Senior Story Desk Editor

TEGNA, Inc.; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 39,950 - 49,593; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical plans

401(k)

Teladoc & mental health

PTO + holidays

Job summary

TEGNA Inc. in Sacramento is seeking a Senior Story Desk Editor to lead the unified Story Management Desk and drive editorial excellence across platforms.

You will oversee breaking-news coverage, develop local story opportunities, and mentor editors while ensuring accuracy, speed and engaging digital content. This role demands strong writing, editorial judgment, and experience with CMS systems and analytics.

Qualifications

• At least three years of journalism experience in a local newsroom.
• Strong news judgment and the ability to make fast editorial decisions under pressure.
• Excellent writing skills for accurate, compelling content quickly.
• Experience with newsroom systems and CMS tools.
• Organizational skills to manage competing priorities in a deadline-driven environment.
• Collaborative, solutions-focused mindset in a team environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Help cover breaking news with accuracy, urgency, and balance.
• Identify local and regional story opportunities via sourcing and trends.
• Create, edit, and optimize content across digital platforms.
• Use analytics/tools to inform coverage and grow audiences.
• Support story desk editors, producers, and photojournalists.
• Edit content for grammar, AP style, and ethical standards.
• Train and mentor junior editors as needed.
• Uphold TEGNA’s journalistic standards across platforms.

Skills

Journalism experience

News judgment

Writing skills

CMS tools

Organizational skills

Collaborative mindset

Education

Bachelor's degree in journalism or communications

Tools

Tableau

CrowdTangle

Google Analytics

Job description

TEGNA Inc. (NYSE: TGNA) helps people thrive in their local communities by providing the trusted local news and services that matter most. With 64 television stations in 51 U.S. markets, TEGNA reaches more than100 million people monthly across the web, mobile apps, streaming, and linear television. Together, we are building a sustainable future for local news.

KXTV-ABC10, the TEGNA-owned affiliate in Sacramento, is transforming the way we gather and present news, and we’re looking for a SeniorStory Desk Editor to embrace our transition to the newsroom of the future.

This role combines the skills of an experienced assignment editor, digital content producer and newsroom leader. The Senior Story Desk Editor helps drive daily editorial execution across all platforms with a focus on digital, social and streaming and ensures our content connects authentically with audiences.

As a Senior Story Desk Editor, you will be part of the Story Management Desk (SMD), helping lead a unified desk that replaces the legacy assignment and digital desks. The SMD model ensures a single, streamlined workflow for planning, producing, and curating stories across platforms.

The Senior Story Desk Editor will support the newsroom with coverage of breaking news, planning of major news events and curating content across platforms. This position requires decisive editorial judgment, strong writing skills, and the ability to thrive under tight deadlines. You will collaborate with news management to deliver engaging content, analyze digital trends, help in developing best practices on all platforms, and train story desk editors.

This position requires decisive editorial judgment, strong writing skills, and the ability to thrive under tight deadlines.

Role Summary

As a Senior Story Desk Editor, you will be part of the Story Management Desk (SMD), helping lead a unified desk that replaces the legacy assignment and digital desks. The SMD model ensures a single, streamlined workflow for planning, producing, and curating stories across platforms.

Responsibilities

• Help with newsroom coverage during breaking news, ensuring accuracy, urgency, and balance.
• Findunique local and regional story opportunities through sourcing and market trend analysis, resulting in exclusive, high-performing stories and measurable audience impact.
• Ability to independently create, edit, andoptimizecontent across all digital platforms — including websites, mobile verticals, streaming products, and social platforms — with a focus on engagement and conversion.
• Demonstrate ability to execute audience growth strategies through a deep understanding of content analytics and tracking tools (including Tableau, CrowdTangle, Google Analytics, and other performance dashboards).
• Able tofindactionable insights and adjust coverage plans in real time.
• Provide digital support for story desk editors, MSJs, producers, and photojournalists.
• Edit content for accuracy, grammar, AP style, digital best practices, fairness, and ethical considerations.
• Use available metrics to inform coverage and improve audience reach.
• Support newsroom operations, coverage planning and training as needed.
• Uphold TEGNA’s journalistic standards and values across all platforms,

Requirements

• At least three years of journalism experience in a local newsroom, digital production, or related role.
• Strong news judgment and the ability to make fast, sound editorial decisions under pressure.
• Excellent writing skills, with the ability to produce accurate and compelling content quickly.
• Experience with newsroom systems, CMS tools.
• Organizational skills to manage competing priorities in a deadline-driven environment.
• A collaborative, solutions-focused mindset that thrives in a team environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or equivalent experience.

Pay Range

$28.85 - $36.06 USD

TEGNA offers comprehensive benefits designed to safeguard the physical, mental and financial health of our employees and their families. TEGNA offers two medical plan options for full and part-time employees through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, as well as access to dental and eye care coverage; fertility, surrogacy and adoption assistance; disability and life insurance.

Our 401(k) program offers full, part-time and temporary employees the opportunity to contribute 1% - 80% of their pay on a pre-tax basis to TEGNA’s 401(k). Contributions made up to the first 4% of pay are eligible for a 100% match from the company and are 100% vested from day one.

Regardless of participation in TEGNA medical plans, ALL employees and their eligible family members receive nine free virtual doctor’s appointments with a physician through Teladoc, and 12 free annual therapy sessions with a licensed clinician through Spring Health.

TEGNA offers a generous Paid Time Off (PTO) benefit as well as nine paid holidays per year.

* Some jobs are covered by a collective bargaining agreement and thus some or all of the benefits described herein may not apply. For example, some newsroom bargaining unit employees receive health and retirement benefits under plans administered by the union.

EEO statement

TEGNA Inc. is a proud equal opportunity employer. We areproud to be an equal opportunity employer, hiring and developing individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences to add to our collaborative culture. We value and consider applications from all qualified candidates without regard to actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, disability, medical condition, enrollment in college or vocational school, political affiliation, military or veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law. TEGNA will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with disabilitiesin accordance with applicable law. If you are in need of an accommodation in order to submit your application, please email [e-mail]