Senior News Editor

Key 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.

Standards, Culture & Accountability

• 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.

Audience & Competitive Awareness

• 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.

Qualifications & 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.

Pay

Salary Range: $100,000 - $115,000 commensurate with experience.