Fellow, Producer - MPR News

Position Information:

• Start Date: January 4 - December 3, 2027
• Hours: 40 hours per week
• Location: St. Paul, MN
• Pay: $20/hour - $23/hour (salary will be based on individuals education and/or relevant experience)

Fellow, Producer - MPR News:

MPR News has an exciting opportunity for a developing journalist with a passion for programming to join our MPR News Shows as a Producer Fellow. This fellowship will give you real-world experience working on our LIVE programs (Morning Edition, All Things Considered, MN Now and our call-in show) with the latest news, putting people first with down-to-earth, unscripted interviews and reports that aim to include, inform, and inspire right now. Our news programs are an important part of MPR News, as our whole newsroom leans into creating the future of public media for local Minnesota communities and across platforms, audio and video, for prospect audiences.

As the Producer Fellow, you will join this high-performing team and help create compelling and engaging daily radio content in alignment with our mission to amplify voices to inform, include, and inspire. You will help curate the most important news and information of the day - urgently when it matters - but favoring context, nuance and ideas that help listeners make meaning and engage with each other. This will be a rich learning experience as you will be creating specific content aimed at delighting and inspiring the audience, valuing warmth and accessibility as much as rigor and excellence.

Key Learning Goals:

The goal of this fellowship is to provide you with immersive learning and real-world experience through impactful work. By the end of your fellowship, you will be able to:

• Gain practical experience in producing daily news coverage for a statewide broadcast
• Develop professional relationships and expand network within the journalism industry

Responsibilities:

We want you to take your journalism to the next level. In this hands-on role, you will

• Pitch segments: locate, contact, pre-interview sources, and book guests
• Coordinate guest bookings and technical requirements for remote studio connections
• Help write promos, scripts, fact-check copy, and deliver content on all platforms
• Direct live broadcast
• Contributes to our ongoing experimentation for finding new ways to deliver valuable and timely content to audiences across platforms, including social media and video/YouTube, in addition to high-quality radio programming

Benefits:

• Eligible to accrue sick time off
• Eligible for health insurance as required under the ACA
• Eligible to participate in the APMG retirement plan

Programming:

• Participate in a robust onboarding experience
• Professional development: on-the-job training, workforce readiness training, formal performance review feedback sessions, etc.
• Participate in brown bag sessions to gain broader perspective of the organization

Required Qualifications:

• Completed bachelors degree or at least two years of relevant professional experience in journalism or communications
• Two years of relevant professional experience in journalism or communications
• Experience in production, editorial or broadcast experience
• Experience with digital audio editing systems
• Experience writing for digital platforms
• Familiarity with social media platforms
• Solid news judgment
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Reads widely across a variety of current news sources
• Ability to generate fresh and strong ideas for the programs
• Ability to work interdependently within a team while maintaining effective communication and accountability with minimal supervision
• Excellent organizational skills; effective with details and deadlines
• Ability to learn new industry-specific skills as required
• Research skills
• Interest in and general knowledge of news, current events and the media ecosphere

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with Dalet newsroom software
• Skill and experience in field production
• Experience with live news programming
• Familiarity with recent Minnesota news stories
• Multi-platform social media and video experience

Next Step in the Application:

In addition to your skills and knowledge, we want to get to know you in the application process. Please include a cover letter (of no more than 1 page) with answers to the following:

• What interests you about this fellowship?
• What professional skills would you like to add to your toolbox in the months and years to come to grow in your career field?

Physical Demands and Working Conditions:

• Must be able to perform the essential duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Physical Demands:
• Required to move about in an office environment and sit for extended periods of time.
• Required to move about in the community.
• Frequent use of hands for data entry/keystrokes and simple grasping.
• Working Conditions:
• Moderate noise level.
• Occasional exposure to prevalent weather conditions.

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We are committed to hiring a breadth of diverse professionals and encourage members of diverse groups to apply.

MacMillan Internship & Fellowship Program at MPR|APM

Minnesota Public Radio | American Public Media are grateful for the long-time, generous philanthropy of Whitney and Elizabeth MacMillan for investing in the future of public media through transformational internships and fellowships. Their recent grant will significantly strengthen our internship program, produce enriching programming, and prepare the next generation for careers in public media. We are pleased to recognize this generous support in the name of the program - the MacMillan Internship & Fellowship Program at MPR|APM.