The Desert Sun/desertsun.com, the leading news organization in Southern California’s Coachella Valley and part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, is hiring a local news editor.
Responsibilities:
- Responsibilities of the position include being a primary editor for reporters covering communities across the Coachella Valley, who are expected to produce watchdog reporting on city halls; understand hot-button local issues and provide readers with real-time information and answers; craft sense-of-place profiles of the people and personalities who give our desert character; have their fingers on the pulse of the desert’s burgeoning restaurant and bar scene; and track business openings and closings
- You will be a champion for urgent and informative reporting that gives people answers to questions they have about their community in the moment
- You also will help foster a culture that values dogged reporting and high-impact exclusive work that regularly scoops the competition
- The ideal candidate will have a track record of guiding innovative daily and enterprise work, be well-versed in using metrics to inform beats and coverage decisions, and love to coach reporters, setting high standards and elevating the quality of their work
Qualifications:
- A demonstrated ability to edit news stories on tight turnarounds is a must
- Candidates must be able to coach both entry-level reporters and those with experience
- Good knowledge of AP Style and fundamental newsgathering standards are a must
- Five years or more of daily journalism experience
- Strong news judgment and editing skills
- Comfort in fluid, fast-breaking, stressful situations
- A knack for helping reporters hone skills in a wide range of storytelling, from real-time digital updates to narrative storytelling to investigative reporting, employing alternative story forms and multimedia
- Exceptional planning and organizational skills
- Understanding of metrics, social media and SEO strategy
- Self-motivation and self-direction
- Strong grasp of journalism skills (reporting and editing) and advanced knowledge of writing, spelling, grammar, AP and local style
- Innovative, creative thinking that supports the company’s goals
- Command of media law and principles of ethical conduct
- Devotion to peer-to-peer training, as both a teacher and student
- Passion for empathetic, compassionate storytelling
- Commitment to detail, accuracy and fairness
- Ability to build a coverage strategy using analytics and innovation
- Demonstrated ability to use social media to augment news coverage and engage audience on digital platforms
- Ability to multi-task and excel under deadline pressure, using time efficiently
- Skill at collaborating in a cross-functional environment and adapting in a rapidly changing industry
- Ability to work extended hours, evenings, weekends, and holidays, sometimes unexpectedly when news requires it
Salary: $65,000-$75,000 salary, depending on experience
When you apply, don’t limit your upload to a resume; show us what you’ve done. To do so, put together a single document file that includes the following, in this order:
- Your resume – one to two pages.
- A cover letter that outlines how you would approach the job.
- Examples of at least 3 significant stories you have edited with a short (1-2 paragraph) narrative about how you helped the writer develop the piece, obstacles encountered during the reporting and writing of the piece, and how you overcame them. In addition, provide 1-2 samples of your own writing.
For further details click here.
