University of Missouri: Visiting Assistant Professor/Columbia Missourian
Visiting Editor

Are you a journalist, editor and designer who loves a challenge, hates the words
"we can't" and prefers to ask "how can we?" Do you chafe when stories aren't
made relevant and accessible to readers? Do you welcome new technology as a way
to tell better stories and reach more readers? Do you believe design doesn't
just support content, but is content?

If the answers are yes, and if you're someone who is never at a loss for ideas,
keep reading.

A team of editors at a community news organization is looking for someone to
join its production team. We want a person who believes in serving the public,
can ask hard but respectful questions about how readers and users interact with
our news products, and can help us find creative ways to meet reader needs.
That's our top priority every day. That, and nurturing a sense of joy and
possibility about the future of news.

This person will join a group of editors supervising production of our Web and
print products, and may teach a forward-thinking editing or design course.

We're looking for someone who can visualize how storytelling happens best in
print and online, and help our planning process evolve as we learn, together,
what works best on each platform.

But wait; there's more. The Columbia Missourian is an affiliate of the Missouri
School of Journalism. Not only will you be part of an award-winning
service-oriented news organization, you will coach, mentor and perhaps even
learn a little (maybe a lot) from some of the best students in the country.
You'll be part of a newsroom that collaborates with the Reynolds Journalism
Institute and the Knight Chair in Editing on several experiments in journalism
for this new age. Not only is it a newsroom unafraid to try new things -- it is
a newsroom that celebrates change while honoring values.

The job carries a Cinderella clause: It is a one-year, non-renewable visiting
editorship, sponsored by Knight Chair in Editing. When your "how can we" year is
over, you'll be ready for a new challenge, and we'll be looking for the next
person to move us forward.

The successful candidate will have:
-- A proven commitment to accuracy and word editing.
-- Design experience (either print or Web) that goes beyond aesthetics, picas or
pixels into real visual storytelling.
-- An ability to envision multiple ways users interact with information, and
plan packages for digital and print products with the user in mind.
-- Curiosity about and comfort with digital tools and trends.
-- Comfort with or desire/ability to learn: InDesign, xhtml, CSS, Photoshop.

Application screening will begin May 18, 2009. Applications must include a
letter of interest, a C.V. or resume and a list of professional references.
Applications may be sent electronically (preferred) to hardte@..., or
by mail to Elizabeth Hardt, Executive Staff Assistant, Missouri School of
Journalism, 120 Neff Hall, Columbia, MO 65211. If sending application
electronically, please send as a Word or PDF attachment with candidate's last
name as title.

The University of Missouri is committed to cultural diversity and it is expected
that successful candidate will share this commitment. MU is an Equal Employment
Opportunity/ADA institution and encourages applications from women and minority
candidates.