Assistant Professional Practice Professor – Community News Editor

EWA; Columbia Township (MO); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision plans

Educational fee discounts

University retirement plan

Job summary

The University of Missouri School of Journalism and the Columbia Missourian are seeking an Assistant Professional Practice Professor – Community News Editor to guide story development, edit student reporting, and oversee daily coverage across digital and print editions.

The role requires teaching duties, leadership of a large student staff, and collaboration with faculty, staff, and community leaders to ensure inclusive, high-quality journalism.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years of writing, editing and/or managing staff in a digital journalism environment.
• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Strong teaching or training experience and enthusiasm for working with aspiring journalists.

Responsibilities

• Serve as an originating editor at the Columbia Missourian, assigning and directing reporters.
• Oversee news coverage and products produced by assigned students.
• Manage a staff of several dozen student reporters, plus graduate and undergraduate student workers.
• Plan and supervise necessary travel.
• Teach a journalism class each semester.
• Build relationships with community members and leaders to ensure inclusive coverage.
• Hold a faculty appointment at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
• Coordinate with photo, graphics, news and community editors in covering the community.
• Collaborate with the news director and editors at other MMJ platforms for converged coverage.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Writing

Editing

Staff management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Assistant Professional Practice Professor – Community News Editor, Columbia Missourian

The University of Missouri School of Journalism and the Columbia Missourian are looking for a dynamic individual with expertise, vision and energy to serve as a community news editor of digital and print editions of the community newspaper. This is a full-time, benefit-eligible, renewable, 12-month faculty appointment. The anticipated start date for the position is Jan 1, 2027.

This position involves guiding story development, overseeing daily stories, and editing student journalist reporting in a rapidly changing organization. The successful candidate must be able to lead change and collaborate with faculty, staff and students across newsrooms and platforms throughout the Missouri School of Journalism. Our news outlets serve Mid-Missouri and share content from our large statehouse operation with journalism outlets across the state. In addition to the Columbia Missourian, our media holdings include a city magazine (Vox), a commercial NBC affiliated television station (KOMU-TV), and NPR member station (KBIA-FM) and a digital statewide business publication (Missouri Business Alert).

For more than 100 years journalism students have obtained hands-on experience at the Missourian utilizing the Missouri Method. This learning-by-doing experience in community newsrooms continues to be the gold standard for training journalists.

In addition to overseeing coverage and serving as a lab instructor in reporting classes, community news editors teach journalism classes in the Journalism School.

The right candidate will have writing, editing and supervisory skills, teaching or training experience and an enthusiasm for working with aspiring journalists.

The community news editor will:

• Serve as an originating editor at the Columbia Missourian, assigning and directing reporters
• Oversee news coverage and products produced by assigned students
• Manage a staff of several dozen student reporters, plus graduate and undergraduate student workers
• Plan and supervise necessary travel
• Teach a journalism class each semester
• Work with community members and leaders to build relationships and ensure inclusive coverage.
• Hold a faculty appointment at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
• Coordinate with photo, graphics, news and community editors in covering the community.
• Work with the news director, community editors and students at other Missouri School of Journalism news platforms to create quality converged coverage.
• Other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications:

• At least 3 years of experience in writing, editing and/or managing staff in a digital journalism environment.
• A bachelor’s degree.

Candidates will be evaluated on:

• Their ethical judgment and skill to teach young journalists how to make tough calls on their feet.
• A proven track record of producing quality news coverage.
• Strong interpersonal and collaborative problem-solving skills.
• A deep, applied understanding of how to use visual and audio journalism, digital video, and social media to enhance journalistic storytelling.
• The ability to juggle a vibrant daily newsroom’s many needs with ambitious, long-term projects.
• A track record as a collegial collaborator in a newsroom without silos.

Employment visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Community Information

Columbia offers small-town friendliness with big city features and a high quality of life for people of all ages and interests. Founded on education and known as an ideal college town, its location also makes it an attractive spot for businesses and travelers. Located on Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 63, Columbia is right in the middle of the state and the nation. Just a couple hours’ drive from St. Louis and Kansas City, Columbia is Boone County’s largest population center offering big-city culture, activities, and resources with a low cost of living. Columbia is home to a variety of restaurants and entertainment venues and hosts more than a dozen festivals each year. If you want to grow your career, continue your education, raise a family, and retire, Columbia is a good place to be!

Benefit Eligibility

This position is eligible for University benefits. As part of your total compensation, the University offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental and vision plans, retirement, and educational fee discounts for all four UM System campuses. For additional information on University benefits, please visit the Faculty & Staff Benefits website at https://www.umsystem.edu/departments-staff/human-resources/benefits-retirement

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of Missouri is an

To request ADA accommodations, please call the Director of Accessibility and ADA at 573-884-7278.