Times Opinion is looking for a staff editor to contribute to its health and science coverage. This is a critical role in Opinion, with the potential to help shape debates over everything from the evolving coronavirus pandemic to the state of reproductive health care to the coming forays into outer space.
This editor needs to be creative and to be able to work with both writers and non-writers — leading scientists, doctors, researchers — make their case to the world.
This editor will work with Opinion’s health and science editor, as well as our award-winning graphics, video and audio teams to develop storytelling that’s urgent, heart-tugging and accessible.
We’re looking for a skilled editor who is eager to continue to learn and grow — someone with a wealth of curiosity and sharp editorial judgment who can work on both guest essays in response to breaking health and science news as well as longer form pieces. A background in science or health journalism is a plus but not a requirement; a passion for the subject is. This editor must be a team player, able to collaborate with other editors and our audience team to find ways to deepen our engagement with Times readers and find new audiences for our work.
Responsibilities Include:
- Commissioning and editing smart, forward thinking guest essays, from experts, policymakers and others, that advance the debate and anticipate and react to news.
- Collaborating with other editors on the vision, audience and priorities for Times Opinion’s coverage of the pandemic and other issues.
- Supporting the health and science editor in further developing a network of outside writers, including the most prominent people on this beat, while cultivating new voices on the biggest news and ideas.
- Finding fresh angles into the stories most on readers’ minds, about which they are most curious.
- Using social media, reader call-outs, reporting or other creative means to reach readers with different experiences to share in the health and science sphere.
- Coordinating with the audience team to maximize the reach and impact of the work.
- Occasionally developing, pitching and helping execute high-impact enterprise pieces; including collaboration with multimedia teams, including design, photo, graphics, audio and video on how to best tell these stories.
- Working with our network of contributing writers.
- Reading, reviewing and promptly responding to unsolicited submissions.
- Helping to assess and calibrate Opinion’s health and science coverage, considering news value; the range and diversity of writers; and the tension between productivity versus impact and influence.
Basic Qualifications:
- At least 3 years of editing experience
- A passion for science and health
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience working with writers with a scientific or academic background is preferable. Please include links to a few of your published pieces in your cover letter
This is a Guild position.
The annual base pay range for this role is between $109,521.19 and $112,000.00.
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