Lee Ester Fellow
POSITION SUMMARY
The Lee Ester News Fellow is considered a developmental reporter at WPR. He or she will be a general-assignment reporter responsible for producing newscast-length stories and, occasionally, feature-length material. Regular and concentrated coaching on writing, editing, voicing and other aspects of radio news reporting is an important developmental element of this fellowship. The news fellow will also contribute to WPR's online news efforts. This position is based in Madison and reports to the News Director. This position will operate remotely at present but will eventually be expected to report to the office.
DEGREE AND AREA OF SPECIALIZATION
No degree required
MINIMUM YEARS AND TYPE OF RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE
- Previous broadcast news internship or at least one year of relevant professional experience (educational and student media is acceptable).
- Demonstrated ability to generate news story ideas
- Some experience voicing stories
- Some experience producing or re-purposing news material for the web.
- Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines.
- Demonstrated ability to operate radio production equipment
NOT REQUIRED BUT DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
- Previous public radio experience
PRINCIPAL DUTIES
- Prepare news reports for statewide use. At times, the Fellow may also discuss their latest story on one of WPR's talk programs.
- On a daily basis, contribute to our website, WPR.org, and other digital projects and collaborate with our digital content team on both long-term and short-term multimedia projects.
- Keep up on current issues, events, and newsmakers, in Wisconsin.
- Participate in on-air fundraising and public appearances/promotional events as requested. Participate in news division, and statewide meetings.
- Operate control board and field reporting equipment.
- Other duties as apparent or assigned.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The salary for the Lee Ester Fellow is $2,916 per month for the 9 month fellowship. The Lee Ester Fellow will also receive health and dental benefits during the term of the fellowship.
The person in this position is expected to comply with the WPR Ethical Guidelines for Editorial Staff located here: https://www.wpr.org/wpr-ethical-guidelines, in addition to the UW-Madison code of ethics.
HOW TO APPLY:
Apply online at https://jobs.hr.wisc.edu by March 26, 2021. The job number is 231824.
The following must be received for your application to be complete: 1) Resume; 2) A cover letter describing how your experience relates to the job duties and minimum and desirable qualifications 3) A sound sample of a news report. You may provide a link (preferred) or an mp3 file. If you don't have samples from previous work, you may create a report specifically for this application. 4) Two to three samples of radio news scripts you have prepared. If you don't have examples from previous work, you may create scripts specifically for this application.
As applicants progress to interviews, they will need to provide at least three professional references with titles, emails, and phone numbers (include at least one supervisory reference).
Questions? Contact: Kate O'Connor, Wisconsin Public Radio, 821 University Avenue, Madison, WI, 53706; 608-262-5221, kate.oconnor@wpr.org.