Senior Editor, Politics (AJC)

Cox; Smyrna (GA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 151,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Senior Editor for Politics to lead a dynamic team of journalists in covering Georgia's political landscape. This role offers the opportunity to shape impactful stories across various platforms, ensuring relevance and engagement for a diverse audience. Ideal candidates will thrive in a fast-paced environment, balancing strategic planning with daily execution. With a focus on collaboration and innovation, this position is pivotal in transforming the newsroom into a modern, audience-first media organization. Join us in making headlines and driving meaningful journalism forward.

Benefits

Flexible Paid Vacation

Paid Holidays

Paid Wellness Leave

Additional Leave Options

Qualifications

• 8+ years of journalism experience or equivalent qualifications.
• Expert knowledge of editorial operations and metrics interpretation.

Responsibilities

• Assign and edit stories from journalists in Georgia and D.C.
• Collaborate across the newsroom for high-impact political coverage.

Skills

News Judgment

Editorial Operations Knowledge

SEO Best Practices

Collaboration Skills

Metric Interpretation

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Journalism

Master's Degree in Journalism

PhD in Journalism

Job description

At The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), our mission is to be the most essential and engaging source of news for the people of Atlanta, Georgia, and the South. As we transition from a historic daily newspaper to a modern media company, we seek a talented Senior Editor, Politics to join our team. The AJC believes that when you cover the South, you uncover the nation. This belief has led to award-winning journalism, strengthened our community, and captured the essence of our hometown.

If you're ready to make headlines with your talent and drive, we want you on our team. Apply now and be part of the AJC's transformation.

Position Overview

We are looking for a Senior Editor, Politics to play a key leadership role in one of our most prominent coverage areas. The editor will guide a team of experienced journalists covering Georgia politics at both the state and federal levels. You will shape our political coverage across platforms—web, mobile, audio, newsletters, social media, live events, and more—with a focus on increasing relevance, accessibility, and reach.

This hands-on editing role requires excellent news judgment, a deep understanding of political systems and policies, and the ability to connect breaking news, enterprise, and investigative work to our readers' lives. You will elevate story framing and ensure our coverage is accurate, timely, fair, and engaging for a broad and diverse audience.

Ideal Candidate

This role is suited for someone who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment, can balance long-term planning with daily execution, and is excited to help lead our newsroom's transformation into a modern, audience-first media organization. The position is based in Atlanta, GA.

Key Responsibilities

1. Assign and edit stories from journalists based in Georgia and Washington, D.C.
2. Work closely with the AJC Politics team, including the Deputy Politics Editor, to frame stories and identify new angles.
3. Leverage headlines and SEO best practices to expand our journalism's reach and appeal to diverse audiences.
4. Collaborate across the newsroom to deliver high-impact coverage of the Legislature, governor, state agencies, and statewide politics, emphasizing policy impacts on people.
5. Partner with newsroom leaders to balance reporters' time across podcasts, live events, TV, social platforms, and other initiatives aligned with audience growth strategies.
6. Build and maintain a culture of trust, partnership, and diplomacy within and beyond the Politics team.
7. Monitor digital metrics to drive growth and engagement.

Required Qualifications

1. Education: Bachelor's degree with 8+ years of journalism experience, or Master's with 6+ years, or PhD with 3+ years, or 12+ years of relevant experience without a degree.
2. Expert knowledge of editorial organization operations.
3. Ability to interpret metrics to guide decisions.
4. A growth mindset and familiarity with agile practices.
5. Highly flexible, collaborative, and effective across multiple teams.

The responsibilities listed are not exhaustive. We look forward to your application and the opportunity to grow our impactful journalism team.

Salary Range: USD 90,100.00 - 150,100.00 per year. Compensation includes a base salary within this range, potentially supplemented by incentives, depending on factors like location and experience.

Benefits include flexible paid vacation, seven paid holidays, up to 160 hours of paid wellness leave annually, and additional leave options such as bereavement, voting, jury duty, volunteer, military, and parental leave.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.