Editor

About the role

The Mercury News and East Bay Times are seeking an experienced editor to lead coverage of the East Bay region. The East Bay encompasses major cities and small communities, ranging from deep wealth to deep inequality, with ongoing issues such as housing fights, public safety debates, political shifts, and educational challenges.

Responsibilities

• Manage and coach journalists with a range of experience, helping them produce urgent daily coverage, strong enterprise, accountability stories, explainers, and centerpiece work for digital and print audiences.
• Provide strong, thoughtful editing on deadline, with a focus on accuracy, fairness, clarity, and impact.
• Set coverage priorities for the East Bay, including breaking news, public safety, local government, housing, education, courts, transportation, politics, and community life.
• Work with reporters to develop enterprise ideas, sharpen story framing, and identify follow-up coverage that moves beyond incremental updates.
• Collaborate with editors across the newsroom, as well as visual, digital, and audience teams, to ensure our strongest work reaches readers in the most effective way.
• Use audience data and newsroom priorities to guide coverage decisions without losing sight of public-service journalism and reader trust.
• Plan coverage across platforms, including digital, newsletters, social, print, and front-page presentations.

Requirements

• At least three years of editing experience, preferably in a daily newsroom.
• Experience with Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace, and WordPress.
• Experience with analytics tools and digital publishing systems is a plus.
• Excellent news judgment and the ability to make quick, sound decisions under deadline pressure.
• A strong record of coaching reporters, improving stories, and developing ambitious coverage.
• Strong organizational, planning, and communication skills.
• A competitive mindset and a collaborative leadership style.
• Comfort with audience metrics and digital publishing strategy.
• A commitment to accuracy, fairness, accountability, and serving diverse Bay Area communities.
• A bachelor’s degree in journalism or a related field is preferred, though equivalent experience will be considered.
• In our diverse region, fluency in a second language is a plus.

Benefits & Compensation

• Salary range: $80,000 - $90,000 +
• Cell stipend and mileage reimbursement.
• Company offers a variety of benefits including medical, dental, life, and disability insurance, 401k, and paid time off and select paid holidays.

Who We Are

The Bay Area News Group is the Bay Area's top source for local news, reaching more than 5 million people weekly through a powerful combination of print and digital products. Publications include The Mercury News, serving Silicon Valley and the Peninsula; the East Bay Times, serving Oakland, Walnut Creek, Pleasanton, and the rest of the East Bay; and more than 20 weekly publications. We connect with a diverse and engaged audience, offering a premier local news report and comprehensive advertising and marketing solutions across web, mobile, and print platforms.

How to Apply

Please submit an online application along with your resume for this position here. In addition to your resume, please include a cover letter. The closing date is continuous recruitment until the position is filled. Conditions of employment include a background check, MVR, valid driver’s license, and occasional in-person training sessions/meetings. The employee will be responsible for their own transportation and may be required to work various hours for coverage outside of normal business hours.