Journalism Jobs at The Assembly Network

The Assembly is a digital magazine bringing backroom conversations to North Carolina’s front page. We focus on enterprise stories, revelatory scoops, and authoritative looks at under-covered topics, people, and places. Our stories surprise, inform, and leave readers with a better understanding of the state.

We also lead The Assembly Network, which includes local teams around the state helping us shape the future of state-level journalism. The network also includes INDY in the Triangle, CityView in Fayetteville, Border Belt Independent in the Sandhills, and The Thread in Greensboro.

We offer a collaborative, innovative work environment where your ideas will be heard and valued. You’ll have the opportunity to make a real impact on a growing organization and on the communities we serve.

Together, we are redefining how North Carolinians connect with the places they live. Our mission is to deliver trusted local news, compelling storytelling, and uniquely voiced cultural recommendations that help readers understand and navigate what’s happening in their neighborhood, city, and state.

We aim to be a reflection of the state, with reporters from—and based in—diverse communities across North Carolina. We also aim to bring national talent to North Carolina that can help us improve the journalism ecosystem in a growing and important state.

We want a newsroom that reflects a diversity of talent and perspectives. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, people who were formerly incarcerated, veterans, and people with disabilities.

Questions and applications should be sent to jobs@theassemblync.com.

Public Programming Director
Deputy Director, Audience and Growth
Local Government Reporter, INDY

Current Openings

Public Programming Director

Location: North Carolina (statewide; Triangle-area preferred)
Employment Type: Full-time

We’re hiring a public programming director to build and lead The Assembly Network‘s events strategy from the ground up. This is a rare opportunity to shape how a statewide journalism outlet shows up in the real world, bringing our editorial voice and community mission off the page and in front of curious, engaged North Carolinians.

The ideal candidate is an experienced events strategist who excels at both big-picture thinking and on-the-ground execution. You know how to design experiences that feel intentional and substantive, and you understand how events can deepen audience relationships, drive revenue, and elevate our presence in its community.

Responsibilities:

Event Strategy & Planning

Develop and own a statewide events strategy that reflects The Assembly Network‘s editorial mission, advances our business growth, and serves our audiences across North Carolina.
Identify and prioritize event formats—from intimate community conversations to large-scale public programming—that build meaningful connections between our journalism and the people it serves.
Build an annual events calendar that includes regional and topical event series, and a tent-pole, annual event.
Establish scalable processes and playbooks for event planning, execution, and post-event evaluation.
Track event performance and audience feedback to ensure our strategy is aligned with audience needs and reactions.

Execution & Operations

Lead planning and execution for all Assembly Network events, managing timelines, logistics, vendors, and venues with precision.
Manage an event coordinator role to assist with execution, including the run-of-show plans, setup, execution, and personnel needs.
Partner closely with the editorial, audience, and marketing teams to ensure events are well promoted, grounded, and on-brand.
Manage event budgets responsibly, identifying opportunities to grow revenue and control costs without sacrificing quality.

Community & Partnerships

Work with the chief operating officer to cultivate relationships with community organizations, venues, and partners across the state that align with our event footprint.
Advise our business development team on sponsorship and partnership opportunities that align with our mission and add value for attendees.
Serve as an ambassador for The Assembly Network in communities across North Carolina, deepening our presence and trust with local audiences.

What We’re Looking For:

At least five years of experience in event strategy, production, or programming—ideally in media, journalism, or a content-driven organization.
A self-starter with a track record of designing and executing high-quality public events, both in-person and virtual.
Strong project management skills and an instinct for operational detail.
Experience managing vendor relationships, venues, and event budgets.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work across internal teams and with external partners.
A genuine enthusiasm for journalism and community connection.
Familiarity with North Carolina’s communities and cultural landscape.

To apply, please submit your resume and a cover letter outlining your experience and highlighting your approach to event strategy and execution. A work assignment will also be part of the hiring process. Applications should be sent to jobs@theassemblync.com.

Salary and Benefits:

Our starting salary for this position is flexible and dependent on experience. We’ll ask you to be upfront during the interview process with your needs, and we’ll do the same about our abilities. We offer a competitive benefits package that includes covering 80% of health care costs, 12 weeks of parental leave, and 20 days of PTO every year in addition to federal holidays.

Deputy Director, Audience and Growth

Location: North Carolina (statewide; Triangle-area preferred)
Employment Type: Full-time

As the deputy director of The Assembly Network’s audience team, you will own our funnel strategy and help shape our approach to audience acquisition and conversion across our newsrooms.

This role will shape the readers’ journey from acquisition to retention, while working with team leads in marketing, membership, newsletters, editorial, and events.

The deputy director will be responsible for making a complicated but impactful network of products work together more seamlessly to deliver high-quality reporting and grow our paid memberships. This is a data-driven role, and the ideal candidate should be able to help stakeholders across the organization better understand audience needs and behaviors.

