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Digital Editor in Chief (EIC) - Sports
Client Profile
- Live Entertainment, Venue and OD consisting of OD and ad monetization with related OOH and online merchandising
- Television Entertainment: Television programming and pay-per-view for all media platforms.
- Consumer Products: Video games, toys, books and other consumer products through third party licensees, as well as direct sales of magazines, merchandise and home video products.
- Digital Media: Consisting of online advertising, E-Commerce, broadband, OTT and mobile services.
- Motion Picture & TV Programming: Focused on the production of feature films, direct-to-consumer films, events, scripted and related TV programming.
Client Situation
An executive search committee was formed consisting of the firm’s senior most HR executives. The GM of Media was seeking a digital media executive with broad cross-platform TV and Interactive experience who could unify the various product groups and compliment their media holdings across digital platforms. The objective was to enhance monetization and cross platform synergies across the firm’s businesses. The firm had learned of Filcro Media Staffing through the technology group.
Industry Inclusion for The Search
- Broadcast Television
- Cable Television
- Magazine Publishing
- Digital Broadcast | OTT
- Sports Media
- Motion Picture
- Licensing and Merchandising
The firm identified Filcro Media Staffing (FMS) and Tony Filson (TF) functioning as (OIC) Officer in Charge of Search.
Filcro Media Staffing is Retained
The Filcro Media Staffing Officer in Charge of Search worked directly with HR to establish a consensus of the desired goals on business, technical and creative levels.
Tony Filson was provided with technical, strategic, operational, organizational, financial, cultural and creative overviews requested to evaluate all hard and soft assets as they relate(d) to the skills and experience required of the new EIC. This information was invaluable in garnering an understanding of their unique and positive culture for the proper EIC.
The OIC visited with the client and viewed the work environment and creative facilities to garner a detailed overview of their culture. In reviewing the culture of the firm it was apparent that the organization was dedicated to assimilating executives quickly into a heavily layered organization with cross-functional teams dedicated to media platforms and business verticals. Allowing for more immediacy and removing these layers and redundancy would clearly be an objective of this search.
As this was an addition to staff and the first time Filcro Media Staffing was engaged by the client the OIC took a proactive stance and utilized a compilation of various searches performed in the past across similar media platforms to formulate the initial search universe. HR was unanimous in the OIC’s approach and the search commenced immediately.
HR within this firm was extremely well versed in the business goals and provided the type of interaction normally enjoyed reporting directly to the hiring manager.
Search Requirements for the Digital Editor in Chief
- Oversee all aspects of content production and live sports event coverage on the digital sites.
- Manage the day-to-day production of all written content online including scripts, editorial, blogs, headlines, promos, etc.
- Sophisticated and autonomous web management experience and enthusiasm for unique online media.
- Development of creative writing styles and accompanying style guides.
- Ensure continuity among the editorial units and set the tone of those units accordingly
- Differentiation of content, tone and editorial among other production units including Television and Print and Sports Specials.
- Formulate content plans.
- Create and manage editorial schedules (both long and short term), develop distinctive tone and voice for editorial packages and site sections
- Manage the production of assignments from producers and partners through the production shop, and manage the team of creative professionals.
- Maintain a close working relationship with the Creative Director (Information Architecture and Design), VP, Interactive, on-air creative team, and the Magazines.
- Integrate other creative resources and assets from Television and other writing teams
- Supervise production materials, activities and daily production processes to include post-production
- Implement staff policies and manage full-time and freelance, contract staff
- Interpret information to formulate story ideas and execute in online friendly ways
- Organize story elements and coverage information beyond articles of text and pictures for events and athletes
- Track media metrics and analytics that demonstrate improvements in content quality (unique, user frequency / duration) and implement revisions to plan to achieve group goals
- Identify interests of site visitors and continually tailor product to their needs and expectations
- Collaborate to develop new interactive tools
- Continually surprise and delight fans with creativity and enhanced functionality
- Supervise the verification of facts: sources, and historical data
- Supervise and write headlines and promos while ensuring correct (or relevant) grammar, punctuation or spelling
- Follow copyright laws to protect internal intellectual property and exposure in use of outside intellectual property
- Assemble criteria for Junior writers as well as writing style guide
- Interview and hire writers and reporters or negotiate contracts, royalties, and payments for authors or freelancers.
- Develop story or content ideas, considering reader or audience appeal.
- Review and approve proofs submitted by composing room prior to publication production. Confer with management and editorial staff members regarding placement and emphasis of developing news stories
- Meet frequently with artists, typesetters, layout personnel, marketing directors, and production managers to discuss projects and resolve problems.
- Verify facts, dates, and statistics, using standard reference sources.
- Monitor news-gathering operations to ensure utilization of all news sources, such as press releases, telephone contacts, radio, television, wire services, and other reporters.
- Assign topics, events and stories to individual writers or reporters for coverage
- Knowledge of web and media production techniques including general communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via interactive, written, and visual media.
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Keen eye for details with strong commercial and business sensibility
- Deep understanding of arid enthusiasm for professional sports
- Highly collaborative nature and spirit
- Ability to meet the needs of the firm as stated above by being present and available to staff members
- Ability to work in conjunction with TV and special event schedules at varied hours and days as required based on domestic and international businesses
- A minimum of approximately 10 years of related experience
- Bachelors or advanced degree in related discipline
Successful Digital Editor in Chief Recruited
 The new Editor in Chief was a former ESPN interactive executive with great autonomy over the businesses, creative and technical functions of some of the most popular and profitable web sites in the world.
His synergistic experience with broadcast, print and interactive offered unique acumen to manage and function vertically within his prior organizations and this was specifically desired by the client company Digital GM.
The new Digital Editor in Chief was identified, screened, attracted and hired at the prescribed cadence set by the client company.
Human resources played a pivotal role in the cadence of the search and coordinated immediate access to the EIC’s potential staff, hiring manager, peers in TV and print, board members and others who participated in the review process. The Chairman of the company played an active role in interviewing and attracting this talented executive.
 The new executive become acclimated in a brief period of time and literally hit the ground running. The new EIC required no relocation.
Given the proper autonomy and equally mature business executives to work with, this EIC was hired to be a successful change agent across all media platforms in an organization in need of his media management continuity within their noted digital and broadcast media properties.
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Filcro Media Staffing
Broadcasting Executive Search Reviews
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