Jobs The Mass Media offers paid positions on our permanent staff. Paid positions are eligible for work study, but it is not required. Students of all majors are welcome to apply. We are currently hiring for the following paid positions. To begin the application process, please fill out the form at the bottom of this page.
Open Roles
News writers work closely with the news editor to write stories that meet our rigorous editorial standards. They are expected to write accurate, un-biased, and thoroughly-reported articles on deadline each week. Their job responsibilities are:
Attend pitch meetings each Monday prepared with at least one pitch and accompanying photo request.
Write at least one 500-800 word article per week that is relevant to the UMass Boston community.
Find and develop knowledgeable sources.
Conduct interviews with relevant, trustworthy sources for each article.
Communicate with the news editor about their weekly pitch and photo request.
Meet all deadlines set by the production team and section editor, and communicate about delays in advance.
Attend and report on campus and city events that are relevant to our audience.
Be open and available for any member of the community to reach out about an article opportunity by consistently checking emails, Microsoft Teams and other areas for messages.
Requirements
Experience conducting interviews and writing in journalistic style. We require that applicants submit a portfolio of at least three journalistic articles. Note that journalistic writing is different from academic and creative writing.
Ability to work quickly and consistently meet deadlines.
Willingness to work with an editor and accept constructive feedback gracefully.
Nice to Have
Knowledge of Associated Press newswriting style and the AP Stylebook
Experience writing fast-paced breaking news coverage.
Features writers work closely with the news editor to write articles highlighting people, organizations and events that are relevant to the UMass Boston community. They are expected to write accurate, un-biased, and thoroughly-reported articles on deadline each week. Their job responsibilities are:
Attend pitch meetings each Monday prepared with at least one pitch and accompanying photo request.
Write at least one 500-800 word article per week that is relevant to the UMass Boston community.
Find and develop knowledgeable sources.
Conduct interviews with relevant, trustworthy sources for each article.
Communicate with the news editor about their weekly pitch and photo request.
Meet all deadlines set by the production team and news editor, and communicate about delays in advance.
Attend and report on events that are relevant to our audience.
Be open and available for any member of the community to reach out about an article opportunity by consistently checking emails, Microsoft Teams and other areas for messages.
Requirements
Experience conducting interviews and writing in journalistic style. We require that applicants submit a portfolio of at least three journalistic articles. Note that journalistic writing is different from academic and creative writing.
Ability to work quickly and consistently meet deadlines.
Willingness to work with an editor and accept constructive feedback gracefully.
Nice to Have
Knowledge of Associated Press newswriting style and the AP Stylebook
Arts writers work closely with the arts and lifestyle editor to write articles about fine arts, theater, music, movies, food and pop culture that are relevant to the UMass Boston community. They are expected to write accurate, un-biased, and thoroughly-reported articles on deadline each week. Their job responsibilities are:
Attend pitch meetings each Monday prepared with at least one pitch and accompanying photo request.
Write at least one 500-800 word article per week that is relevant to the UMass Boston community.
Find and develop knowledgeable sources.
Conduct interviews with relevant, trustworthy sources for each article.
Communicate with the arts editor about their weekly pitch and photo request.
Meet all deadlines set by the production team and arts editor, and communicate about delays in advance.
Attend and report on events that are relevant to our audience.
Be open and available for any member of the community to reach out about an article opportunity by consistently checking emails, Microsoft Teams and other areas for messages.
Requirements
Experience conducting interviews and writing in journalistic style. We require that applicants submit a portfolio of at least three journalistic articles. Note that journalistic writing is different from academic and creative writing.
Ability to work quickly and consistently meet deadlines.
Willingness to work with an editor and accept constructive feedback gracefully.
Nice to Have
Knowledge of Associated Press newswriting style and the AP Stylebook
Opinions writers work closely with the opinions editor to write essays about issues impacting the UMass Boston community. They are expected to write well-reasoned and accurate articles on deadline each week. Their job responsibilities are:
Attend pitch meetings each Monday prepared with at least one pitch and accompanying photo request.
Write at least one 500-800 word essay per week that is relevant to the UMass Boston community.
Communicate with the opinions editor about their weekly pitch and photo request.
Meet all deadlines set by the production team and opinions editor, and communicate about delays in advance.
Be open and available for any member of the community to reach out about an article by consistently checking emails, Microsoft Teams and other areas for messages.
Requirements
Experience writing in journalistic style. We require that applicants submit a portfolio of at least three journalistic articles. Note that journalistic writing is different from academic and creative writing.
Ability to work quickly and consistently meet deadlines.
Willingness to work with an editor and accept constructive feedback gracefully.
Nice to Have
Knowledge of Associated Press newswriting style and the AP Stylebook
The opinions editor oversees the opinions section and writes essays about issues impacting the UMass Boston community. They are expected to manage a staff of two opinions writers in addition to writing well-reasoned and accurate articles on deadline each week. Their job responsibilities are:
Attend pitch meetings each Monday prepared with at least one pitch and accompanying photo request.
