Video Producer, News

Video Producer, News

The USA TODAY NETWORK is looking for a fast, accurate and creative video news producer/editor who is just as comfortable producing and editing videos on a federal government shutdown as working on the latest Taylor Swift spotting. This is a position in our Video Production Center (VPC) that creates short form digital video content for USA TODAY as well as Gannett’s local properties across the country. We focus on the “news of the day” with a particular emphasis on breaking news. A deep interest in news, politics, current events, pop culture and social media trends is essential. This role requires strong platform-native social video expertise, including a deep understanding of how video performs differently across TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Facebook and emerging platforms, and the ability to adapt storytelling, pacing, framing and metadata accordingly.

The successful candidate will have demonstrable experience pitching daily story ideas for news sites and social media platforms. This candidate should also be capable of suggesting visually compelling ways to tell stories. Strong interviewing skills and familiarity with standard editorial style guidelines is a must. This person will be expected to produce and edit multiple types of videos — from fast, social-driven viral moments to longer, interview-based videos, to explainer videos with voiceovers, and should be comfortable using AI-supported editing platforms and other digital tools to streamline production workflows. This person should also have experience with livestreaming — including setup and execution. Experience writing meta data and an understanding of SEO strategies is vital to this role. Familiarity with Adobe Premiere is preferred. Prioritization and multi-tasking are second nature to this role.

This role plays a key part in the USA TODAY NETWORK’s social video strategy, requiring strong editorial judgment, fast decision-making and a deep understanding of how news travels on social platforms.

This position requires a self-starter who is motivated and competitive. Thorough communication with the team and the ability to collaborate across teams is important. The candidate should have the flexibility to work an early morning shift (East coast time), possible weekends and occasional overtime as news events require. Live-streaming experience is a plus.

Remote workers in all states except Alaska and Hawaii will be considered. The candidate should have schedule flexibility with the ability to work breaking news.

Responsibilities:

• Work alongside current production staff to pitch, write, edit, publish, program, and share news videos across all USA TODAY NETWORK’s digital platforms.
• Track updates and new developments on assignments.
• Produce platform-native social video optimized for vertical and short-form consumption, with an understanding of best practices for TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Facebook and emerging platforms.
• Apply knowledge of social algorithms, audience behavior and platform trends to inform story selection, video structure, publishing cadence and distribution strategy.
• Write and optimize social-first headlines, captions, descriptions, hashtags and on-screen text to maximize discovery, engagement and completion rates.
• Use performance data (views, retention, completion rate, engagement, watch time) to iterate on formats and continuously improve social video performance.
• Collaborate with editors and reporters to translate reporting into high-performing social video formats, including explainers, breaking-news updates and trend-driven storytelling.
• Stay current on social media trends, platform updates, creator formats and emerging video styles, and proactively test new approaches.
• Maintain communication with the video team leaders, National News Desk, USA TODAY editors, writers and reporters and local USA TODAY NETWORK properties.
• Edit and produce videos for nationally significant news stories, buzzy/trending stories, explainer videos, and social video content.
• Obtain video and information from USA TODAY NETWORK properties for production.
• Monitor social media and third-party content providers to identify viral moments.
• Write meta data to drive high audience engagement.
• Conduct remote interviews compatible with short-form storytelling.
• Handle other essential tasks as assigned.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in journalism or any other subject, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 3-5 years of newsroom experience in television or digital newsroom and/or equivalent video news experience.
• Demonstrated experience creating and optimizing social-first video for platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and Facebook, with a clear understanding of platform-specific best practices.
• Strong understanding of social video performance metrics, including audience retention, completion rate, engagement and watch time, and the ability to apply insights to future production.
• Experience writing effective social captions, headlines, descriptions and metadata tailored to platform norms and audience behavior.
• Familiarity with vertical video production workflows, including framing, pacing, text treatment and sound considerations for mobile viewing.
• Strong journalism skills; detail-oriented, strong editorial judgment, time management skills and the ability to work independently.
• A motivated self-starter who can multi-task and communicate effectively across multiple groups.
• Ability to write engaging headlines and other video metadata.
• Understanding of SEO requirements for video metadata.
• Some experience with video analytics from a platform such as Google analytics or Parse.ly.
• At least 2 years of experience on Adobe Premiere and the Adobe Creative Suite.
• Basic technical understanding of video systems and operations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Comfortable with video rights management.

Application Instructions

We are eager to learn more about you and how you fit this role. When you apply, don’t limit your upload to a resume; show us what you’ve done. To do so, put together a single document file that includes the following, in this order:

It is important that these items be assembled into a single document and uploaded in PDF format. Completing these steps will ensure that your application receives the highest level of consideration.

#Newgnt

#LI-NC1

#LI-Remote

The annualized base salary for this role will range between $53,000 and $82,813. Base compensation is reflective of many factors, including, but not limited to, the market in which one lives/works, individual education level, skills, certifications and experience. Note: variable compensation is not reflected in these figures and based on the role, may be applicable.