Social Video Producer, Temporary

ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force. We dig deep into important issues, shining a light on abuses of power and betrayals of public trust — and we stick with those issues as long as it takes to hold power to account.

Short-form video has been and will continue to be how many people receive news about the world, which is why we are looking to expand ProPublica’s social video team with a temporary social video producer.

This role will translate our long-form journalism into short-form, video-first content for TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and our other social platforms. We see our platforms not just as traffic drivers to our stories but also as a means for us to build stand-alone editorial products. Since the social video team’s creation, our work has adapted Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court and nationwide abortion bans, showcased reporters and their investigations into secret militias and suspicious patient deaths, and spotlighted whistleblowers sharing revelatory experiences on camera for the first time. 

We’re seeking someone who is excited about producing compelling short-form, vertical video for social platforms, experimenting with the way we approach adapting our investigations in this format. This person should be comfortable working with journalists and editors across the newsroom to get the findings of our work in front of new audiences. 

This role will help set the standard and tone for how we connect with our current social video audiences while expanding our reach to new ones. You will be at the center of one of the most exciting newsrooms in the country, where visual storytelling is integral to our mission.

This temporary two-year role will report directly to our social video editor and sits within the larger ProPublica audience team.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Create video content that is grounded in ethical journalistic principles, standards and practices, and use editorial judgment to translate stories with the sensitivity, care and appropriate tone required of our investigations.
• Own the creative and technical production for videos from beginning to end, including writing and editing scripts, working with reporters and editors to gather visual assets, designing any as-needed still and motion graphics, and writing the social post captions.
• Collaborate with reporters, editors, visual editors, audience team members and other staffers to identify and produce compelling video storytelling.
• Serve as the on-screen narrator/host for videos, maintaining a “voice” and approach for explainer-type and host-led video content that is appropriate for ProPublica’s brand.
• Shoot and edit video in-studio, remotely and in the field, ensuring high-quality production values.
  Identify and edit compelling media clips for video podcasts, live events, media appearances and more and adapt them into optimized formats for social platforms.
• Manage multiple projects in various stages of production, sometimes meeting tight deadlines.
• Monitor the editorial calendar and pitch ideas for social video content and packages.
• Define and maintain our workflow processes and systems to ensure a consistent production of video content.
• Track monthly video analytics reports that can help inform future optimization, strategy and more.
• Be the team’s knowledge center for how social platforms are continuing to adapt for video and evolving audience video-viewing trends.

About You

We are looking for people who have proven that they can use video and design skills for journalistic ends.

The ideal candidate will have many of these skills:

• Three or more years of video journalism, content production and video editing experience.
• Fluency telling stories for social platforms with text on screen, voice overs, direct to camera or other methods.
• Strong understanding of algorithmic trends and platform optimization strategies, including expertise in crafting effective video titles, thumbnails, descriptions and metadata to maximize reach and engagement across social platforms.
• Experience conducting on-camera interviews and directing video subjects in-person and remotely.
• Proficiency in media production software (e.g., Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, CapCut, Photoshop, Figma).
• Strong writing and editing skills.
• The ability to communicate social storytelling ideas through scripts or storyboards and advocate for projects with social potential across the newsroom.
• Experience with project management software such as Trello, Airtable or Notion.
• A collaborative mindset, stellar communication skills and the ability to work on several projects at once. You’ll need to stay organized and focused and meet deadlines.

And these skills are desirable:

• Experience using a digital asset management system such as Swivle.
• Experience in producing video explainers for YouTube.
• Knowledge of media rights and clearances and a working knowledge of copyright permissions.
• Experience in a newsroom or media organization.

This job is full time and includes benefits. This position is based in New York, where ProPublica’s headquarters are located. We are not open to remote candidates for this role. Applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S.

The expected salary range for this position is $90,000 to $105,000.

This is a good-faith estimate of what we expect to pay for this position. The final salary figure will take into account a person’s experience, accomplishment and location. ProPublica is committed to paying its staff equitably, and these ranges should not be considered career salary limits or caps.

We will begin reviewing applications as we receive them, but we will continue to consider candidates as long as the posting remains live on our site.

Questions? Send an email to [email protected].

No phone calls, please.