Career Center

The Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is searching for an individual with a distinguished professional reputation in community news and its economic sustainability to serve as the Knight Chair in Local News and Sustainability. The successful candidate will contribute in and out of the classroom on the challenges and opportunities around the desirability, feasibility and sustainability of news and information that empowers diverse communities.

The Knight Professor will be a full professor with tenure upon hire, pending approval of School and University committees. It is a nine-month position. The position will work closely with the School's Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media. 

The chair will teach two courses at the undergraduate or master's level each semester and will be encouraged to develop new courses to diversify the curriculum. Those courses should introduce and immerse journalism students in practices that are showing promise in community newsrooms nationally and internationally, such as membership, solutions journalism, collaborative journalism, and engagement journalism. The ideal chair will develop courses that reflect the fast-moving conditions in local newsrooms. The Knight Chair may also be required to teach existing core undergraduate courses as needs arise.

The chair will build industry relationships to identify internships, host knowledgeable guest speakers with diverse professional perspectives and serve as a mentor and coach to Carolina's future news leaders, among them members of CABJ, NAHJ, NLGJA, Black Ink and Carolina Ahora. 

In addition to teaching, the successful candidate will convene meetings, monitor industry developments, initiate and/or collaborate on studies that advance sustainability in local news that best incorporates the diversity of these communities. The chair will actively engage with media organizations, trade associations, foundations, government entities, non-profits and others working to ensure the future of local news. The chair will be an advocate of new approaches and champion of the importance of local news to a thriving, inclusive democracy.

The ideal candidate will have substantial professional experience, including experience leading revenue, audience engagement or product development efforts at a news organization. Teaching experience is preferred but not required.