The ideal candidate for Pacific Standard‘s engagement fellowship should be pursuing public interest journalism as a career, have experience with social media production and audience development, and have an abiding interest in public policy and social science. We’re a small office, so this role will directly support the growth of our site’s readership.
Our new engagement fellow will work closely with several key members of our audience team and gain valuable experience in many aspects of digital storytelling and engagement. Several previous fellows are now full-time Pacific Standard staff; others are in editorial positions at Outside, The Hollywood Reporter, Inverse, and other publications.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Assist the Pacific Standard Web team with building and maintaining the publication’s social strategy across multiple platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
- Track engagement and readership on a daily basis; identifying key trends and content partner sites that the digital team can use to spread our stories.
- Work closely with the audience team to foster outreach to our reading audience, creating graphics and copy that strengthens our daily and feature reporting.
- Brainstorm and develop engagement efforts in support of Pacific Standard print stories and packages, connecting potential readers with our content and fueling conversation (through Reddit AMAs, for example).
- Help with general production responsibilities for the site, including working on the CMS to stage partner posts and translate print stories to digital formats.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES
- A strong understanding of Pacific Standard‘s editorial voice—both online and in print—and a willingness to learn how social media strategy can power audience growth.
- A sharp interest in the news production cycle and what kinds of stories the internet enjoys.
- Experience producing copy tailored to individual social platforms, with a knowledge of what works best on each.
- An understanding of best practices for social media and audience engagement for journalistic outlets.
- Willingness to accept direction and participate fully in a collaborative and creative work environment, while also working independently and proactively on multiple assignments.
FELLOWSHIP DETAILS
Because our fellowship is full-time and one full year in length, it is not appropriate for matriculated students. The position pays a stipend of $30,000 for the year, paid in regular biweekly installments; it is expected that editorial fellows will work standard hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, in our Santa Barbara, California, offices.
TO APPLY
To apply, send your cover letter and resume to our Audience Desk, audience@psmag.com. Your cover letter should: (1) outline some of your early ideas for increasing engagement on Pacific Standard‘s existing social media platforms; (2) identify one or two successful outreach strategies from other publications, briefly explaining your choice; and (3) include a detailed engagement plan for promoting one of our recent feature stories, including sample Tweets, Facebook posts, and ideas for outreach to audiences affected by the story or stories.
