The Association of Minnesota Public Educational Radio Stations (AMPERS) is seeking contract News Producers to pitch and produce quality, thoughtful, and impactful stories for the North Star Stories: Voices From Where We Live newscast. The ideal candidate has significant experience working with underserved communities.
News Producer, North Star Stories
Association of Minnesota Public Educational Radio Stations
Contract – Freelance position
AMPERS is the largest statewide association of community radio stations in the United States, currently comprised of 17 independent community radio stations in Minnesota. The stations primarily serve underserved populations including greater Minnesota, tribal nations, diverse communities, and students. From Grand Marais and Thief River Falls, to Mankato and Winona, and just about everywhere in between, we’ve got Minnesota covered.
AMPERS helps member stations serve their diverse communities by generating revenue, developing and sharing programming, and works to correct the narrative regarding historically underrepresented communities through accurate storytelling and reporting.
North Star Stories: Voices From Where We Live is a new project from AMPERS launched in January, 2025. The project delivers newscasts that cover the stories and perspectives from the broad spectrum of Minnesota’s communities. Specifically, BIPOC communities, people living with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ residents, and those from Greater Minnesota. North Star Stories aims to address the significant need for coverage of the communities and experiences currently absent from the state’s news ecosystem. Stories will be voiced, sourced, and reported by members of the communities covered.
AMPERS is searching for contract News Producers to pitch and produce on assignment quality, thoughtful, and impactful stories for the North Star Stories newscast. The ideal candidate has significant experience working with underserved communities.
Duties will include:
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- Generating story ideas for radio news broadcast
- Interviewing community members
- Editing recorded audio into sound-rich, informative, and engaging stories
- Attending regular team meetings to discuss and plan newscasts
- Ensuring the timely completion and quality of audio stories
- Upholding journalistic ethics
- Working closely with the Director of News Programming
- Other duties as assigned by the VP of Programming
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Required Qualifications:
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- A background in journalism
- Experience with audio production
- Experience with media storytelling
- Organized and detail oriented
- Excellent communications skills
- Willing to participate in journalism and audio training
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Desired Qualifications:
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- Experience working with and reporting about underserved and misrepresented communities
- Experience covering Minnesota local issues across regions
- Experience with audio editing
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Work Environment
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- 100% remote
- Family-friendly environment
- Strong commitment to diversity
- Candidate must provide their own computer and equipment
- Candidate will report to the VP of Programming
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Commitment to Diversity, Inclusivity, and Equal Employment
AMPERS strongly encourages women, people of color, Native Americans, LGBTQIA2S+ individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and Veterans to apply. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, religion, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, veteran status, medical condition, national origin or ancestry, or any protected category prohibited by state and federal laws.
Compensation & Benefits
Producer/Reporter for a 3 minute story – $350.00
Scripting for a 30-second reader – $75.00
Length of contract
present – January 2026 (with the possibility for extension).
Application Process
AMPERS will accept applications for News Producers on a rolling basis. All interested candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, and three professional references via e-mail to jobs@ampers.org.
