectionism derail a project. We work as a team, your missed deadline hurts everyone else’s ability to do their best work. And you will be expected to help everyone else do their best work, as they’ll help you.
Be deeply committed to diversifying the stories we tell and the voices we book for our show
Have specific ideas for how to change the show for the better.

NOTE: The ideal candidate does NOT have to love Planet Money as it is.

In fact, we welcome critical voices to join the team. Tell us what bores you about the show, what turns you away from it, why the show does not speak to you. We want that message – delivered with empathy and kindness – in our edit room.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Find, pitch, report, book, script, narrate an episode and broadcast radio pieces on deadline.
Co-host, co-write, peer-edit and otherwise chip in helping on episodes reported by teammates.
Contribute to group edits of other staff-members work.
Graciously take edits from your team members, and work collaboratively with them at every step of the process with respect and kindness.
Ability to work with producers in a way that facilitates their journalistic and professional development.
Ensuring all journalistic and ethical standards are met and exceeded.
Write web, social, video and newsletter versions or stories as needed
Represent NPR, Planet Money in live and online events occasionally and appear on other media to promote Planet Money.
Mentor and assist in the professional development of junior staff.
Along with co-hosts, editor and staff, set the news agenda for the program.
Factor in diversity of sourcing and representation of all voices when planning and executing the program.
Ability to evolve with the job as the show continues to grow.

REQUIREMENTS:

Education: Though we especially welcome those with economic or finance backgrounds, formal education is not what is important to us. There is no formal educational requirement.

This is a senior position, so you should be able to demonstrate:

Subject matter knowledge of economics, finance, business, and related topics.
Leadership, professionalism, ability to meet a tight deadline over and over, high ethical standards, ability to work closely in a team with kindness, compassion, and empathy.
Excellent analytical thinking skills.
Ability to work quickly and efficiently under deadline pressure.
Ability and willingness to work varied shifts.
Proven ability to consistently work well with others, demonstrating at all times respect for the diverse constituencies at NPR and within the public radio system.

Preferred:

Experience in audio.
Experience in long-form, narrative journalism.
Experience working on deadline and working independently.
Excellent writing chops.

Additional Requirements

Ability and willingness to relocate. NPR may choose to transfer employees to other geographic locations. Severance provisions of the AFTRA collective bargaining agreement will apply should you choose not to accept a transfer.

HOW TO APPLY

1) Please submit a resume
2) Please submit a short cover letter telling us why you want the job, how you think you might improve Planet Money if hired and the types of stories you’d like to do for us. If you have links to past work, please include those, even if it is not exactly like Planet Money.
3) Please include a link to an audio file in which you explain The Impossible Trinity, aka the Trilemma. This job is about making complex topics clear and entertaining. So show us how you do it. You can put the link at the bottom of your cover letter. The file should be no more than 3 minutes. It doesn’t need to be fancy. It can be just you into your phone or anything else you like. We won’t be evaluating you on your production skills. We’re looking for explanatory clarity and how enjoyable it is to listen to.
Please apply online through our career site at http://www.npr.org/about/careers/.

NPR is an Equal Opportunity Employer. NPR is committed to being an inclusive place to work that welcomes diverse and unique perspectives, all working toward the same goal – to create a more informed public. Qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law

NPR offers a competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits package including health and wellness benefits, retirement, and work/life balance programs, as well as opportunities for career growth and development.