This is an instrumental role in our growing audience, product, and membership team, reporting directly to the director of audience and product.

Responsibilities:

Drive a comprehensive funnel strategy in consultation and collaboration with other team leaders.
Work with the director of audience and product to develop and track Key Performance Indicators that connect audience experiences with business outcomes.
Develop data-management dashboards to provide actionable and timely business insights.
Manage team member responsible for SEO, social content, and new product management, including experiments like SMS messaging.
Oversee outside vendors who manage the company’s audience data infrastructure, identifying gaps and offering data-driven insights to the rest of the team.
Manage tech contractors as they make improvements to our back-end infrastructure and the front-end user experience.
Stay ahead of evolving audience needs and media trends to better inform our content strategies and priorities.
Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing culture that reflects The Assembly Network’s core values.

Qualifications:

Minimum 5+ years of relevant work experience in audience insights and product development, including data analytics experience, along with the ability to understand how data can inform editorial and product strategy.
Experience and expertise with audience research, analytics, CMS-driven workflows, and cross-platform programming.
Familiarity with the standards and ethics of journalism, as well as the work of The Assembly Network.
Ability to work both independently and collaboratively.
Excellent stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Salary and Benefits:

Local Government Reporter, INDY

Location: Durham
Employment Type: Full-time

The INDY is looking for an ambitious, talented reporter to cover local government in Durham with a focus on public schools. The INDY publishes a website, daily newsletter, and a bi-monthly print edition, and is part of The Assembly Network’s collection of local newsrooms bolstering and deepening journalism in North Carolina.

This reporter will balance covering breaking news and beat reporting on Durham Public Schools Board of Education, as well as covering Durham City Council and County Commissioners meetings as needed. This person will be responsible for producing 3-4 stories a week.

This reporter will also have opportunities to do more ambitious, deeper stories of interest to local and statewide readers that arise from the beat. That can also include contributing to the INDY’s culture section and collaborating with The Assembly on longer-form investigative and feature stories.

The ideal reporter for this role will have:

At least three years of reporting experience, preferably at a daily newspaper
An eye for accountability
An ear for narrative storytelling
An ability to work both independently and as part of a team
Original ideas about gaps in the local news landscape and how to fill them
A desire to build relationships and develop a deep knowledge of the community
A love of local journalism and government coverage

This role will report to the INDY’s editor-in-chief and will work closely with others across the organization.

Responsibilities:

Pitch and produce daily stories and occasional breaking news stories of interest to Durham readers.
Collaborate with other reporters and editors across the organization.
Build and develop relationships with sources and community members.
Cultivate a strong knowledge of the government beat.
Adhere to reporting deadlines.
Occasionally participate in community engagement opportunities, such as attending newsroom events for INDY readers.

Qualifications:

Three years of reporting experience (though we will consider less or equivalent experience as well). Experience writing for a daily newspaper is preferred.
Ability to write with a clear, engaging voice that connects with readers.
Demonstrated experience in pitching and publishing stories with impact.
Familiarity with public records law, the standards and ethics of journalism, as well as both the INDY and The Assembly’s work.
Experience with photography is a plus, but not a requirement. We are a small newsroom, so being adaptable and willing to learn is key.
Ability to work both independently and collaboratively.
Knowledge of and experience reporting in North Carolina, specifically Durham, is a plus.

Salary and Benefits:

The salary range is $58,000 to $62,000, with flexibility based on experience. We strive to be as transparent as possible in the interview process about what we can offer, and ask that you let us know your needs. We offer a competitive benefits package, including health care, parental leave, and life insurance.

How to Apply:

To apply, we invite candidates to submit answers to the following questions:

Talk about your interest and experience in local journalism and accountability reporting. Also, tell us what you think the INDY should be covering to establish a strong local presence in Durham?
Tell us about a favorite story or project you have worked on. What made it stand out for you?
What is your approach to understanding a community or beat? How would you go about building, maintaining, and leveraging source networks in Durham?
Describe a difficult reporting challenge you have faced, and how you overcame it.

Email answers in a pdf along with a resume, the names and contact information for three references, and links to three writing samples or clips to jobs@theassemblync.com. You do not need to send a cover letter. We will begin reviewing applications on May 11.

About The Assembly Network

The Assembly Network is North Carolina’s nationally recognized platform for in-depth, independent reporting about the people, institutions and ideas shaping our state. Our award-winning journalism reaches more than 130,000 email subscribers and four million website visitors. Assembly Network readers are decision makers, business and policy leaders, and community builders who shape perceptions and drive change.

The Network features local news operations in Cary, Durham, Fayetteville, Greensboro, and the Border Belt, as well as a statewide team covering politics, health care, K-12 and higher education, and culture.

The Assembly Network participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. We are an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.

To apply please send your resume to jobs@theassemblync.com

While we do not have any additional openings at this time, we’d love to hear from you. Please send a note to jobs@theassemblync.com with your resume and clips, and we’ll stay in touch for future hiring.