Senior News Editor

Jobtailor; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor is seeking a senior U.S. desk editor to lead the Newsweek desk during peak hours, shaping how stories are framed, prioritized, and published. You will decide what advances public understanding, rewrite to sharpen leads and tone, and guide junior editors with a focus on accuracy and impact.

Ideal candidates bring 7–10+ years in a top U.S. digital newsroom, exceptional judgment, and calm, decisive leadership under pressure.

Qualifications

• 7–10+ years of experience at a high-level U.S. digital newsroom.
• Demonstrated record editing breaking news, exclusives, and enterprise reporting at speed.
• Exceptional news judgment.
• First-rate rewriting skills.
• Comfortable making consequential editorial decisions independently.
• Proven ability to handle sensitive and legally complex stories.
• Deep understanding of U.S. political, legal, and cultural dynamics.
• Calm, decisive leadership style under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Run the U.S. news desk during peak coverage hours, making final calls on framing, prioritization, and play.
• Distinguish decisively between stories that advance public understanding and those that merely follow the pack.
• Kill weak or redundant stories quickly—and demand better replacements.
• Deliver first-class framing on the most competitive national stories, identifying where Newsweek can add clarity, originality, or analytical value.
• Rewrite without hesitation: leads, nut grafs, headlines, structure, sourcing, and tone.
• Take raw field notes, transcripts, interviews, and exclusives and turn them into clean, analytical, tightly argued journalism.
• Perform rapid second-day and rolling rewrites that materially improve stories as facts evolve.
• Operate as a desk reporter when the moment demands it—making calls, confirming facts, chasing documents, and closing gaps.
• Personally intervene on high‑stakes or sensitive stories where precision and judgment are critical.
• Hold yourself and your team to elite newsroom standards.
• Provide blunt, constructive feedback and demand improvement.
• Mentor reporters and junior editors into sharper thinkers and stronger journalists.
• Take ownership when coverage underperforms.
• Maintain a sophisticated understanding of how serious readers engage with news.
• Work with audience teams to ensure performance goals support editorial ambition.
• Monitor competitive coverage and push Newsweek to outperform, not echo.

Skills

News judgment

Editing

Rewriting

Independent decision-making

Legal sensitivity

US politics

Leadership under pressure

Job description

Responsibilities

• Run the U.S. news desk during peak coverage hours, making final calls on framing, prioritization, and play.
• Distinguish decisively between stories that advance public understanding and those that merely follow the pack.
• Kill weak or redundant stories quickly—and demand better replacements.
• Deliver first-class framing on the most competitive national stories, identifying where Newsweek can add clarity, originality, or analytical value.
• Rewrite without hesitation: leads, nut grafs, headlines, structure, sourcing, and tone.
• Take raw field notes, transcripts, interviews, and exclusives and turn them into clean, analytical, tightly argued journalism.
• Perform rapid second-day and rolling rewrites that materially improve stories as facts evolve.
• Operate as a desk reporter when the moment demands it—making calls, confirming facts, chasing documents, and closing gaps.
• Personally intervene on high‑stakes or sensitive stories where precision and judgment are critical.
• Hold yourself and your team to elite newsroom standards.
• Provide blunt, constructive feedback and demand improvement.
• Mentor reporters and junior editors into sharper thinkers and stronger journalists.
• Take ownership when coverage underperforms.
• Maintain a sophisticated understanding of how serious readers engage with news.
• Work with audience teams to ensure performance goals support editorial ambition.
• Monitor competitive coverage and push Newsweek to outperform, not echo.

Requirements

• 7–10+ years of experience at a high-level U.S. digital newsroom.
• Demonstrated record editing breaking news, exclusives, and enterprise reporting at speed.
• Exceptional news judgment.
• First-rate rewriting skills.
• Comfortable making consequential editorial decisions independently.
• Proven ability to handle sensitive and legally complex stories.
• Deep understanding of U.S. political, legal, and cultural dynamics.
• Calm, decisive leadership style under pressure.