We're excited to broadcast the second application cycle for a dynamic role with our team to continue to elevate the work of the OU Daily and the career prospects of its student staff.
OU Student Media is again hiring a working professional as a part-time, occasional Media Innovator-in-Residence to serve typically for a one-semester term, and no more than one consecutive fall-spring term. Applicants should have proven success in leading-edge journalism and a commitment to mentoring future media professionals. We'll hire for both fall and spring in this search, whether it be two one-semester candidates or one full-year candidate.
Mike Sherman, a veteran sports, news and investigative editor, served as our inaugural innovator in fall 2025. Will Pry, a veteran newsroom leader with a distinguished track record of fostering transformational change, is serving as our innovator this spring.
We will recruit broadly among the top working professionals in the Oklahoma City area and our alumni networks whose employers offer remote work options. The successful candidate will develop and implement a vision for leveraging their expertise to elevate the OU Daily’s operations while fostering career readiness and professional growth among students. They may also propose alignments with Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, such as a class (for those with a master’s) or workshop (for those without a master’s) on which they’re a topic expert, which could bring added compensation opportunities if approved by the college.
Candidates are required to be in the newsroom at least 8-10 hours a week for the duration of their 15-week appointment (with spring break, Thanksgiving break, dead/finals weeks off). The Student Media newsroom may serve as a co-working space with prior approval from the candidate’s employer, where applicable.
Read more about the job below and see the full job listing on OU's jobs site. We intend to accept applications through April 15 and conduct interviews with finalists before the end of the spring semester.
Position responsibilities
The Media Innovator-in-Residence assumes no direct responsibility for editorial content and does not supervise any student staff members. Instead, the Innovator-in-Residence is charged with safeguarding students’ editorial independence by mentoring student journalists to:
• Achieve the highest standards of professional excellence, audience engagement, and journalism ethics.
• Avoid mistakes that could damage their credibility or audiences' trust in Student Media publications.
The Innovator-in-Residence will
• Attend student staff meetings to help editors identify coverage opportunities, plan strategies, and navigate ethical issues.
• Ensure all work remains student-produced while offering guidance to strengthen decision-making.
• Provide broad critiques of content after publication, emphasizing lessons learned and opportunities for improvement.
Additional responsibilities include
• Offering pre-publication advising help and top-line post-publication feedback.
• Conducting short courses or workshops for Daily staff on areas of expertise.
• Collaborating with professional staff and student leaders to set semester and annual goals and monitor performance through assessments.
• Building professional connections to foster training and career development for students.
• Presenting end-of-term takeaways and recommendations to student leaders and professional staff.
Oversight and support
The Director of Student Media will provide oversight and support for this role and will serve as the newsroom adviser when the Media Innovator-in-Residence position is off during designated class breaks.
Required attachments
• A letter of interest.
• A resume.
• A detailed course/workshop/ongoing training proposal.
• Links to professional work.
• Three professional references.
Job Requirements
Required Education: Bachelor’s degree, AND:
• Minimum 5 years of experience in a professional media environment.
Duties:
• Expertise in multiplatform, multimedia news gathering and presentation.
• Experience using the social web to engage audiences in media content.
• Understanding of digital audience analytics and experience using them to set and reach goals.
• Experience in coaching and motivating a team.
Required working conditions:
• Available 8-10 hours per week in person, with additional Slack office hours and availability during breaking news situations.
Departmental Preferences:
• Bachelor's in journalism or a specific coverage field.
• 10+ years of experience in a professional media environment.
• Experience as a media manager.
• Experience teaching university courses.
• A deep network of media industry contacts.
