Senior Assignment Editor, Digital

WETA; Arlington (VA); Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

WETA in Arlington is seeking a Senior Assignment Editor, Digital, to lead daily news production for PBS.org/Newshour. This role involves recognizing news opportunities, guiding reporters, and delivering engaging, relevant content across platforms.

The ideal candidate will have strong editorial judgment, a proven track record in online news production, and the ability to innovate in a rapidly changing landscape. Collaborative leadership and effective communication skills are essential for this position, which offers a chance to make a significant impact in digital news.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience, particularly in managing online daily news production.
• Ability to supervise a team and mentor staff.
• Fluency in common CMS publishing systems and social media.

Responsibilities

• Assign and edit daily news stories across platforms.
• Use data to drive news coverage.
• Coordinate with digital leadership for news publishing.

Skills

Editorial judgement

News judgment

Writing and copy editing

Analytics usage

CMS publishing systems

Project management

Collaboration

Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in journalism

Tools

Website analytics software

Basic video editing

Social media

Job description

Job Overview

The Senior Assignment Editor, Digital leads our daily news production on PBS.org/Newshour and its associated platforms. This first‑of‑its‑kind position is grounded in trending news and audience, working closely with the deputy managing editor and senior coordinating producer of video to create a new approach to multiplatform daily news. This person will drive daily news coverage. We’re looking for someone who recognizes news opportunities and search potential; who can guide reporters and producers to report and produce relevant, original content; who can write a killer headline, meticulously comb through copy, home in on the perfect sound byte, and put the audience first. They’ll have a plan for the biggest stories of the day and make assignments that pique curiosity and feed today’s insatiable sense of discovery. The senior assignment editor will manage a small team focused on news, news video and wire and partner content for the website, and coordinate with other digital team leads to move this reporting across platforms. Strong headline writing and text editing are essential to success, as is a relentless pursuit of better, faster and more relevant content for our audience. We expect a deep understanding of what content is resonating and why, so that our daily assignments and big‑picture approach reflect what the audience needs. The editor will work with the senior digital and broadcast leadership to expand the audience reach across all potential platforms and will be a leader in developing new products and approaches to news. This is a leadership position on an innovative digital team that is looking for a creative thinker with strong journalistic skills and editorial integrity.

Primary Responsibilities

• Assigns, supervises and edits daily news stories in text and other formats.
• Uses data to plan daily news coverage on site and across platforms.
• Regularly reports to digital staff on news performance and adjusts assignments accordingly.
• Works closely with the digital leadership to coordinate publishing news and reporting across platforms.
• Coordinate staff schedule for daily news desk coverage and fill shifts on that desk when needed, with an eye toward maximizing effective use of existing resources and the creation of distinctive, brand‑consistent content.
• Develop coverage plans for major events, in close consultation with senior digital and broadcast colleagues.
• Identify future stories of likely interest to existing and potential PBS NewsHour audience.
• Supervise producers/reporters.
• Mentor and coach staff, particularly on how to shape ideas into actionable and reportable stories.
• Perform related special projects or other duties as assigned.

Additional Skills and Qualifications

• Superior editorial judgement.
• Strong news judgment, writing and copy editing skills.
• Exceptional judgment crafting and signing off on final headlines and metadata.
• Track record of using analytics and other tools to drive decision‑making and set team goals.
• Experience making daily assignments and high‑volume editing in all formats.
• Ability to jump into different stages of production to help move content to publish.
• Experience reshaping processes and tools to attain more efficiency.
• Experience managing production processes.
• Demonstrated ability to shape content for different platforms and their audiences.
• Project management skills with ability to balance and manage multiple priorities on daily, weekly, and long‑term schedules.
• Fluency with common CMS publishing systems, social media, basic video editing and website analytics software.
• Strong collaborative skills with ability to develop strong relationships across departments.
• Effective communication and proven leadership skills.
• Experience managing reporters and/or producers, and supervising a team.
• Successful execution of day‑parting strategy.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism preferred.
• 7 or more years of experience, ideally three managing online daily news production and guiding movement of stories.
• Or equivalent combination of training and experience.

Location

WETA and NewsHour Productions are Washington, DC established media and news organizations. We are a largely local workforce based out of the Campbell Place office in Arlington, VA. WETA and NewsHour Productions value employee flexibility when possible. Most positions based in our Arlington, VA office will be onsite or hybrid, depending upon the role.

Equal Employment Opportunity

WETA and NewsHour Productions are equal opportunity employers committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and internships. WETA and NewsHour Productions make hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.