Audience Editor, Chron

Hearst Magazines; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Chron seeks an Audience Editor in Houston to grow our Texas audience and deepen reader relationships across social, email, and video. You’ll drive cross‑platform strategies, guide two audience producers, and shape promotion plans for major editorial initiatives with a data‑driven mindset.

The role requires sharp editorial judgment, Fluency in social/video trends, SEO usage, and the ability to alert reporters to opportunities that reach Texans nationwide.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of audience, social or video publishing strategy experience with people-management preferred.
• Degree in journalism, communications, marketing or related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Strong understanding of Houston and Texas with instinct for statewide stories.
• SEO experience using search trends and audience data to identify coverage opportunities.
• Strong social and video fluency across major platforms; ability to shoot/edit vertical video.

Responsibilities

• Develop audience growth strategies across social, video, newsletters and emerging platforms, leading two audience producers.
• Create promotion plans for editorial initiatives across site, social, video, newsletters and search optimization.
• Develop audience plans for major Texas initiatives and fast-moving moments (e.g., RodeoHouston, weather, elections).
• Analyze data to track performance, identify trends and pivot strategy by audience interests.
• Assist in morning editorial meetings by sharing pacing and trending search terms and suggesting story opportunities.

Skills

Audience strategy

Social publishing

Video publishing

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in journalism or communications

Tools

CapCut

Canva

Analytics platforms

Job description

Audience Editor

Chron | Houston, TX — Full-time | Digital • Audience • Social • Video

Chron is chasing Texas‑sized audience growth. We need an editor who knows how to make sharp journalism travel farther—across social platforms, search, newsletters and video—while building deeper, more direct relationships with Texans who come to Chron for news, culture and everyday curiosity.

Chron’s next Audience Editor will drive great content to new heights both on‑ and off‑platform, grow our most loyal audience and find ways to reach new ones. The ideal candidate has read Chron, understands the brand—sharp, fresh and unmistakably Texan— and brings a strategic‑first mindset with the hands‑on fluency to execute. This role is the connective tissue between editorial ambition and audience reach.

Audience strategy

• Develop audience growth strategies across social, video, newsletters and emerging platforms while leading a team of two audience producers
• Create promotion plans for special editorial initiatives that include site, social, video, newsletter and search‑optimization efforts
• Develop audience plans for major initiatives and fast‑moving Texas moments—from RodeoHouston and severe weather to elections, sports, restaurants, travel and statewide projects
• Analyze data to track performance, identify trends and opportunities, and pivot strategy to meet audiences where they are
• Help run morning editorial meetings by sharing pacing and trending search terms, and recommending story opportunities based on known audience interests

Social & content

• Create and publish compelling content (text, images, video, etc.) that engages and grows Chron’s social following, inspires shares, drives visits back to the site and supports subscriber and newsletter growth
• Manage Chron’s social media platforms, including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Nextdoor, X, Bluesky, Threads and LinkedIn
• Monitor and respond to audience inquiries, comments and complaints on social media and work with editorial leadership to address them
• Advise reporters and editors on the latest social trends, content ideas that come in through social and search, and how to write and optimize for each platform

Video

• Own and refine Chron’s off‑platform video strategy, including helping reporters and editors identify when video is the best way to tell their story
• Shoot and edit short‑form vertical video; develop and post social video to Chron’s site and social channels
• Build the team’s overall fluency in video production, social strategy and AI optimization

Cross‑team collaboration

• Collaborate with editors, reporters and other key stakeholders on promotion plans and special campaigns
• Stay up to date on trends and best practices in video, search and social media

Qualifications

• 3+ years of relevant experience in audience, social or video publishing strategy, with people‑management experience preferred
• A degree in journalism, communications, marketing or a related field, or equivalent professional experience
• Strong understanding of Houston and Texas, and good instinct for stories that could travel statewide
• SEO experience, including the ability to use search trends, Google Discover/Google News signals and audience data to identify coverage opportunities
• Strong social and video fluency, especially across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit and Nextdoor
• Ability to shoot and edit vertical video; experience with CapCut, Canva or similar tools
• Strong writing, copy editing and communication skills, including the ability to write social copy in Chron’s voice with accuracy, clarity and Texas wit
• Excellent news judgment, including comfort with breaking news and knowing when to elevate decisions to newsroom leadership
• AI fluency and curiosity—able to use AI to find audience insights, simplify tasks and find efficiencies, while understanding that AI is no substitute for human judgment and verification
• Experience with social media scheduling tools, analytics platforms and performance reporting
• Flexibility and adaptability in a fast‑paced, always‑on news environment

Empowered to act independently

• Writing social copy, designing visual builds and posting stories to social platforms
• Developing and posting social video to Chron’s site and social channels
• Sharing pacing data with the newsroom and surfacing trending terms that are a good fit for Chron to pursue
• Newsletter content mix and when to issue site alerts

Defers to editorial

• Long‑term social, search and audience strategy decisions
• Sensitive breaking news alert messaging

Measures of Success

• Maintaining and growing healthy audience referral channels (search, social, newsletters, Google News, etc.)
• Increasing followers and engagement (shares, comments, saves) across social platforms
• Driving traffic from social, search and newsletters back to Chron content on site
• Supporting subscriber and newsletter growth
• Overall increase of unique in‑DMA audiences
• Overall increase of repeat visitors from target growth markets within Texas

Challenges

• Identifying areas of opportunity—content development recommendations that match audience wants, or trending search terms ripe for Chron to own
• Continuously testing new ideas and being open to pivoting in a changing media landscape to keep audience channels strong
• Understanding audience habits deeply enough to craft a strategy that retains loyal readers while developing new ones across Texas