Editor, Real Time News - Kansas City or Fort Worth
McClatchy is looking for an Editor to join our Real-Time News team, which tracks what people are talking about right now and anticipates what they will be talking about next.
Location: This position is based in either Kansas City MO or Fort Worth TX
Real-Time News Editors are the fastest members of these high-speed teams. They know when and how to accelerate – and when to slow down. The Editor leads a team of reporters who find and write lightning-quick stories on the news that is driving the conversation online – or will be driving it a few minutes from now. It could be the latest big development in the weather outside your window, a breaking scandal in the local sports world, or a shark photo that people cannot stop sharing on Facebook – all in the same hour.
The Editor quarterbacks these stories and coaches real-time reporters so their work is fast, accurate, and loaded with all the audience ammunition in the arsenal – an irresistible headline, impeccable SEO, and writing that makes people want to read it. The editor knows real-time and reporting equally well and is expert in how to combine the two for great stories with great reach.
The most compelling candidates will have:
- The ability to edit and write quickly, accurately and well;
- Solid news judgment and excellent journalism ethics;
- An intuitive sense of what’s important and interesting;
- A good grasp of what drives interest on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms;
- Ability to optimize stories to capitalize on social media engagement and traffic;
- A strong entrepreneurial spirit, deep curiosity and extremely high energy;
- A collaborative style that works comfortably across teams spread throughout the office and company.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Using CrowdTangle and other tools to identify stories that people will be talking about
- Developing strong story angles quickly with reporters, so that they are not simply duplicating what’s been published elsewhere, but are finding something new and interesting that will pop
- Tracking local SEO trends in close coordination with the national SEO team to find and optimize local real-time stories and all SEO elements in them (meta title, keywords, summary)
- Following trending stories published by the team to see what people are saying about them on social media and seeking follow-up possibilities
- Mining analytics in real-time with Chartbeat or similar tools, and daily and weekly with Adobe Analytics and other tools for audience data that offer insights into each reporter’s stories and the team’s trends
- Collaborating with video producers to identify story opportunities and to ensure that video rights are secured whenever possible so that there is video with all stories, ideally in our player
- Identifying when to find original sourcing (e.g. police reports, lawsuits, published research) and when to make a phone call for confirmation
- Ensuring reporters understand best practices for aggregation, sourcing and attribution so that stories accurately represent the material’s origins
- Ensuring reporters understand best practices for use of images so they are used fairly and legally
- Teaching reporters how to self-edit and how to edit others
- Communicating about tracking toward monthly traffic goals
- Working closely with growth editors to ensure that real-time stories are posted on social channels
- Leading breaking news so that the team is routinely publishing in one minute as soon as information is confirmed, with one or two sentences and then iterating every few minutes until news quiets or the story is handed off to another reporter
- Coordinating with the newsroom during breaking news so all appropriate people know after an initial story has been published, and are ready to feed information and/or take a handoff.
- Collaborating on share text to accompany the story on Facebook
- Communicating on Slack continuously with your team, your newsroom, other real-time teams in your region, the national real-time team and the McClatchy News Network to coordinate and communicate so that there is no duplication or confusion over who is doing what
- Submitting stories to local and national aggregators (e.g. Drudge, Fark, Reddit, others)
REQUIREMENTS
- Bachelor’s degree
- Professional journalism experience
- Experience leading newsroom reporting teams
- Demonstrated strong news judgment
- Excellent writing and editing skills
- Facility with social media and SEO
- Quick study of CMS and storytelling tools
- Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects, to consistently meet deadlines and be able to successfully move quickly from one task to the next
- Ability to think tactically as well as strategically and be able to transition theory to practice in a short amount of time
- Ability to work remotely
PREFERRED:
- Valid driver’s license
McClatchy is both a leading Digital Media Company and Publisher offering news, information and marketing solutions in many of the nation's best markets. Every day, our talented employees create and deliver award-winning journalism and advertising solutions to growing audiences and businesses. Our digital and print publication lineup includes iconic brands such as the Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star, The Sacramento Bee, The Charlotte Observer, The (Raleigh) News and Observer, and the (Fort Worth) Star-Telegram, to name a few.
McClatchy is headquartered in Sacramento, California and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MNI.
McClatchy is a proud equal opportunity employer. We are a drug-free, EEO employer committed to a diverse workforce. We will consider all qualified candidates regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity, family responsibilities, disability, education, political affiliation or veteran status.