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
• 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 escalate 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

This person is empowered to act independently on:

• 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

This person defers to editorial leadership for:

• 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

The most challenging parts of this role:

• 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

Chron is an essential digital-first local news source serving more than 6 million unique readers a month in Houston and the surrounding region, including Galveston and the Gulf Coast. Once the digital home for the Houston Chronicle, Chron became its own distinctive site and newsroom in 2012, when HoustonChronicle.com launched. Focusing on stories that capture local culture and spark conversation, Chron covers trending sports, food and entertainment, travel, local TV personalities, real estate, space and more. Chron.com has become the go-to destination for metro and regional readers who are curious about what's new in Houston and what's affecting culture and life in the Bayou City.

About Hearst Newspapers:

With 2,500 employees across the nation, HNP encompasses a network of 24 daily and 52 weekly publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and Albany Times Union, several top digital-only news and lifestyle sites, marketing services businesses, and entertainment businesses such as King Features Syndicate.

At HNP, we are investing in new and innovative ways to tell stories – growing newsrooms, diversifying tools, evolving platforms – to support the millions of people who trust us each month to help them make decisions, take action and be inspired.

Be a part of something bigger – your headline awaits.

Recognizing the diverse needs of our candidates, if you are interested in applying for employment and need assistance or an accommodation to use our website or regarding the application process, please contact us by email at hnpemployment@hearst.com. Please do not use this email address to inquire about the status of applications. We will only respond to inquiries concerning requests for a reasonable accommodation through this email address.

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