The Arizona Republic is looking for an innovative, high-energy editor to lead Phoenix’s daily news report, guiding a team of reporters and editors covering real-time news, topics rising on social media and issues of importance to our communities. Under your direction, the team will produce fast-paced, engaging journalism that helps readers navigate their lives, stay safe during public emergencies and connect with the community and world around them.
You will make numerous news judgment calls in a day, from identifying stories and trends that are immediate, important and influential to our audiences to seeing big picture trends or the story that is not getting told. You’ll provide daily direction and leadership during breaking news events, often editing live and working with multiple reporters across the newsroom. Your work will be informed by the latest trends, metrics and social tools and enhanced by strong coaching instincts to improve and empower your team of journalists.
The position demands and will reward initiative, accuracy, urgency and insight.
Your team of editors, reporters and interns covers crime, trending, conversational and important real-time “stories of the day.” We want a leader who embraces tight deadlines and can help reporters deliver scoops, dig up documents, write carefully yet compellingly and showcase storytelling on different platforms.
You must love covering news in any format, including live blogs, listicles, quick enterprise stories and news alerts, excel at SEO and put the needs of our audience first.
We are especially interested in reporting on trending topics of conversation within our community as well as traditional “breaking news.” We want to try new things and are continually looking for new ways to reach current and underheard audiences.
You will initiate and direct multimedia, multiplatform coverage of these breaking stories, using all necessary resources including video, photo and new storytelling formats. You will coordinate efforts of other editors on the breaking news team and collaborate with digital producers and visual editors.
The position demands a good communicator who puts the needs of the story first and helps ensure that we have news available to our audiences as soon as they are looking for it.
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in communications, journalism, or related field preferred or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- At least 3 years working in a content-related or audience development role, preferably in a digitally focused media organization.
- Experience in a leadership and/or management role.
- Must work comfortably in a job that will be fast-paced, data-driven, shaped constantly by feedback and experimentation.
- Strong coaching skills. Must be able to clearly convey expectations and to provide constructive feedback and support to your team.
- Exceptional planning and organizational skills.
- Understanding of metrics, Google Trends, social media and SEO strategy.
- Self-motivated and self-directed.
- 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.
- Commitment to detail, accuracy and fairness.
- 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.
- Employment is contingent on passing a pre-employment, post-offer background check.???
We are eager to learn more about you and how you fit this role. 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.
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