Communications Manager

New York, NY

ProPublica

Date Posted: 10/28/2024

ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. 

ProPublica is hiring a communications manager to amplify the reach and impact of its journalism. The person in this role will build strong relationships with media outlets to highlight ProPublica’s award-winning journalism, respond to media requests, support staff media appearances and meet other day-to-day public relations needs to advance the organization’s goals.  

Our ideal candidate is someone with proven PR experience who is passionate about journalism that serves the public interest, has a track record of reaching target audiences with key messages and has demonstrated success in crafting compelling narratives that amplify an organization’s mission.

This position will report to the director of communications.

What you’ll do here:

• Develop and execute PR campaigns for major investigations from our national newsroom and Local Reporting Network in alignment with the organization's messaging and campaign goals.

• Pitch our journalists and their reporting to TV and radio shows, podcasts, print and online publications, and newsletters; strengthen and grow new and existing relationships with members of the press, and support staff with their media relationship management.  

• Work with editorial leaders to communicate publication goals, strategy and culture to press; identify key audiences that drive impact and help ProPublica establish and grow brand awareness.

• Respond to inbound media requests and schedule media interviews in person or virtually; prepare staff for media interviews; work with staff and editorial leaders on media talking points for our investigations and initiatives.

• Contribute to daily reports of significant media coverage across television, radio, podcasts, social media and other news reports, assisted by media-monitoring software and other sources. 

• Draft and disseminate press releases related to staff hires, major initiatives and awards.

• Ensure ProPublica’s republishing guidelines are met while building and maintaining relationships with frequent republishers.

• Facilitate inbound requests to republish articles, including liaising with the media rights team about rights to photographs and illustrations.

• Update staff bios and headshots within our content management system.

• Collaborate with other communications team members on responding to reader feedback and other inbound messages.

• Occasionally lead public tours of ProPublica offices. 

• Provide administrative support on key communication team tasks such as making arrangements for staff to attend award ceremonies; continually find ways to suggest and contribute improvements in how the team and organization do their work.

You should apply if you have:

• Minimum five years of experience in communications, marketing or public relations; ideally, at least some experience working for a news organization.

• Superb written and verbal communication skills.

• Impeccable news judgment and experience vetting/verifying information.

• Established relationships with relevant top-tier media outlets and journalists.

• Experience working with a content management system, media reporting tools (Meltwater, Cision or MuckRack) and databases (such as Airtable).

• Strong organizational and time management skills. 

• Comfort with working on deadlines for multiple projects and pivoting outreach strategies on a dime.

• Experience as a strong team player and a desire to collaborate with others.

This job is full time and includes benefits. ProPublica is based in New York, and we have offices across the country. This role can be based in either New York City or Washington, D.C., and applicants must live within commutable distance of one of those offices. Applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S.

The expected salary range for this position is $80,000 to $90,000.

This is a good-faith estimate of what we expect to pay for this position. The final salary figure will take into account a person’s experience, accomplishment and location. ProPublica is committed to paying its staff equitably, and these ranges should not be considered career salary limits or caps.

We will begin reviewing applications as we receive them, but we will continue to consider candidates as long as the posting remains live on our site.

Questions? Send an email to talent@propublica.org. 

No phone calls, please.

We know there are great candidates who may not fit into what we’ve described above or who have important skills we haven’t thought of. If that’s you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself.

We are dedicated to improving our newsroom, in part by better reflecting the people we cover. (Here is a breakdown of our staff.) We are committed to diversity and building an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and ages. And we are taking steps to meet that commitment. We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities. We are an equal opportunity employer and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age or any other status protected under applicable law.