What are the responsibilities and job description for the Assignment Editor position at Weather Group Television LLC?
Position Summary
For more than four decades, The Weather Channel has informed, inspired, and protected audiences through trusted weather and climate coverage. We are seeking an experienced, curious, and highly motivated Assignment Editor who is passionate about breaking weather news and enterprise storytelling.
As a member of our award-winning team, you will identify, develop, and coordinate weather, climate, and environmental stories across television, digital, streaming, and social platforms. This role requires exceptional editorial judgment, strong communication skills, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative newsroom where breaking weather can change priorities in an instant.
The ideal candidate is equally comfortable monitoring severe weather events, discovering compelling stories through social media and digital platforms, utilizing AI-powered research and verification tools to accelerate newsgathering, and coordinating field coverage across multiple teams. Success in this role requires sound news judgment, attention to detail, strong organizational skills, and a commitment to accuracy, verification, and journalistic integrity.
Weather never follows a schedule. Candidates must be flexible and prepared to support breaking weather and climate coverage at any hour, including nights, weekends, holidays, and extended severe weather events.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities
- Generate and identify weather, climate, and environmental story ideas for television, streaming, digital, and social platforms.
- Research, develop, and coordinate daily and long-range editorial coverage.
- Monitor weather events, emergency management agencies, government sources, news wires, social media platforms, livestreams, and emerging digital sources for breaking news and enterprise opportunities.
- Utilize AI-powered tools to assist with newsgathering, research, information synthesis, source discovery, content organization, and workflow efficiency while maintaining editorial oversight and verification standards.
- Verify information, photos, videos, and user-generated content using established journalistic standards and digital verification techniques.
- Collaborate closely with producers, meteorologists, social media producers, field crews, photojournalists, and newsroom leadership to execute daily coverage plans.
- Coordinate assignments, logistics, travel, and live coverage for reporters, storm trackers, photographers, and freelance crews.
- Maintain and nurture relationships with network newsgathering partners
- Communicate and build professional relationships with freelance producers, photographers, and storm trackers
- Evaluate content from news agencies, affiliates, freelance contributors, storm trackers, and partner organizations for editorial value and accuracy.
- Identify opportunities to expand weather coverage through climate, science, environmental, infrastructure, and human-impact storytelling.
- Communicate developing situations clearly and efficiently while keeping editorial teams informed of changing conditions.
- Work collaboratively across departments, contributing to a positive, team-first newsroom culture.
- Perform additional duties as assigned to support evolving newsroom and operational needs.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism, Communications, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
- Minimum of five years of newsroom experience, including at least three years as an Assignment Editor in a medium-to-large market television station, cable network, digital newsroom, or national news organization.
- Demonstrated experience covering breaking news and live event coordination.
- Strong editorial judgment with a commitment to accuracy, fairness, and ethical journalism.
- Proficiency using major social media platforms as newsgathering, sourcing, and audience engagement tools.
- Familiarity with digital verification techniques for photos, videos, and online content.
- Excellent written, verbal, organizational, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Ability to prioritize multiple assignments simultaneously while performing effectively under deadline pressure.
- Ability to work independently while contributing as a collaborative member of a cross-functional newsroom team.
- Flexibility to work rotating shifts, weekends, holidays, overnight coverage, and extended severe weather events as newsroom needs require.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience covering weather, climate, environmental, science, or emergency management stories.
- Familiarity with newsroom systems such as AP Storytelling and ENPS
- Experience coordinating remote live coverage, storm deployments, and multi-platform breaking news operations.
- Experience using AI-assisted newsroom tools and emerging technologies to improve research, content discovery, verification, and editorial workflows.
Allen Media Group is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to these characteristics. We are dedicated to providing a workplace free from harassment and discrimination.