Full Job Description

The State newspaper seeks a senior editor for politics to lead our team of reporters covering the South Carolina state capital in Columbia.

The editor must have the highest journalism ethics and sound judgment; extraordinary skills as an editor; a commitment to understanding issues his or her team reports on; the ability to coach and collaborate with reporters and other editors to achieve high-quality journalism; a deep understanding of and enthusiasm for the modern, digital news ecosystem; a firm grasp of the art and the science of reaching digital readers through search, social media and other distribution channels; a commitment to defending the values of the First Amendment, holding leaders and institutions accountable, and speaking truth to power.

The editor plays a crucial part in coaching reporters to put our readers at the center of everything we do. Our future lies in digital, and the editor will lead his or her team to focus squarely on serving the measurable needs and interests of digital readers. This will require a passion for reaching digital readers and growing digital readership as well as the ability to ignite that passion in others; the regular use of readership analytics and other data to inform decision-making; and a commitment to and skill in producing exclusive, high-impact journalism.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Use strong editing skills and excellent news judgment to help shape our journalism and get it in front of digital readers.
• Work with reporters and other editors to develop smart short-, mid- and long-term coverage plans that are essential to our readers.
• Directly supervise reporters and help them build key digital audience skills. Work collaboratively across the newsroom, region and McClatchy to help develop a high-performing
• Be innovative. We’re seeking an editor who can bring new ideas about how to grow our digital audience and serve our readers.
• Use analytics tools to determine effectiveness of strategies and revise as needed to drive our top-level audience goals.
• Use problem-solving skills to negotiate hurdles and identify solutions to stay on course with projects and strategies.
• Coach and mentor staff for improved performance and progress on individual skills, career goals and newsroom and company priorities.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Skill and versatility as an editor and a writer, including the ability to shape everything from breaking news briefs to longform magazine-style pieces in a way that best serves and engages the broadest possible audience.
• Sound news judgment, and a demonstrated ability to “see the story” that is going to matter to readers and to anticipate reader interests before they exist.
• Excellent journalism ethics.
• An interest in and aptitude for storytelling using a broad range of media, including the written word, video, photography, podcasts and other audio, and whatever comes next.

Preferred:

• College degree
• 3+ years’ experience leading reporters and directing coverage.

To Apply: Please include samples of work that you have written or coached