Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc has an immediate News Director opening for our stations in Odessa, Texas (DMA #147).  In this role, the News Director will have oversight of Nexstar’s operations at KMID (ABC) and oversee operational agreements with Mission Broadcasting providing services to KPEJ (Fox) through a JSA and SSA, as well as the station’s digital, mobile and social media assets.

The Odessa/Midland market is located in West Texas. The area is famous for its cowboy culture, its oil industry, and Friday Night Lights – a book and film based on one of the region’s high school football teams.  Odessa is home to the Presidential Museum and Leadership Library- the only one of its kind in the US.  Halliburton, Anthem Oil & Gas, and other large companies have a major presence in the market.  This opportunity will allow you adventures in the area and put you in driving distance of more adventures throughout Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico.

• Manages all aspects of the News Department (other than Production)
• Plans and manages staffing, training, and performance evaluations for the News Department.
• Makes decisions regarding hiring, evaluation, promotion and termination of employees.
• Develops news coverage strategy for the station and its website.
• Critiques newscasts daily to correct errors, improve coverage and provide mentoring feedback to news staff.
• Assigns projects to staff and verifies that deadlines are being met.
• Ensures achievement of viewer rating goals.
• Determines programming and evaluation of equipment needs to produce quality programming.
• Responds to coverage questions.
• Works with other senior station leaders to establish and reach station goals.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements & Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and work-related experience.
• Fluency in English.
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
• Minimum five years’ experience in news programming production, with at least two years’ experience in a leadership role. (More or less depending on market size.)
• Experience guiding, directing and motivating subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
• Experience establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
• Ability to identify the developmental needs of others and to coach, mentor or otherwise help others to improve their knowledge or skills.
• Experience preparing and maintaining departmental budgets.
• Proficiency with computers, telephones, copiers, scanners, fax machines and other office equipment.
• Ability to meet deadlines, prioritize assignments and handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Ability to effectively listen to fully understand employee needs and communicate with a team to shape a solution.

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