Producer, Live Events - Contract

Producer, Live Events - Contractor

📍 Remote (U.S.-based) | 💼 Contractor | 💰 $8,000/mo

Join Courier Newsroom - an organization that drives journalism and empowers communities.

Who We Are

COURIER is the fastest growing independent media network in the country. Over the past year, the independent, values-driven news media network has grown rapidly, organically doubling its total owned audience network-wide from 4 million to 9 million social followers and email subscribers in 2025 alone. On the state side, COURIER’s local newsletter network has grown to be the nation’s third largest, with over 1.8 million subscribers and an average open rate of 52%. At COURIER, we’re reinventing local media to inform and empower communities through impactful reporting. 

COURIER is committed to building an inclusive workplace that values diverse perspectives and lived experiences. We strongly encourage women, people of color, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ+ candidates, and those from all backgrounds to apply. As an equal opportunity employer, we strive to break down barriers and ensure every team member feels seen, heard, and supported.

About the role:

COURIER is seeking a Producer to lead the editorial programming and production of our highest-visibility live in-person and streamed events, including town halls, candidate debates, and issue-driven custom events. This role will partner closely with the CEO, COO, and the National and Local Network Managing Directors to bring big, ambitious event concepts to life and ensure each production not only delivers an exceptional in-person experience, but also generates compelling, high-impact content across distribution platforms to serve COURIER’s massive audience, sponsors and partners. 

Key Responsibilities:

Event & Content Strategy

• Develop the editorial, creative, production, and operational blueprint for COURIER’s live events (town halls, debates, etc).
• Build event formats that are designed from the outset to produce high-performing multi-platform content, including vertical video, long-form, newsletters, and live-stream.
• Translate high-level editorial and brand vision from the CEO, leadership team and key sponsors/partners into a detailed, actionable production roadmap.

Production Leadership

• Lead all show production elements including staging, lighting, audio, video, livestream/broadcast, venue operations, scenic design, and technical direction.
• Manage event budgets, vendor selection, contracting, and accountability across production categories.
• Oversee timelines, run-of-show, production schedules, rehearsals, and technical checks for all events.

Editorial & Talent Collaboration

• Work closely with COURIER’s CEO, editorial leadership, state newsroom and revenue teams to develop programming that is journalistically strong, accessible, audience-minded, and achieving key sponsor and partner objectives. 
• Coordinate with talent, guests, subject-matter experts, moderators, elected officials, and public figures.
• Serve as a senior advisor to other COURIER National video products/series and talent
• Serve as a clear, confident partner in high-level planning meetings and event briefings.

Stakeholder, Agency & Partner Management

• Partner with local hosts, venues, civic organizations, political offices, and community groups to ensure seamless execution.
• Collaborate with internal teams (Social, Video, Growth, Newsletter, Events, and Sales/Underwriting) to fully integrate event content and maximize post-event distribution.
• Manage sponsor expectations for events that include underwriting or branded content integrations.

Risk, Operations & Budget

• Build and manage a comprehensive production budget, with strong attention to cost efficiency and operational rigor.
• Ensure compliance with venue, legal, political, and safety requirements.

Must Have

• Strong political and cultural editorial content, talent, and digital distribution strategy instincts
• Proven success producing high-impact live events: political town halls, debates, broadcast specials, civic forums, major conferences, or large-scale entertainment.
• Experience leading multi-department production teams (technical, creative, editorial, and operations).
• Strong vendor relationships and the ability to negotiate and manage complex production ecosystems.
• Demonstrated ability to produce events that generate content beyond the room — built for distribution across social, video, and owned channels.
• Ability to thrive under pressure with fixed deadlines and high public visibility.
• Comfort navigating politically sensitive environments and working with elected officials, talent, and public figures.

Preferred

• Background in political media, live journalism formats, or civic-focused programming.
• Experience producing events optimized for vertical video and multi-platform content distribution.
• Familiarity with digital newsrooms and audience-first storytelling.
• Experience working with event and content sponsorship and advertising partners 

COMPENSATION: 

This is a contract role starting at $8,000 a month for at least 40 hours a week. Final compensation will be based on a candidate's qualifications, skills, and previous work history.

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