McClatchy seeks a national real – time editor

McClatchy’s national real-time team is looking for an editor to join a fully remote 30-person team filled with ambitious, high-energy journalists who track what people are talking about right now and anticipate what they will be searching for or talking about next.

 
What we’re looking for:

Real-time editors are the fastest members of this high-speed team. They know when and how to accelerate – and when to slow down.

A real-time editor must be able to quickly identify when a reporter should swiftly write a story on breaking news — or brainstorm a more nuanced and unique approach to ensure McClatchy’s coverage stands out.

The ideal candidate will not only have a strong grasp of what performs well for our team, but also the ability to identify new ways to expand the scope of our coverage.

From gauging story prospects to workshopping headlines to coordinating coverage across 30 McClatchy newsrooms to editing stories with a careful eye, editors are expected to juggle multiple tasks in often chaotic shifts.

Editors should thrive in a collaborative environment where both editors and reporters have a say in every aspect of our stories even though we’re spread across the country.

Responsibilities include:

• Using CrowdTangle, Spike, Google Trends and other tools to identify stories that people will be talking about
• Developing strong story angles quickly with reporters so that they are not simply duplicating what’s been published elsewhere, but are finding something new and interesting
• Mining analytics in real-time with Parse.ly or similar tools, and daily and weekly analytics tools for audience data that offer insights into each reporter’s stories and the team’s trends
• Helping reporters identify how and where to find original sourcing (e.g. police reports, lawsuits, published research, interviews)
• Ensuring reporters understand how to aggregate fairly and responsibly, with ethical sourcing and attribution so stories accurately represent the material’s origins
• Ensuring reporters understand how to fairly and legally use video and images
• Communicating on Slack continuously and knowing how to handle and prioritize torrents of information
• Collaborating with editors across McClatchy newsrooms to coordinate coverage as needed

The most compelling candidates will have:

• A traditional news editing background and all the knowledge that comes with it
• The ability to edit quickly, accurately and well
• Solid news judgment and excellent journalism ethics
• An intuitive sense of what’s important and interesting
• A good grasp of what drives interest on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms
• An ability to optimize stories to capitalize on social media engagement and search traffic
• An ability to think outside of the box and experiment
• An ability to multi-task and prioritize tidal waves of information

Job Requirements:

Education & Experience:

• College degree or equivalent experience
• Professional journalism experience, including leading newsroom reporting teams

Skills needed:

• Demonstrated strong news judgment
• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Facility with social media and SEO
• Quick study of CMSes and storytelling tools.

Personal Attributes:

• Energetic, flexible and online smarts.
• The ability to monitor a vast amount of information for a wide audience, matched with discerning judgment about what to pursue.
• The ability to execute both quickly and well, with creativity.
• The ability to communicate while working with a close-knit team that manages to have fun and support each other while still performing at the highest level.

To apply: Include a persuasive cover letter explaining how your experience meshes with this job, your resume and links to some examples of your best work.

Salary: $60,000 to $65,000

For more details click here.