INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS EDITOR
Part-time contract position for a public media news collaboration

Native Public Media, Koahnic Broadcast Corp. and the Mountain West News Bureau are launching a collaboration to examine climate change’s impact on tribal communities. We’re looking for an Indigenous affairs editor to oversee that coverage, which will be broadcast in a weekly short-form radio show and accompanying podcast.

The editor will help guide the direction of the weekly show and its content: news features, two-ways, reporter de-briefs and spots. They will also serve as a liaison with NPR, Here & Now, Marketplace and other national shows. The editor ensures content is accurate, fair and comprehensive, and looks for ways to innovate and broaden the collaboration’s reach.

The editor will work with an Indigenous affairs reporter/producer and the show’s host, as well as staffers from KNBA/Anchorage and the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration of a half-dozen NPR member stations. The editor also will work with other stations and freelancers to develop content for the weekly show. There will be substantial coordination with the managing editor of the Mountain West News Bureau.

This is a part-time, contract position, which allows some flexibility with the bureau’s standard workday – 9-to-5 Mountain Time. It is a remote position. The contracting will be handled by Boise State Public Radio, the lead station in the Mountain West News Bureau.

We expect at least two years of grant funding to help offset the costs of this position.

Please send resume, cover letter and two work samples to Dave Rosenthal, managing editor of the Mountain West News Bureau, at daverosenthal@boisestate.edu. The deadline is June 12, and interviews may be conducted on a rolling basis. Contact Dave Rosenthal with any questions.

Duties include:

– coordinating with collaboration partners to plan weekly broadcasts,

– editing spots and features – line editing, fact-checking, finding images, checking headlines and photo cutlines, adding links and applying tags,

– monitoring grant funds and looking for new funding opportunities,

– and finding new ways to broaden the collaboration’s reach, while working with the collaboration’s partners..

Required skills:

– knowledge of climate change and the many ways that Indigenous communities are affected by it. Topics include health, agriculture, wildfire and water access.

– the ability to communicate effectively and at a high level both orally and in writing.

– the ability to coach, mentor, and train staff on digital platforms and best practices.

–demonstrated organizational skills, including the ability to anticipate problems before they arise.

– must interact with people in a positive, professional manner, displaying interpersonal skills that indicate a high level of experience, professionalism and confidence.

– must maintain strong journalistic ethics.

– familiarity with public radio programming.

– understanding and knowledge of the unique demographic and psychographic make-up of the public radio audience, and the ability to communicate to audience members from a variety of educational, cultural and economic backgrounds.

– plus a preference for the knowledge of content management systems such as Grove, used by most NPR stations

About the collaborators:

Koahnic Broadcast Corp. is a nonprofit media organization that produces and distributes Native and Indigenous content through Alaska Native governance and operation. It produces National Native News, Native America Calling and INDIGEFI, and owns and operates KNBA (90.3 FM) in Anchorage.

Native Public Media is a network of more than 60 tribal radio and television stations. It provides services that encourage the expansion and strengthening of Native media through platforms that are community-based, local, and democratic. These include broadcast licensing guidance, FCC and Corporation for Public Broadcasting compliance, station operations guidance, legal guidance, broadcast leadership training and education, and telecommunications and communications policymaking.

The Mountain West News Bureau is a collaboration of NPR member stations covering six states along the Rockies. It includes Boise State Public Radio, Nevada Public Radio, Wyoming Public Radio, KUNC (Greeley, CO), KUNR (Reno), KANW (Albuquerque) along with a number of affiliate stations.  The lead station is Boise State Public Radio in Idaho. This regional news collaboration has received some support from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting since its founding in 2018.