Showrunner and Host, Pushing Limits

About the job

Business Insider’s video team is hiring a Showrunner and Host to develop, produce, and present original episodes of our flagship YouTube series, Pushing Limits.

Pushing Limits explores the outer edges of science, engineering, technology, and human performance. From mile-high skyscrapers and life in space to record-breaking strength, supersonic travel, and the deepest holes ever drilled, each episode follows an extraordinary ambition, the people pursuing it, and the obstacles they must overcome.

This role is for a video journalist who can take a story from idea to finished episode and bring it to life on camera, while managing the whole process along the way. You will pitch and research stories designed to thrive on YouTube and other platforms, conduct interviews, write scripts, plan shoots, and oversee editing, post-production and contribute to YouTube optimized packaging. You will oversee a small team of an associate producer and editor, who will report directly to you. You must be comfortable managing the production schedules of multiple episodes at a time.

You will also serve as an on-camera host: delivering scripted narration, reporting from the field, and interviewing experts and subjects with confidence and curiosity.

You should have sharp editorial judgment, knowledge of current trends in technology, a strong visual sensibility, and an instinct for the kinds of narratives and structures that succeed on YouTube. You are comfortable working across every stage of production, including partnering with freelance shooters, editors, and motion designers.

Examples of the types of videos you might be producing include:

Why Fully Self-Driving Cars Are Almost Impossible

Why Electric Planes Are Almost Impossible
Why Living Past 115 Is Almost Impossible

The Hardest Things Humans Have Ever Tried

This role is based in our New York City headquarters, with an in-office expectation of three days a week. Note that internally this role is classified as a senior managing producer. 

The ideal candidate has

• Experience reporting, researching, and fact-checking video scripts for digital video, ideally in consumer business, science, technology, engineering, or adjacent fields
• Demonstrated on-camera hosting and interviewing experience, including taped reads and unscripted field reporting
• A strong point of view on story selection and visual storytelling
• Knowledge of field production, shooting, and post-production workflows
• Familiarity with the editorial and audience considerations that drive successful YouTube videos
• Experience managing full-time in-house direct reports, as well as freelance shooters and editors
• A commitment to fair, accurate, and inclusive storytelling; a passion for business journalism is a plus

Key responsibilities

• Pitch and develop ambitious, visually compelling stories for Pushing Limits
• Host episodes and report on camera in studio and in the field
• Conduct on-camera interviews with experts, innovators, and subjects
• Guide an AP’s research, reporting, fact-checking, and shaping of stories into 12–30 minute episodes
• Oversee the writing of scripts, outlines, shot lists, and interview plans
• Coordinate field shoots and source archival, behind-the-scenes, and other visual material
• Lead post-production by coaching editors and motion designers
• Lead editorial brainstorms that help shape the future of the series, including using audience analytics to inform the strategic direction

Salary & Benefits

• Salary range: $100,000 - $140,000 (dependent on skills, experience, and competencies)
• Unlimited PTO, 10 paid holidays, and 16 weeks of parental leave
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans
• Matched and vested 401k plan
• Access to resources for financial planning guidance, family planning services, mental health resources and Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)
• Additional benefits include commuter benefits, phone reimbursement, gym membership discounts, and more