Audience Producer
Pittsburgh’s Public Source is looking for a curious and community-minded audience producer to help more people find, engage with and care about our local journalism and to grow our audiences across newsletters, social media and our website.
We’re a nonprofit newsroom committed to delivering local journalism that informs and inspires our neighbors. This role sits at the intersection of storytelling and execution. You’ll be responsible for getting our work in front of the right people, on the right platforms, in ways that feel native to each space. You’ll work closely with our Director of Audience, who leads our audience and visuals team, and collaborate across the newsroom with our reporters, photojournalists, editors and business team to help shape how Public Source shows up in the world every day.
This isn’t a role for someone who wants to stay behind the scenes. The best candidate is someone who is as comfortable jumping on camera for a reel as they are digging into analytics to figure out what’s actually working. You’ll be a champion for our journalism and for the communities we serve in and around Pittsburgh.
This is primarily a production and execution role. You’ll have a voice in shaping audience strategy alongside others on the team, but the bulk of your day is spent making things — posts, videos, callouts, reports. If you’re energized by the craft of doing the work, not just planning it, this role is for you.
The Audience Producer is expected to:
- Own day-to-day publishing across Instagram, Facebook, X, Bluesky, LinkedIN, YouTube and TikTok, including writing platform-specific copy, producing assets and scheduling content
- Monitor and respond to comments and DMs daily
- Create weekly short-form video and on-camera content, including reels
- Plan and execute paid advertising campaigns across platforms, including setting up campaigns, targeting audiences, tracking performance and reporting results
- Write SEO for Public Source stories
- Track and analyze performance across platforms and bring those insights to regular conversations with the team
- Assist the newsletter editor at times on production and subscriber growth strategy
- Market Public Source as a brand
- Write and produce occasional audience callouts and follow them up with stories
- Stay current on platform trends and experiment with new formats regularly
We seek someone with:
- A feel for news judgment, whether from working in a newsroom, studying journalism or being a devoted consumer of news and local media
- Experience creating social media content across multiple platforms
- Familiarity with SEO fundamentals
- Comfort with analytics tools Parse.ly or Google Analytics
- Experience with design tools such as Canva or Adobe Creative Suite
- Experience with Mailchimp and WordPress is a plus
- Ability to manage competing priorities without dropping details and communicate proactively with teammates
- Genuine curiosity about what audiences want and need from local journalism
- Two to three years of related experience preferred; strong candidates who are earlier in their careers are welcome to apply
The salary range for this position is $50,000 to $60,000, depending on experience.
Pittsburgh’s Public Source has an office in Pittsburgh and operates in a hybrid work environment.
Public Source offers paid time off, a 401(k) match, a health plan, competitive paid parental leave and professional development opportunities. Public Source is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Candidates from traditionally underrepresented communities are strongly encouraged to apply, including but not limited to people of color, people who are LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities. To learn more about what it’s like to work with Public Source, please visit this page.
Are you interested? Applicants should submit the information and materials requested in this form by April 10. We will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis.
Public Source Editorial Internship
Public Source is a nonprofit news outlet in Pittsburgh. We write stories with powerful narratives and characters, often beautifully illustrated and supported by data visualization, to explain complex issues in the areas of local government, economic development, education, health, the environment and climate, and gender and identity. Check us out at PublicSource.org.
Interns play important roles in Public Source’s journalism: checking the facts on stories pre-publication, conducting research for ongoing projects and typically writing stories, individually and in teams with our professional reporters. Interns are mentored by members of our reporting team and have regular and meaningful interaction with editors and the entire staff.
Here’s what we’re looking for in an editorial intern:
- We want someone who goes through life with an eye for untold stories and can figure out how to tell those stories through interviews and research as well as technically sound and creative writing.
- We expect interns to pitch ideas for enterprise stories, work independently and in teams, and communicate with editors about progress toward publication.
- Interns should be able to share stories on social media and have ideas for how all of our stories could get more exposure. (Note: We will check your social media accounts for professionalism.) Interest in other forms of audience engagement is also welcomed.
- Accuracy will be king to the right intern, who will be trained in our fact-checking system and asked to conduct vigorous fact checks.
This is a paid internship. We pay a minimum of $10 an hour and ask interns to work 15 hours a week for 15 weeks (or another agreed upon schedule). Interns are paid on the 15th and last business day of the month. If you have a professor who will give you credit, we’re also happy to fill out the forms.
We also cooperate with college programs that provide financial support for internships.
We operate as a hybrid newsroom, between our office in Pittsburgh’s Uptown neighborhood and virtual. We encourage candidates of underrepresented backgrounds to apply.
Questions? Email Managing Editor Rich Lord at rich@publicsource.org.
To apply, please fill out this form by the date indicated in the chart below.
| Semester desired | Applications start | Application deadline |
| Spring | Sept. 1 | Nov. 1 |
| Summer | Nov. 1 | Feb. 15 |
| Fall | May 1 | July 1 |
Public Source Photojournalism Internship
Public Source is a nonprofit news outlet in Pittsburgh. We write stories with powerful narratives and characters to explain complex issues in the areas of local government, economic development, education, health, the environment and climate, and gender and identity.
All of our stories are enhanced by beautiful documentary-style photography or video.
Check us out at PublicSource.org. If you’re interested in what we do, here’s what we’re looking for in an visuals intern:
- Someone with an eye for composing great photos and potentially photo essays that relay the essence of a person or a story.
- An interest or experience in videography.
- The ability to conceptualize how to capture the audience’s attention on social media with different ways to present the visuals, like Instagram stories, Facebook galleries and more.
- Strong time management and scheduling skills. Not every assignment will be during normal hours, so we need someone who is responsible and flexible.
- We like it when our interns are driven, take initiative and work collaboratively with the Public Source team to make our time together worthwhile for all involved.
This is a paid internship. We pay a minimum of $10 an hour and ask interns to work 15 hours a week for 15 weeks (or another agreed upon schedule). Interns are paid on the 15th and last business day of the month. If you have a professor who will give you credit, we’re also happy to fill out the forms.
If you have a professor who will give you credit, we’re also happy to fill out the forms.
We operate as a hybrid newsroom, between our office in Pittsburgh’s Uptown neighborhood and virtual. We encourage candidates of underrepresented backgrounds to apply.
Questions? Email Director of Audience & Visual Strategy Natasha Vicens at natasha@publicsource.org.
To apply, please fill out this form by the date indicated in the chart below.
| Semester desired | Applications start | Application deadline |
| Spring | Sept. 1 | Nov. 1 |
| Summer | Nov. 1 | March. 23 |
| Fall | May 1 | July 1 |