Associate Producer, What Next

Slate; United States; Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 81,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical plans

Dental plans

Flexible spending accounts

Job summary

Slate seeks an associate producer to help create What Next and What Next: TBD. The role blends audio and video production, scripting, and guest booking, with mentorship and growing responsibility. You’ll work with a host and producers to develop episodes, arrange interviews, and deliver polished segments under tight deadlines.

The position can be New York or Washington, D.C., with remote work possible for the right candidate, and pays $75,000–$81,000 annually under a union agreement.

Qualifications

• At least two years’ experience in radio or podcasting in a journalistic environment.
• At least two years’ experience with professional audio-editing software, preferably Pro Tools.
• A demonstrated ability with video-production software, including DaVinci or Adobe Premiere.
• Excellent writing skills and story sense.

Responsibilities

• Work with a host and team of producers to conceive and develop episodes.
• Implement script notes quickly and sensitively.
• Pull tape and images for use in both audio and video edits.
• Help arrange interviews and oversee recording sessions, often over remote connections.
• Engage in episode mixing, including scoring, sound design, and audio correction.
• Interview and/or preinterview sources.
• Book guests, stringers, and studios.
• Prep host for interview tapings: research guests and prepare and send interview briefs.
• Put together mixes of episodes or episode introductions in Pro Tools and/or DaVinci Resolve.
• Fact-check scripts.
• Select and edit clips for social media and other promotion.
• Attend all production and editorial meetings.
• Lend general editorial feedback throughout the production process.
• Lend general administrative support to all producers and production teams

Skills

Excellent writing

Story sense

Tools

Pro Tools

DaVinci Resolve

Adobe Premiere

Job description

Slate is looking for a versatile, capable associate producer to help us make our critically acclaimed daily news podcasts, What Next and What Next: TBD. This producer must be hungry to tackle the news, whether that’s finding fresh angles and voices on the biggest headlines of the day or bringing under-covered but essential stories to Slate’s national audience.

The ideal candidate must be flexible—the news moves fast—and ambitious. You don’t take yourself too seriously, but you’re serious about the work. You are kind, collaborative, and generous with your colleagues, but you can articulate concerns and solve problems as they crop up. You have an excellent ear, strong writing chops, a nose for news, and an appreciation for tight deadlines.

Associate producers are hyperorganized and able to work independently. Reporting to a supervising producer, you will be provided with mentorship and clear supervision to help grow your skills and take on more responsibility over time. You will eventually need to move fluidly between pitching, booking, prepping, recording, writing, editing, and mixing—with a degree of creative troubleshooting in between. The ideal candidate will come with a degree of experience in both audio and video editing and production.

This position can be located in Slate’s New York or D.C. office. We will consider remote work for the right candidate. The annual base pay range for this job is between $75,000 and $81,000. This is a position covered under a collective bargaining agreement between Slate and the Writers Guild of America East.

Key Responsibilities

• Work with a host and team of producers to conceive and develop episodes
• Implement script notes quickly and sensitively
• Pull tape and images for use in both audio and video edits
• Help arrange interviews and oversee recording sessions, often over remote connections
• Engage in episode mixing, including scoring, sound design, and audio correction
• Interview and/or preinterview sources
• Book guests, stringers, and studios
• Prep host for interview tapings: research guests and prepare and send interview briefs
• Put together mixes of episodes or episode introductions in Pro Tools and/or DaVinci Resolve
• Fact-check scripts
• Select and edit clips for social media and other promotion
• Attend all production and editorial meetings
• Lend general editorial feedback throughout the production process
• Lend general administrative support to all producers and production teams

Requirements

• At least two years’ experience in radio or podcasting in a journalistic environment
• At least two years’ experience with professional audio-editing software, preferably Pro Tools
• A demonstrated ability with video-production software, including DaVinci or Adobe Premiere
• Excellent writing skills and story sense

$75,000 - $81,000 a year

Slate offers a comprehensive benefits program that gives eligible employees the flexibility to choose the right benefits for themselves and their families. There are three subsidized medical plans and two dental plans, provided by Aetna, which can be paired with flexible spending accounts.

We know that diverse perspectives make us smarter and stronger, and that all applicants, from all backgrounds, should be welcomed in our hiring process and given equal opportunities to be evaluated based on their qualifications and skills. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application and selection process, please let us know. We will do what we can to meet your needs.

Slate is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of an individual’s sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics.

About the Company

Slate, founded in 1996, is a daily online magazine and podcast network that helped invent the voice of the web. Our strong editorial voice and witty take on current events & culture have been recognized with numerous awards, including the National Magazine Award for General Excellence Online. Our podcast network, established in 2005, produces more than 20 podcasts, including Slow Burn, What Next, Decoder Ring, ICYMI, and more.

Slate is an affiliate of the Graham Holdings Company (NYSE:GHC). GHC is a diversified holding company whose operations include educational services; home health and hospice care; television broadcasting, online, print, and local TV news; automotive dealerships; manufacturing; hospitality; and consumer internet companies.

Slate is an affiliate of Graham Holdings. Read the Graham Holdings Company California Worker Privacy Statement here.