Senior Digital Editor, LAist

Your Role:

LAist is seeking an experienced digital editor to polish stories for LAist.com and manage story selection on our homepage to ensure our journalism reaches the widest possible audience. This editor should be fluent in AP style and will also work with the newsroom to evolve and adhere to our Dialogue style guide.

Strong news judgment and the ability to prioritize are critical for this role. You will have demonstrated experience optimizing online content for various platforms, an eye for what grabs readers' attention, and confidence in making copy edits and changes as needed. You will also work closely with our audience engagement team. This editor plays a lead role in coaching and giving feedback to editors and reporters based on common mistakes or optimization steps. You will also help identify digital-first content that will work for broadcast and on-demand audio.

We're seeking someone who will embrace our efforts to explain L.A. with content that makes complex issues easier to understand. You will be expected to understand and embrace our goal to meet people's specific information needs, a practice we refer to as meeting a Mode, and help make sure more of our stories are hitting that goal.

This is a fast-paced job, requiring the ability to make decisions quickly and to move copy - particularly when news breaks - with speed. You should deeply understand web production and have an eye for presentation; creativity is welcome! We're looking for someone who can encourage best practices across the newsroom when it comes to how we execute and present our stories. This role reports to our managing editor for daily news.

Expected Compensation Range: $121,000 - $125,000/per year. The exact compensation rate is determined by experience and education related to the role, organizational compensation structure, and internal equity.

Application Deadline: Open until position is filled.

Location: Hybrid, Pasadena, CA.

Your Responsibilities:

• Edit articles and other published material with text (newsletters, videos, photo captions, graphics, databases) for grammar, syntax, and style, as well as for formatting, SEO, and legality.
• Assist with visual requests as needed.
• Execute the organization's strategy to grow a loyal digital audience for our news organization under the direction of the editor.
• Understand and deploy our promise to practice diversity, equity, and inclusion in how we assign, report, edit, produce, and distribute our journalism.
• Ensure that all copies adhere to established guidelines.
• Research the accuracy of information, as needed.
• Manage multiple requests and deadlines.
• Communicate in a timely manner.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in journalism or related field, or equivalent work experience
• 5+ years of copyediting experience
• Expertise in fact-checking stories for accuracy, context, and proper attribution
• Highly skilled in line editing and headline writing
• Expertise in AP style
• Working knowledge of social media
• Sharp eye for detail
• Astute news judgment

Required Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities:

• Outstanding line editing skills
• Knowledge and fluency with AP style and usage and willingness and ability to be an expert on our newsroom's Dialogue style guide
• Advanced knowledge of SEO, particularly for headlines
• Resourcefulness and ability to problem-solve
• Strong communication skills, with a quick response time
• Ability to execute multiple assignments on deadline
• Ability to work well in a team setting and multitask in a deadline-driven environment
• Familiarity with content management systems
• Strong news judgment and interest in local and regional news
• Ability to use analytics to drive decision-making
• Experience working with content management systems

Reporting to this Position: None

Physical Demands and Working Conditions:

• Must be able to work shifts of early morning, late evening hours, or weekends, as necessary.
• Must be able to perform the essential duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Physical Demands:
  
  • Required to move about in an office environment and sit for extended periods.
  • Frequent use of hands for data entry/keystrokes and simple grasping.
• Working Conditions:
  
  • Moderate noise level
  • May be eligible to work in a hybrid office/remote work arrangement

Southern California Public Radio (LAist 89.3/LAist.com/LAist Studios) is diverse in race, ethnicity, language, culture, social class, national origin, religious and political belief, age, ability, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation in addition to other markers protected by law.

At SCPR, we strive to create an inclusive environment where we all feel pride in who we are and what we do. We are encouraged to show up as we are - always embracing and recognizing that our diversity is what brings us together. Our fundamental commitment to diversity:

• Enriches SCPR and provides an atmosphere in which all human potential is valued
• Promotes learning through interactions among people of different backgrounds and many perspectives, and
• Enables the organization to prepare all employees to promote social responsibility, equity, freedom, and productive citizenship in a global society

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We are committed to hiring a breadth of diverse professionals and encourage you to apply.