multimedia_religion_editor_SOW_-_FINAL.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

“Multimedia Religion Editor”

PURPOSE AND SCOPE

The Voice of America’s Central News Division has a requirement for a talent vendor (hereinafter referred to as “Contractor”) to provide services as a Religion Editor as described below. The work shall be performed on a Fixed-Price-Labor-hour basis. Tall work shall be performed in accordance with “The VOA Journalistic Code”. The contractor must request pre-approval before engaging in outside speaking and writing that might rise to an actual or perceived violation of the Code.

TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

(1) General Responsibilities of Contractor.

• Coordinates a team of professional reporters and editors. This team is charged with developing and writing specific stories on Religion

• These projects will take days or weeks of research and preparation for final and subsequent reports. These reports are presented in digital and broadcasting platforms, with social media promotion and engagement.

• Advises writers and reporters on how to provide ambitious unbiased reporting, on how to utilize appropriate reporting tools, and how to make sure that reports are accurate, balanced and comprehensive.

• Collaborate and coordinate with news managers, producers, reporters, and stakeholders to develop and deliver substantive stories that go beyond the surface of basic facts. Assist in the research and investigate topics in-depth in order to present accurate, balanced, and up-to-date information to audiences world-wide.

• Makes recommendations on the technical adequacy, accuracy, and practicability of all work emanating from the reporters and advises the Assignment Editor regarding making final decisions on content of materials and information to be disseminated.

• Coordinate strategies for specific projects. Performs very specialized, complex and extensive assignments with very wide latitude for the exercise of independent seasoned judgment.

• Edits the final pieces and recommends changes/updates, offering reporters comments and suggestions to improve their news articles and strengthen their stories.

(2) Required expertise.

• Knowledge of international journalism laws and practices and a thorough familiarity with libel laws and other national and international laws governing investigative journalism.

• Superb writing, editing, and verbal communication skills.

• Through knowledge of the subject matter: Religion in the US and around the world, world affairs, public attitudes and trends; through knowledge of which events have particular significance for different areas of the world.

• Professional knowledge of news-gathering and interviewing techniques; general knowledge how to best present news material within television radio and internet.

• Skill in coordinating the activities of a multi-media professional staff working against deadlines to meet the programming needs of language broadcast services throughout

VOA.

• Skill in the coordination of people working in highly stressful newsroom conditions.

DELIVERABLES, INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE, AND PAYMENT TERMS

DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall provide deliverables that are responsive to the statement of work / specifications described in the task order and that conform to the Deliverables Inspection and Acceptance Criteria section of this task order. The Contractor shall submit all deliverables to the COR identified herein for dissemination to USAGM subject matter expert(s) for review and comments. Final inspection and acceptance of all work performed and deliverables will be performed by the COR.

The following deliverables are essential to the successful completion of this contract:

1. Content Plans: Organized plans for reporting including content, logistics and deliverable schedule. These plans are formed in collaboration with reporters, producers and editors to meet needs of language services and management for deeply original and contextual coverage of religion and its place in the American story

2. Vetted content: Deliverables for all platforms are checked for factual accuracy, structural nuance, comprehensiveness and balance. Stories, graphics,, infographics, explainers, tv packages and other content meet VOA’s highest journalistic standards and meet expectations from assignment.

3. Stor Pitches: Pitches nuance, original stories to tell the story of Religion in america, including travel, interview subjects, story arcs, issues etc.

DELIVERABLE SCHEDULE

The Contractor shall submit the required deliverables to the COR in accordance with the following schedule:

Deliverables Schedule

Deliverables Due Date Content Plans As assigned Vetted Content As assigned

Story Pitches As assigned

F.4 PLACE OF DELIVERY FOR DELIVERABLES

Item(s) to be delivered under this contract shall be delivered electronically to:

Deliverable Item #

# of Copies Address

All items 1 COR or Hub/ Web Editor News Center 330 Independence Ave SW Washington DC 20237

The COR will specify the place of delivery for items to be delivered under this contract that have not been listed in the preceding table upon their assignment.

DELIVERABLE INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA

Inspection The COR will review, for completeness and quality, all deliverables submitted by the Contractor, and may return them to the Contractor for correction. The Contracting Officer may delegate responsibility for review to other employees with appropriate expertise. Absence of any comments by the COR will not relieve the Contractor of the responsibility for complying with the requirements of the contract. Final approval and acceptance of deliverables will be provided to the Contractor in writing by the COR. The COR will have up to two-days to inspect deliverables and return them to the Contractor for correction.

Acceptance Criteria All contractor-produced documents and documentation (‘deliverables) shall meet the following general acceptance criteria. Final inspection and acceptance of all work performed, reports and other deliverables, will be performed at the place of delivery by the USAGM’s COR.

• Clarity − Deliverables and technical content shall be relevant and unambiguous, and shall adhere to accepted elements of style. Presentations, if any, shall be easy to understand and be relevant to the supporting narrative.

• Adherence to Requirements − All deliverables must satisfy the requirements of this statement of work and must contribute to the overall success of the tasks.

• Format − Deliverables shall be submitted in the format specified on the Deliverables section of the contract (if applicable), or as specified by the COR. If format is not specified in the Deliverables section of the contract, the Contractor shall submit all work products in formats compatible with Microsoft.

• Completeness − Deliverables shall be comprehensive and entirely developed (i.e. have all required parts and elements).

• Timeliness –Deliverables shall be available at the time required and generated on or before specified and mutually agreed to due dates or in accordance with a later mutually agreed to scheduled date.

• Significant Deficiencies - Deliverables shall be free of significant deficiencies. Significant deficiencies are findings by reviewing officials of serious omissions, inaccuracies, noncompliance with contract requirements and standards.

PAYMENT

The Contractor shall submit invoices only for work that has been submitted to the COR, and inspected and accepted by the COR.

SECURITY

All candidates must undergo a public trust background investigation prior to reporting on-site.

This process may take 30-45 days after selection. Candidates will not be allowed to work until such investigation is complete.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The contract will commence on or about __July 1, 2019____, with work described concluding on or about _June 30, 2020_______.

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The work on this contract shall be conducted at the US Agency for Global Media, 330 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20237 or contractor’s worksite.

CONTRACT TYPE/VEHICLE

Firm Fixed Price _commercial________ to be awarded .

SUBMISSION OF INVOICES

1952.232-91 Electronic Invoicing and Payment Requirements - Invoice Payment Platform (IPP) (April 2016) Payment requests for all new awards must be submitted electronically through the U. S. Department of the Treasury's Invoice Payment Platform System (IPP). "Payment request" means any request for contract financing payment or invoice payment by the Contractor. To constitute a proper invoice, the payment request must comply with the requirements identified in FAR 32.905(b), "Payment documentation and process" and the applicable Prompt Payment clause included in this contract. The IPP website address is: https://www.ipp.gov.