The Charlotte Ledger is looking for an experienced, creative and versatile managing editor to help us continue to build a modern local media company in the largest city in the Carolinas.
We’re an entrepreneurial team that values initiative, efficiency and meaningful, well-reported work that supports our mission of delivering smart local information to Charlotte.
In the last six years, we’ve built a sustainable local media company with nearly 5,000 paying subscribers. In other words, we have produced articles so relevant, compelling and differentiated that thousands of people in Charlotte pay us, which, combined with a smaller amount of sponsorship revenue, is enough to support a four-person team with about a dozen regular freelancers. We have no corporate overlords, no hedge funds. Just real journalism, built in Charlotte.
Now, we’re looking for someone who can help us keep that momentum going and continue our growth — someone who is an excellent journalist, a leader, a strategic thinker and who is willing to try new things in a dynamic and changing media landscape. We’re hiring for the position of managing editor, which we envision as a “player-coach” role in which you would report and write regularly while helping run the day-to-day operations of a small and growing local newsroom and everything that entails.
On a small and entrepreneurial-minded team, you’d do many different things — some you have probably never done or thought of before — but all centered on producing smart and relevant journalism that reflects our community, holds power to account and keeps our readers informed.
❌ What we don’t want: This isn’t a role for someone who’s into clickbait, chasing pageviews, managing decline, following the media pack, or rewriting press releases and marketing hype. If you have narcissistic or humorless tendencies or a political ax to grind, well, this job is probably not for you.
✅ What we do want: On the other hand, if you want to report, write and direct some kick-ass journalism that makes a difference, tells people things they don’t know and builds authentic connections with readers by respecting their intelligence, that’s a good start. We want someone with a proven history of being able to deliver high-quality, interesting, original journalism and who can work well with others to make that happen. We’re looking for a doer. We’re looking for someone willing to try new things. We’re looking for a leader who is upbeat and excited about the possibilities of building an innovative local media company.
The Ledger is a nimble organization. We like to experiment, and we make decisions quickly. We can do whatever we choose to do — so long as it supports our mission of delivering smart information to Charlotte (and has a chance of making business sense). You would be a key player in helping us chart that course.
We would fashion the precise role based on your strengths and interests, but here are some basics of the job:
◼️ Story planning/editing: In conjunction with our editorial team, help plan The Ledger’s editorial calendar and work with Ledger staff and freelancers to generate story ideas, assign stories and edit them for multiple Ledger newsletters.
◼️ Reporting/writing: Write articles for The Ledger’s flagship newsletter, and potentially other newsletters. You should be comfortable with both long investigative pieces and short, lively, quick-turn stories. You’ll become adept at knowing when to invest time and resources in a topic and when to move quickly and log something in and move on.
◼️ Article selection/news judgment: Be on the constant lookout for how The Ledger can differentiate itself from other media in Charlotte, and lean into opportunities to go deep on certain topics that are of intense interest to readers but that other media are missing. To that end, this editor should be adept at beat reporting and be able to follow developments on key topics of interest.
◼️ Developing journalists: Work cooperatively with our staff reporters and freelance writers, with the goal of advancing their skills and developing them as journalists. Cultivate and grow The Ledger’s stable of freelance writers, to ensure a variety of perspectives.
◼️ Multimedia: Recognize that while we predominantly report news through text and email newsletters, there are other ways to disseminate high-quality information. Help us think through all that. Be open to using video, photography, graphics, webinars, podcasts, social media and talking in front of crowds at events. Our journalists are regularly asked to participate in other media (radio/TV). You’re a conveyor of trustworthy, responsible information across different formats.
To apply, more information is available here.
