Health Editor

Deep South Today; Mississippi; On-site; USD 50,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Mississippi Today seeks a Health Editor to lead its health journalism team in reporting on essential and complex public health issues within the state. This role entails overseeing a team of reporters, managing day-to-day operations, and producing both investigative and timely health stories that will serve the community effectively.

Benefits

Highly competitive salary with health insurance

29 days paid time off

Parental leave options

Professional development support

Simple IRA with company matching

Group-term life insurance

Qualifications

• Strong background in health-related reporting.
• Experience in guiding longform stories from start to finish.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

Responsibilities

• Oversee journalists focused on various health topics.
• Plan and publish both urgent and investigative health stories.
• Work with multimedia teams to enhance story presentations.

Skills

Copy editing

Team leadership

Investigative storytelling

Nonprofit journalism understanding

Deadline management

Education

Degree in Journalism or related field

Job description

Mississippi Today is seeking an experienced journalist who can lead our health team.

The Health Editor is the integral member of the team, which, since its inception in 2022, has won numerous awards for its reporting.

The team serves as a hub for Mississippians to access data, fact-finding and dissemination of in-depth and explainer public health journalism. We report on how health systems work, and in some cases do not, in Mississippi. We dig deep on how health care providers, hospitals, insurers, governments and patients are interconnected and impacted, with an eye for equity and access. We have built a readership targeted at both thought leaders and everyday Mississippians who most need accurate and easy-to-understand information on health matters.

The ideal journalist is someone who understands the health considerations of rural and suburban Mississippians alike. This candidate will lead three reporters focused on community health, women/children’s health and mental health. The team will continue to create a multifaceted portfolio of reporting, including daily/breaking news stories as well as deeper-dive investigative features, to explore our state’s complicated public health framework and bring transparency to its processes.

Mississippi, which occupies the last place in the nation in many health indicators, is a gold mine for eager journalists. The state has many information needs as a result of its rurality and underfunding of public health systems – particularly at a time when federal support has been greatly reduced.

There is no shortage of health stories to be told and impact to be made here.

• Oversee a team of journalists who report directly to you.
• Work directly with the Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor to plan and publish short term stories, medium-term investigations and longer-term projects.
• Work with the Deep South Today Connect Team, as well as our Video and Multimedia editors to create compelling story presentations.
• Working with reporters to pitch and develop stories.
• Manage day-to-day editing, scheduling and publishing of stories.
• Implement a distribution mindset among leadership and staff, helping reporters to think early about possible publishing partners on the local and national level.

It’s a plus if you have:

• Experience guiding longform stories and investigations from conception to publication.
• A demonstrated ability to work quickly, and under tight deadlines.
• A knowledge and understanding of nonprofit journalism.
• Copy editing experience.
• Experience working in a collaborative setting.

What you’ll get:

• The opportunity to work alongside award-winning journalists.
• Highly competitive salary with medical insurance, and options for vision and dental insurance.
• 29 days paid time off.
• Up to 12 weeks of parental family leave, with return-to-work flexibility.
• Simple IRA with 3 percent company matching. Group-term life insurance provided to employees ($15,000 policy).
• Support for professional training and attending industry conferences.

How to Apply:

We’re committed to building an inclusive newsroom that represents the people and communities we serve. We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply for this position, including women, people of color, LGBTQ people and people who are differently abled.