Director of Audience
Hearst · Dallas
Role Overview
In a growing region of more than 8 million people, The Dallas Morning News is looking for a strategic, innovative leader to power a high-impact audience team and deepen the newsroom’s engagement with the community.
The Dallas Morning News is one of the best regional newsrooms in America, sitting in a growth market powered by real estate, sports, food and faith. This diverse community calls for a Director of Audience who will innovate and experiment with new ways to engage readers and drive digital subscriptions. As part of the newsroom’s senior leadership team, this journalist will be central to executing newsroom priorities, as well as developing key strategic efforts.
Our newsroom is seeking a leader with a clear vision for navigating a rapidly evolving news landscape. Embracing experimentation and developing new strategies for growing our audience on all platforms will be essential in this role.
The Director of Audience will help set and manage audience goals for every team in the newsroom and work closely with Hearst Newspapers’ editorial leadership. This person should be a strong communicator, natural collaborator and willing partner to other senior leaders on projects and initiatives.
This leader will develop strategies for democratizing audience analytics in the newsroom and for providing regular training to our journalists.
A significant track record in growing audience and developing innovative strategies is a must, as is the ability to draw out the best in people you work with. Strong change management skills are essential. We are seeking a leader who is cool under pressure, comfortable with continuous deadlines, organized, enthusiastic, compassionate and creative.
Hybrid: Our staff works in the office at least three days a week.
What You’ll Do
- Develop and implement core strategies and goals for audience engagement.
- Democratize audience analytics across the newsroom using training, coaching and mentoring.
- Lead efforts to analyze the performance of our journalism, understand our audience and improve engagement.
- Help set and manage audience goals for newsroom teams.
- Take a hands-on approach to breaking news across digital platforms.
- Build strong relationships with staffers and foster their growth and development.
- Display exceptional news judgment with the ability to recognize the digital potential of stories that will resonate with our audience.
- Work with editors to shape coverage that deepens engagement with our digital audience.
- Provide day-to-day leadership and supervision to assigned staff, ensuring operational goals and objectives are met effectively and efficiently.
- Handle all aspects of employee management, including recruitment, interviewing, selection, onboarding and retention.
- Conduct regular performance evaluations; provide constructive feedback and coaching to support employee development and accountability.
- Administer progressive discipline and counseling as needed, in alignment with company policies and procedures.
- Oversee scheduling, workload distribution, and delegation of responsibilities to ensure balanced team performance and productivity.
What You’ll Bring
- Bachelor’s degree in journalism or a related field.
- 5 years or more of audience engagement experience, including management experience.
- Ability to turn audience data into actionable strategies for driving subscriptions and expanding our reach.
- Deep understanding of SEO, audience analytics and social media.
- Ability to innovate and quickly iterate as we seek to develop new strategies for engaging audiences.
- Strong news judgment and a commitment to accuracy.
- Track record of adapting quickly and moving at the speed of news.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills.
Additional Information
- Sponsorship: This position does not provide immigration sponsorship. Applicants must have the right to work in the U.S. without immigration sponsorship.
- Accommodations: We are committed to an accessible application process. If you need an accommodation to apply, please contact hnpemployment@hearst.com. This email address is for accommodation requests only.
Benefits
We support our employees through personal and professional development and promote physical, financial and emotional wellbeing for employees and their families. Our benefits include:
- Physical Wellbeing: Medical, dental and vision coverage to help keep you and your family healthy.
- Invest for the Future: Competitive retirement plan with a matching program in most markets.
- Generous Paid Time Off: Ample time off, including holidays and vacation.
- Paid Parental Leave: Paid leave to support growing families and new parents.
- Monthly Child & Dependent Care Reimbursement: Financial support for the care of your loved ones.
- Emotional Wellbeing: Mental wellness benefits to support your emotional wellbeing.
- LGBTQ+ & Inclusive Health Services: Inclusive healthcare designed for individual needs.
- Fertility Coverage & Menopause Support: Support throughout different stages of your health and family journey.
- Pet Wellness Reimbursement & Rover Credits: Support to help keep your pets happy and healthy.
- And more: Learn more about additional benefits and details here.
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