Staff Photo Editor

The New York Times Company; New York (NY); On-site; USD 114,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision benefits

401(k) plan

Paid vacation

Job summary

The New York Times Company in New York, NY is seeking a versatile photo editor to join the photo department in a dual role with the Special Projects team and as a floater editor across desks. You will guide visual storytelling for news, features and enterprise, coordinating with staff and freelancers and ensuring ethical, high-quality visuals.

You will report to a Deputy Editor of Photography, work four in-office days per week in NYC with some remote flexibility, and collaborate with editors,

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in a newsroom or equivalent.
• Experience assigning and directing photojournalists in various situations.
• Expertise in handling electronic images, including copyright concerns.
• Strong technical skills with digital tools, CMS, Photoshop, PhotoMechanic, and video editing tools.

Responsibilities

• Conceive, pitch, develop, edit and pace powerful visual stories for multiple platforms.
• Maintain high standards of photography and multimedia assignment for feature, news and enterprise.
• Toggle between breaking news workflows and long-lead enterprise projects.
• Identify and onboard contributing photojournalists, maintaining ethical journalistic standards.
• Collaborate with designers, writers, editors and photographers to shape visual stories.
• Exercise strong editorial judgment with editors and legal for vetting and copyright.
• Work with diverse subjects and photographers to reach a wide audience.
• Coordinate with desk editors and security to ensure safety of photojournalists.

Skills

Photo editing

Photojournalism

Editorial judgment

Collaboration

Time management

Tools

Photoshop

PhotoMechanic

Video editing tools

Content management systems (CMS)

Social media platforms

Job description

Office: New York, NY
Department: Journalism — Editing

Job Description

The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for.

About the Role:

The Times is seeking a versatile, experienced and fast-adapting journalist and visual editor to join the photo department in a dual role working both with the special projects team and as a floater photo editor on various desks and projects as needed.

As a photo editor working with the Projects and Initiatives (P&I) team, you will collaborate with P&I editors and relevant desk editors to shape the visual approach for a variety of stories or series throughout the year. You will assign and research a wide array of news and feature photographs, working productively with staff and freelance photographers, wire services, agencies and all other sources of visuals. Projects will range across subject areas and may be visually rooted in archival photography, traditional news and documentary work, or image-making that experiments with new technology.

As a floater photo editor, you will temporarily take on photo editing roles across various desks and a wide range of beats and subject areas. Flexibility is essential, as your schedule may vary week to week and can include nights, weekends, and holidays.

You are an editorial generalist with deep curiosity, and you thrive in a collaborative environment — working productively with editors, designers, videographers and developers. You are capable of pivoting between disparate subject matters—from hard news to culture and features and long-lead enterprise—without sacrificing quality or editorial depth. Also, you bring a strong demonstrable passion for visual journalism across modern digital formats.

This is an in-office position, based in New York City and includes regular attendance in the office four days each week. There may be some flexibility to work remotely per your departmental guidance.

Responsibilities:

• Conceive, pitch, develop, edit, pace and help build powerful and innovative visual stories with attention to detail in a fast-paced newsroom.
• Maintain the highest standard of photography and multimedia assigning for feature, news and enterprise stories for all platforms including mobile, print and social.
• Seamlessly toggle between breaking news workflows and long-lead enterprise projects, recalibrating editing pace and narrative style as coverage demands.
• Identify, vet and onboard new contributing photojournalists as needed. Ensure that new contributors are versed and committed to ethical journalistic rigor, independence and integrity. Build relationships with the photographers you are directing through briefings, regular contact and feedback.
• Collaborate with designers, writers, reporters, video journalists, editors and photographers to shape ideas into visual story opportunities.
• Demonstrate strong editorial judgment, working with Times editors and legal department for all vetting, copyright, legal and ethical questions.
• Focus on working with a diverse range of subjects and photographers, keeping our global and multigenerational audience in mind.
• Coordinate with newsroom desk editors and security team members to ensure the utmost preparation, training and safety of our photojournalists in the field.
• Maintain and work within the photo budget, process/approve invoices.
• Actively contribute to photo department meetings with reports and updates of your desk's visual priorities.
• Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.
• You will report to a Deputy Editor of Photography.

Basic Qualifications:

• 5+ years experience in a newsroom or equivalent.
• Experience assigning and directing photojournalists in a variety of situations.
• Expertise in handling electronic images, photographic usage and copyright issues.
• Strong technical skills, including proficiency in digital tools and programs, including content management systems, Photoshop, PhotoMechanic, video editing tools and social media platforms.

Preferred Qualifications:

• An enthusiasm for visual journalismand current events, coupled with keen news judgment and a firm sense of journalistic ethics.
• Strong organizational, communication and collaborative abilities.
• Knowledge of Adobe Premiere.
• Experience prioritizing and managing multiple projects in fast-moving environments
• The initiative to take on and learn new technologies and tasks.
• Openness to working a flexible schedule as news demands.
• Experience making quick decisions under deadlines and a high-pressure news environment.

This position is represented by the NewsGuild of NY.

Additional Compensation and Benefits:

For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, employee stock purchase plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.

For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.

The annual base pay range for this role is between:

$113,945.85 — $115,000 USD

Candidate Use of GenAI Tools:

We’re excited to learn more about you and your experience. To keep our hiring process as fair and authentic as possible, we ask that you submit your own work and not use GenAI tools to generate substantive content during the application and interview process.

If you’re an engineering candidate, we’ll let you know what specific GenAI tools you are permitted to use for your technical assessment.

The New York Times Company is committed to being the world’s best source of independent, reliable and quality journalism. To do so, we embrace a diverse workforce that has a broad range of backgrounds and experiences across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Know Your Rights Poster is available here.

The New York Times Company will provide reasonable accommodations as required by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. Individuals seeking an accommodation for the application or interview process should email [e-mail]. Emails sent for unrelated issues, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response.

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