NEW YORK—As part of a plan to develop better grassroots contacts in diverse local communities and to create content on a neighborhood level, Wendy McMahon, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations has sent a memo to staff outlining plans to improve their community journalism by hiring Executive Producers of Impacting Communities (EPIC) in the 13 markets where the station group produces local newscasts.
“Community journalism is both our role and our responsibility,” McMahon wrote. “To that end, we are announcing a number of newly created positions across our CBS Stations group – positions charged with helping us create tangible and meaningful impact across the diverse local communities we serve every day."
Each EPIC will report directly to the news director at her/his station(s) and will be responsible for leading our news team members’ daily efforts to develop more grassroots relationships across communities and source original content at the neighborhood level, McMahon explained.
“Utilizing our next-generation storytelling efforts with content flowing seamlessly across our streaming, digital and broadcast platforms, we will address issues of concern with a high level of intentionality, and spark conversations that ultimately lead to positive change,” she said.
“Our focus will be on super-serving our communities with original reporting that resonates with our audience and makes a measurable impact,” she added.
For more information and a link to the job description is available here.
