News Director

Job Description

News Director, WFTX

WFTX, the E.W. Scripps FOX affiliate in the scenic paradise of Fort Myers, Florida, is seeking an innovative and dynamic News Director to lead our newsroom into an exciting new chapter of journalistic excellence. Fort Myers is renowned for its beautiful beaches, year-round sunshine, and vibrant community life, making it an ideal place to live and work. With its rich cultural offerings, accessible outdoor activities, and a friendly atmosphere, Fort Myers provides a high quality of life that enhances the appeal of this extraordinary professional opportunity.

Working for the E.W. Scripps Company means being part of a forward-thinking media organization committed to integrity, innovation, and community engagement. As a News Director, you will have access to extensive resources, training, and technologies that empower you to create compelling stories and lead your team effectively. Scripps fosters a collaborative environment that values diverse perspectives and encourages professional growth, allowing you to impact local journalism positively. You will be part of a company that prioritizes quality content and community connection, with the stability and support of a well-respected industry leader.

In this role, you will guide a talented team of journalists toward creating impactful, local content that resonates deeply with our audience. Your ability to think creatively and adapt to the changing media landscape will be vital as you drive our newsroom forward, ensuring we remain a preferred source for high-quality news coverage in the community. You will develop an innovative news strategy that embraces a digital-first mindset while effectively coordinating breaking news coverage, weather reporting, and major local events. If you are a strategic thinker, a risk-taker, and ready to make a real difference in the realm of local journalism, we invite you to apply and join our team.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:
• Ensure the news operations build and maintain key relationships to foster a positive news image in the community.
• Apply knowledge of the consumer and local community to know consumer expectations on all platforms, set brand and strategy and align organization to deliver against expectations.
• Use the Scripps content strategy as the foundation and set the specific local content strategy, tone, and expectation in the newsroom.
• Collaborate with team to develop and implement strategic plans for market growth on all platforms.
• Lead a highly collaborative team in the daily and long-term execution of the content strategy.
• Ensure centralized, shared editorial process and resources to enable seamless delivery to all platforms.
• Work closely with direct reports and extended team to evaluate product trends on all platforms and to set goals that drive continuous improvement.
• Work closely with direct reports and extended team to continuously evaluate and adjust workflow so that operations are fully optimized across the entire newsroom.
• Develop and maintain annual content budget to comply with station guidelines.
• Delegate and empower team to provide effective coaching and support to foster continuous improvement.
• Develop a high-performing, highly interdependent team by aligning team purpose vision and goals, building trust, establishing clear roles, facilitating effective planning, execution and recognition; Addresses teaming issues in a timely manner.
• Work with team to continually assess staff training needs and provides guidance to ensure training and information needs are met.
• Take ownership of all platforms so that tradeoffs are managed without detriment to our consumers.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
• BS/BA in related discipline or equivalent years of experience preferred
• Generally, 10+ years of experience in related field preferred
• Prior managerial experience preferred
• Familiarity with the local market, including current or prior residence in market strongly desired
• Experience conceiving and executing multi-platform projects required
• Experience leading content creation teams on a minimum of two platforms desired
• Experience acquiring audience with a demonstrated pattern or track record of success desired
• Experience managing brand desired

WHAT YOU'LL BRING:
• Must be able to lead large multi-level teams, with a preference for those who have direct experience managing teams with 40+ employees and directing the work of people managers
• Strong understanding of journalistic ethics and libel
• Local connections and community knowledge / community causes
• Customer focus: understands customer needs, raises the bar on customer service, develops unified approach to exceed customer expectations
• Broad knowledge of all media platforms
• Effective communicator

If you are a current Scripps employee, please do not apply on this site. Please access our internal career site at Worklife > My Info > View Open Positions at Scripps.

SCRIPPS' COMMITMENT TO A CULTURE THAT CREATES CONNECTION:

At Scripps, we are committed to a culture that reflects the audiences and communities we serve. We are intentional about creating an environment where employees, our audiences and other stakeholders feel valued and inspired to reach their full potential and create connections. To successfully deliver on this commitment, we must understand and reflect the values and perspectives those around us embody. That process begins by looking inward to build and celebrate a respectful workplace where everyone feels a sense of belonging and connection. By continuing to cultivate an environment where all employees have a fair chance to succeed, are included, valued, and seen, we will strengthen the connections that drive positive business impact and align with our core purpose.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-74vzbp-18-224-32-173-42 in your application.