What are the responsibilities and job description for the Media strategist position at WV News?
Social Media Producer
WV News | Clarksburg, WV | Full-time, in-office | $13–$16/hour, based on experience and demonstrated AI proficiency
About the Role
WV News publishes 22 local news brands across West Virginia, Ohio, and western Maryland — from the Exponent Telegram and The State Journal to the Weston Democrat, Point Pleasant Register, and Garrett County Republican. Most of our readers now find us on social first.
You’ll run day-to-day content production and distribution across that network: roughly 22 Facebook pages, our Instagram, X, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn accounts, and our websites.
Be clear-eyed about what that means. On a normal day the network puts out well over a hundred scheduled posts. No one does that volume by hand anymore, which is why this role is built around AI from the ground up. If you want to figure out how local news reaches people under 40, and to do it with modern tools instead of arguing for permission to use them, you’ll have more audience to experiment with here than at almost any newsroom our size.
Reports to: You’ll work alongside our local editors, media desk, the graphics team, and advertising.
How We Use AI Here
AI is not a side tool you’re permitted to use on this desk. It is central to how the work gets done, and how far you can push it is a large part of what we’re hiring for and how we set your rate.
Creating. Draft post copy and headlines, write vertical video scripts, generate captions and alt text, and turn a single reported story into the right format for each of our brands and platforms.
Monitoring. Pull performance data from across the network into something readable — what’s working on which page, at what time, in what format, and why. At 22 pages, that isn’t something anyone does by hand.
Distributing. Move stories out faster across both social and our websites, matching each piece to the audiences and platforms most likely to carry it.
Everything published gets human review first. Accuracy is not negotiable, and an AI-generated error is still your error. If you’ve built prompts or automations that saved you real time, tell us specifically — that’s the difference between the bottom and the top of our range.
What You’ll Do
Publish and schedule. Own the daily posting calendar across all pages, platforms, and websites. Write copy that earns clicks without overselling the story. Keep each brand’s voice distinct — the Weston Democrat isn’t the Morgantown News.
Produce short-form video. Turn reported stories, photos, and raw footage into vertical video for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts. This is the fastest-growing part of the job.
Measure and report. Track engagement, reach, and referral traffic across the network. Tell us what’s working, what isn’t, and what you’d change next month.
Manage the community. Monitor and respond to comments and direct messages. Escalate what needs escalating. Keep the tone steady when a thread gets heated.
Work with the newsroom. Coordinate with local editors so breaking and high-priority news goes out fast and correctly. Scan social channels for tips and story leads and route them to the right reporter.
Support advertising. Coordinate with graphics and advertising so promotions and sponsored content run on the right pages at the right time, labeled correctly.
Handle reader submissions. Process birth announcements, engagements, reunions, obituaries, and other community-submitted content. It’s not glamorous and it’s a real reason people still read us.
What We’re Looking For
- Demonstrated AI proficiency. Not curiosity — evidence. Tools you use daily, prompts or workflows you’ve built, and what they actually saved you.
- A portfolio. Social posts and short-form videos you personally made, published, and can show us the numbers for.
- Real fluency across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, and LinkedIn — not just as a user, but as someone who has run accounts.
- Clean, fast writing and a low tolerance for errors. Names, places, and facts have to be right the first time, whether you wrote them or a model did.
- Video editing. CapCut, Premiere, Canva, Photoshop, or whatever you’re fastest in. Show us the output.
- Comfort with analytics. You should be able to look at a month of performance data and say something useful about it.
- Reliability. Our audience notices when the pages go quiet.
Experience with a social scheduling platform (we use Vista Social) or a newsroom CMS is a plus, as is any background in journalism, marketing, or community management.
Schedule and Classification
Standard weekday shift in our Clarksburg office. Breaking news doesn’t keep business hours, so there is a rotating schedule for occasional evening and weekend coverage, set in advance.
This position is hourly and non-exempt. Overtime is paid at time-and-a-half with prior approval.
Education
No degree required — we care about your portfolio and your judgment. A degree or coursework in communications, marketing, advertising, or business is a plus, not a prerequisite.
How We Work
Editorial decisions rest with our editors. Your job is to get their work in front of the largest possible audience, and to flag what you’re seeing back. Sponsored content is always labeled as such.
Pay: $13.00 - $16.00 per hour
Expected hours: 40.0 per week
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Paid time off
Work Location: In person
Salary : $13 - $16