Work with opinions writers to develop pitches.
Serve as a liaison between the production team and opinions writers regarding their weekly articles, maintaining pitches, articles and photo requests in our content tracking system.
Write at least one 500-800 word essay per week that is relevant to the UMass Boston community.
Edit all articles in the opinion section.
Meet all deadlines set by the production team, and communicate about delays in advance.
Be open and available for any member of the community to reach out about an article by consistently checking emails, Microsoft Teams and other areas for messages.
Requirements
Experience writing and editing in journalistic style. We require that applicants submit a portfolio of at least three journalistic articles. Note that journalistic writing is different from academic and creative writing.
Ability to work quickly and consistently meet deadlines.
Willingness to work with an editor and accept constructive feedback gracefully.
Knowledge of AP newswriting style and the AP stylebook.
Copy editors work with the head copy editor to edit every article before it goes to print in two cycles, known as first reads and second reads. Their job responsibilities are:
Regularly check in with the head copy editor and check our production systems for new editing assignments.
Edit all assigned first and second reads for grammar, punctuation, and spelling in compliance with the Mass Media Style Guide, based on the AP Stylebook.
Be vigilant for articles that may require major revisions or additional fact-checking, identifying them to the managing editor.
Notifying the managing editor of any consistent issues to assist with staff training.
Requirements:
Ability to work quickly and consistently meet deadlines.
Excellent command of English spelling and grammar rules.
Knowledge of AP newswriting style and the AP stylebook.
Experience editing others' writing.
As a part of the visuals team, illustrators are expected to work with the production editor, photography editor, and social media manager to produce at least one illustration per week. Illustrations include descriptive images to accompany an article, graphics to be used for social media or marketing, or other assignments. Their job responsibilities are:
Check Notion every Monday for illustration requests from writers.
Regularly check in with the photography editor and production editor to ensure assignments are relevant and timely.
Create well-composed and thoughtful illustrations each week according to The Mass Media Visual Style Guide. Illustrators should draft multiple images for each prompt and work with the photography editor to revise them as necessary.
Requirements:
More than one semester remaining at UMass Boston (as an undergraduate or graduate student).
Access to digital illustration hardware and software, such as an iPad or drawing tablet and pen with Procreate, Photoshop, etc. Digital illustrations are preferred to traditional (pen and paper) illustrations. Any traditional illustrations must be digitized.
Experience with digital illustration. Applicants are required to submit a portfolio of at least three samples.
Basic technological skills (i.e., know how to upload products in the correct format to the correct location).
Ability to work quickly and consistently meet deadlines.
Willingness to work with an editor and accept constructive feedback gracefully.
As a part of the visuals team, illustrators are expected to work with the photography editor to produce several quality images per week. Photographers are assigned photographs to accompany specific articles, and may occasionally be tasked with other photograph work, such as taking stock photos. Their job responsibilities are:
Check Notion every Monday for photo requests from writers.
Regularly check in with the photography editor to ensure assignments are met in a timely manner.
Submit well-composed and thoughtful photographs each week according to The Mass Media Visual Style Guide.
Requirements:
More than one semester remaining at UMass Boston (as an undergraduate or graduate student).
Access to a standalone camera, either DSLR or mirrorless, which is capable of shooting in a RAW format (CR2/3; ARW; NEF; etc.). This MAY NOT be a phone or phone camera. You must have a professional digital camera.
Experience with photography. Applicants are required to submit a portfolio of at least three samples.
Basic technological skills (i.e., know how to upload products in the correct format to the correct location).
Ability to work quickly and consistently meet deadlines.
Willingness to work with an editor and accept constructive feedback gracefully.
The business manager leads the business team to oversee advertiser relationships, ad sales and distribution. Their job responsibilities are:
Develop relationships with local businesses, student groups and departments at UMass Boston who are interested in advertising in The Mass Media.
Design advertisements for web and print publication when requested by advertisers or the production team.
Manage advertiser campaigns in our content management systems for our website and print production.
Track and analyze web and print analytics, suggesting ideas to increase web traffic and print circulation.
Oversee distribution of the physical newspaper.
Assist with budgeting and planning events sponsored by The Mass Media.
Communicate with the editor in chief and managing editor via email and Microsoft Teams.
Requirements:
More than one semester remaining at UMass Boston (as an undergraduate or graduate student).
Majoring in business or a related field.
Comfortable with sales responsibilities.
Understanding of business analytics.
Strong organizational and time-management skills.
Nice to Have:
Sales experience.
Event planning experience.
Knowledge of graphic design and related tools, such as Canva and Adobe InDesign.
Application
Please fill out this form to begin the application process. An editor will follow up via The Mass Media’s email address within 3 business days. Please do not reach out to to members of our staff via their personal contact information regarding your application, as it will only delay the process.
