Chicago Reader looking for web geeks

From: Mike Lenehan mlenehan@chicagoreader.com Subject: Web Team Wants You?

Dear Reader people,

As you may have heard, we’re going to be increasing our focus on the Web in the months ahead. As a consequence, we’re looking for people to occupy two positions on our “Web team,” one for the production department and one for editorial. Below is a brief sketch of each position.

Production: We’re hoping for someone with design ability and Web/programming smarts, including knowledge of and experience with HTML, FTP, CSS, and databases. The main duties would be:

– design and implement Web pages as needed, both quick-term (implement a last-minute promotion idea) and long-term (help with design and development of major site-wide changes and new features)

– supervise the rest of the production staff in the creation of Web ads for our advertisers

– serve as the production dept’s representative on the Web team: bring production dept input, keep dept informed on the Web team’s activities, help decide on Web projects

We don’t expect this to be a full-time job, at least not at the outset, but we do want someone who will be in the office or at least on call every day. We will probably need to combine Web tasks with print tasks, or some other tasks, to make it an everyday position, but the idea is to have a person whose first responsibility and priority will be to do the Web work that needs to be done.

Editorial: Here we need someone with strong writing/editing skills and considerable computer skills. You don’t need to be a programmer but you should know, or be able to learn quickly, some HTML, a lot of file management, and database fundamentals. This will probably be a full-time job, or close to it, from the beginning. The main duties are:

– conceive, propose, advocate for, and produce or supervise on a weekly basis (or daily, or monthly) new Internet services that use and/or enhance the content we produce weekly. First priority will be a series of e-mail products (things-to-do picks, movie newsletter, etc etc), followed by Web features to be researched and proposed by you — RSS feeds, blogs, forums, Web-only content, redesigns of existing features, and so on.

– optimize repurposing of occasional edit features on the Web: festival listings & pullouts, special sections, service features, Web-worthy articles

– promote timely Web features via links, blogs, ad trades, forums; bring promotions into print

– learn and be able to back up and supervise current editorial posting procedures

– serve as the editorial Web boss and the dept’s representative on the Web team: bring dept input, keep dept informed on the Web team’s activities, help decide on Web projects.

Because so many of you have abilities and lives that we don’t know about, we’re posting these jobs to the whole company. (And you are welcome to pass this around to your friends outside.) You don’t have to be in the production or editorial dept at present, but you do need to have the requisite skills for each, as well as the extra ones mentioned above. If you or someone you know is one of the people we’re looking for, please let me know.

Thanks,

Mike Lenehan

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