WSJ seeks US news coverage chief

The Wall Street Journal is looking for an experienced journalist to lead its U.S. News team. This group is the heart of the Journal’s national events coverage at a time of change and polarization. As the head of U.S. News, this coverage chief will set a course for a team of editors and reporters covering the country’s cities, schools, courts, local politics and the social issues that define our times.

The U.S. News team is a nimble one prized for its ability to work fast on breaking news, to spot important trends ahead of the competition and to deliver deep enterprise stories. Its coverage chief drives daily and long-term decision-making on national news priorities and also works closely with other coverage chiefs and their teams on stories about the economy, business, finance and national politics.

The ideal candidate will have extensive news-gathering experience and superb story sense, and will thrive in a fast-paced news environment. This editor will make decisions quickly, remain calm under pressure, and think innovatively about news and story formats. Strong writing and editing skills for news and also features are a must, as is being equally at home with digital media and print and working collaboratively with visual, audio and video storytelling. Also key: talent with words and color, a sense of significant news but also of color and life. Also important: the confidence and skill to shepherd talented, veteran writers.

You will:

• Manage a team of reporters and editors to cover breaking news and deliver deep, broad-based and sharply written national stories of interest to the Wall Street Journal audience.
• Work collaboratively with other coverage areas and teams across the newsroom, including visuals, audio and video, to ensure timely and coordinated publication of news packages in a well-thought out mix across multiple platforms.
• Use audience insights and other data to help inform coverage decisions, support strategic initiatives and evaluate our success at giving our audience the journalism they want and need.
• Lead with empathy and embrace diversity, both for our audience and your team members. You will be eager to understand the varying perspectives of our audience and staff, and work to maintain and improve diversity in our coverage and within our newsroom.

You have:

• Excellent news judgment and editing chops, as well as experience working in a fast-paced and collaborative news environment.
• A thorough understanding of the brand values and mission of The Wall Street Journal and how our journalism should be selected, executed and presented in line with those values.
• A deep appreciation of and facility with audience data and how it can help refine and drive coverage.
• Sound organizational abilities, including setting agendas, delegating tasks, managing projects and maintaining a slate of forward planning to guide crucial strategies for the team.

The position will be based in New York and report to the Editor of Coverage.

The Journal’s reporters, editors, developers, and audio and visual journalists create important and impactful stories, firmly rooted in fact and adhering to the highest ethical standards. We report without fear or bias, and we maintain a proper sense of perspective, detachment and objectivity in our reporting.

To apply, please submit your resume, a cover letter explaining how you would approach the job and examples of your work.

To apply, go here.