TV Critic

Variety seeks a dynamic writer and cultural commentator with deep knowledge of pop culture and entertainment to serve as the leading voice of TV criticism for the venerable brand as our TV Critic.

The high-volume job will involve writing for all Variety platforms with the focus on TV reviews, columns, commentary, appreciations, occasional news and event coverage and in-depth cover stories. The role also requires public speaking and media appearances on Variety’s behalf at Variety-produced events and outside events.

The ideal candidate is a self-starter who is able to juggle short-term and long-term assignments. The job requires significant commitment to ensuring Variety covers the vast landscape of TV content with sharp criticism and commentary. It requires strong organizational skills to keep track of upcoming shows and to maintain a calendar for reviews in advance of publication date. The job periodically requires night and weekend work.

The ideal candidate has experience working in a busy newsroom and experience coordinating and collaborating with a range of other writers and editors.

The ideal candidate has a minimum of 5 years’ experience as a reporter/editor covering entertainment and a minimum 3 years’ experience of writing entertainment-related reviews.

Duties include

• Writing television reviews of TV series and analysis of live events (including awards shows, and breaking news) for all Variety platforms, sometimes as many as five or even more per week.
• Keeping up with multiple ongoing series per week for coverage consideration, during heavy volume times of the year. (This requires strong time management skills as reviewers may be watching several programs at once while writing about several other programs at the same time.)
• Writing appreciations to accompany obituaries
• Writing occasional news coverage and in-depth cover stories
• Building posts in WordPress and gathering photos for your work
• Brainstorming with the television team and the larger editorial team about areas of coverage
• Public speaking and media appearances on Variety’s behalf

Requirements:

• 5 years’ experience as a reporter/editor covering entertainment
• 3+ years’ experience of writing entertainment-related reviews.

Typical wage range: $90-100k

Factors that could be used to determine your actual salary may include your specific skills, years of experience and comparison to current employees already in this role. The typical candidate is hired below midpoint of the range. The total compensation package for this position will also include other elements, a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits including 401(k) eligibility and paid time off benefits. PMC is committed to the health and wellness of our employees. As part of our company-wide rollout of PMC’s paid healthcare plan, effective for this role July 1, 2023, the company will pay 100% of the monthly health, dental and vision plan premiums for the employee and their family. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

If you have more or less experience than specified on this job posting, please apply and list your salary expectations.

If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors).

It’s all About You…

At PMC, your wellness is top of mind. We offer a comprehensive benefits package to nurture you and your loved ones, including pets! Our package includes Healthcare (medical, dental, and vision) HSA with an employer contribution, FSA (Healthcare, Dependent Care & Commuter), EAP, Life Insurance, 401K with an employer match, Paid Parental Leave, Long-term Disability, generous Paid Time off (PTO), Pet Insurance, and Home & Auto insurance. Our Wellness initiatives rotate yoga, meditation, wellness weeks on a variety of topics, and financial wellness. We continuously elevate our offerings with more, for you.

ABOUT VARIETY

Variety is the seminal voice in the entertainment industry. After 117 years of award-winning breaking news reporting, insightful award-season coverage, must-read feature spotlights, and intelligent analysis of the industry’s most prominent players, Variety is the most trusted source for the business of global entertainment. Read by a highly engaged audience of industry insiders, aspirants and passionate entertainment enthusiasts, Variety’s multi-platform content coverage expands across digital, mobile, social, print, podcasts, branded content, events, and summits.

In May 2019, Variety’s “Actors on Actors” on PBS took home a Daytime Creative Arts Emmy award and has been awarded the Emmy for best entertainment programming at the 67th and 68th Emmy Awards. “Actors on Actors,” an interview special that features pairings of prominent actors discussing their craft, was produced by PBS SoCal in partnership with Variety Media, LLC. Follow Variety on Facebook facebook.com/variety; Twitter, @variety; Instagram, @Variety The Variety Group – Variety, Variety.com, Variety Insight, Indiewire,– is owned by Variety Media, LLC, a division of Penske Media Corporation.

ABOUT PMC:

PMC is a leading independent global media and information services company whose award-winning content attracts a passionate monthly audience of more than 310 million. Since 2004, Penske Media has been a pioneer in digital media and a platform innovator, reaching viewers on all screens across its ever-growing constellation of iconic brands, which includes Deadline, Variety, Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, VIBE, WWD, SHE Media, Robb Report, Sportico, BGR, ARTnews, Art in America, Fairchild Media, and Spy.com, among many others. PMC’s journalists and content creators deliver daily the most comprehensive news and information in their industries and areas of coverage, unequaled in ambition, depth and courage. Headquartered in New York and Los Angeles with additional offices in 14 countries worldwide, PMC believes companies should not only be profitable but also forces for good. To learn more about PMC, our 2% Foundation, and our portfolio of brands, please visit www.PMC.com.

Penske Media Corporation