## USA TODAY – Executive Editor of Audience and Digital Production **Location:** United States (Remote) **Workplace:** Remote (must be based out of Washington, DC or NYC) ### Role Summary USA TODAY is seeking a visionary, highly accomplished Executive Editor, Audience & Digital Production to drive the newspaper’s digital audience strategy and serve as the executive owner of newsroom digital production across platforms. Reporting directly to the SVP of USA TODAY, this senior leader will: - Set the agenda for transforming journalism into signature digital experiences that grow reach, deepen engagement, and build enduring reader loyalty. - Own and evolve the operating model for audience and production, integrating digital content pillar teams, platform owners, and a 24/7 central digital production desk. - Oversee web, apps, newsletters, video, social, emerging platforms, and ensure every major story and franchise is executed with clarity, speed, and impact. - Be accountable for portfolio‑wide digital performance (loyal users, repeat visitation, engagement depth, conversion to newsletters/owned channels). - Partner with pillar leaders across News/Life, Opinion, Sports, and Entertainment to shape digital growth priorities and make data‑driven decisions. - Build a modern, scalable operating system for digital journalism, champion experimentation, and integrate responsible AI tools. - Lead, inspire, and develop a high‑caliber team of managers, editors, producers, and platform specialists. ### Key Responsibilities | Area | Responsibilities | |------|-------------------| | **Audience Strategy** | • Set and communicate audience & distribution strategy across the digital portfolio.
• Integrate newsletters, social discovery, video/visuals, search, and AI support.
• Monitor KPIs (pageviews, unique visits, return visits, loyalty, platform growth) and hit audience targets. | | **Compass Operating Model** | • Lead the unified Audience & Digital Production structure (pillar teams, platform owners, central desk).
• Resolve conflicts/prioritization between pillars, platforms, and the central desk.
• Advise executive leadership on audience strategy and production capacity. | | **Planning & Live Coverage** | • Own daily & look‑ahead planning calendar (tentpole events, live moments, major initiatives).
• Ensure central desk & pods execute agreed strategies in fast‑moving scenarios. | | **Cross‑Functional Partnership** | • Align audience priorities with Business (News, Entertainment, Sports, Opinion, Product, Sales, Brand, Local, Content Strategy, Content Monetization).
• Participate in/lead the Audience Growth Council. | | **Standards & Editorial Quality** | • Monitor site content and editorial standards from an audience perspective.
• Maintain clear decision rights for pods, platform editors, and central desk. | | **Workflow, Innovation & AI** | • Champion AI & innovation tools (SEO drafts, content tagging, briefings, social copy) in production workflows.
• Ensure structure supports scaling, pivoting, and experimentation. | | **People Leadership** | • Hire, manage, and develop senior editors (Central Desk & Operations, Platforms, Pods).
• Optimize staffing, meeting cadence, decision rights, and role scopes for a 23‑30 person model. | | **Key Deliverables** | • Hybrid team (pods + platforms + central desk) delivering 24/7 digital publishing.
• Documented audience strategies per pillar linked to measurable KPIs.
• Reliable execution of homepage, alerts, newsletters, social, and search strategies under pressure.
• Integrated AI workflows improving speed, depth, and scalability. | ### Requirements - Significant leadership experience in digital newsrooms or audience/production teams (preferably national scale). - Proven track record driving audience growth across multiple platforms (site, app, newsletters, social, video, search, aggregators). - Strong fluency in audience analytics; ability to translate data into editorial and distribution decisions. - Experience managing cross‑functional stakeholders and complex, multi‑team operating models. - Comfort leading change: reorganizations, workflow design, adoption of new tools (especially AI and automation). ### Application Instructions 1. **Resume** – 1‑2 pages. 2. **Cover Letter** – Outline how you would approach the role. *Both documents are required to ensure highest consideration.* ### Compensation - **Annualized Base Salary:** $163,000 – $175,000 (range reflects market, education, skills, certifications, experience). - Variable compensation may be applicable and is not reflected in the base figure. --- *USA TODAY is an equal opportunity employer.*

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