News Editor

We’re looking for a versatile news editor with excellent news sense and strong editing chops. You’ll lead our team of two reporters and freelancers to tell important, hard-hitting, timely and engaging stories about the fifth-largest city in the country and a state capitol where local politics often plays out on the national stage. You’ll join a small but scrappy newsroom that’s been telling the stories of a diverse and booming region since 1970.

Key Responsibilities

Manage two full-time news reporters, along with freelance reporters and photographers, to produce a range of stories. Our stories include breaking news and trending topics that need to be written quickly to enterprise, investigative or feature stories that could take a week or more to report. You’ll also oversee the creation of guides and explainers about local and regional events and issues.

Efficiently edit stories for structure, line editing and copy editing so they read beautifully, clearly and concisely and are free of factual and grammatical errors and typos. Ensure that care has been given to the best possible use of headlines, photography and art. Make sure that stories adhere to our style, SEO best practices and social media strategies.

Collaborate with the editor-in-chief on planning news coverage and the daily story budget.

Manage the editorial workflow for the news vertical, assigning stories to reporters and freelancers, monitoring deadlines. ensuring a regular cadence of story output and balance, and meeting goals for volume and traffic.

Write news stories as needed.

Meet with reporters on a weekly basis. Maintain regular contact with freelancers and recruit new ones.

Coach reporters and freelancers through any part of the pitching, reporting, writing, editing or production process. Deliver feedback to them on their work.

Collaborate with other parts of the newsroom, our social media and product teams, and occasionally with editors in our newsrooms in Denver, Dallas and Miami.

Build broad and diverse relationships so that sources, story ideas, research and reporting reflect the diverse communities of the Valley.

Participate in our annual Best of Phoenix issue and other projects during the year.

Who You Are

A journalist with 5 plus years in a newsroom with at least 3 years of full-time experience managing journalists and editing breaking, daily and enterprise stories.

A working knowledge of — or eagerness to immerse yourself in — the character, people, politics and culture of Phoenix and the Valley.

A curious person interested in learning about our coverage areas and who stays current on Phoenix and topics related to our coverage areas, including politics, public health, criminal justice, cannabis, government, labor and the environment.

A journalist with a track record of crafting breaking stories on deadline with crisp writing and the ability to tell stories about people impacted by what you’re covering.

Strong interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal.

A highly-organized, resourceful and proactive self-starter committed to accuracy and meeting deadlines.

Experience with open records requests.

Fluency in Spanish is a plus, as is experience in a marginalized community.

Benefits

Compensation range of $65,000 to $75,000.

401(k) with company match.

Medical, dental, vision and life insurance.

10 paid holidays, 14 days of paid time off, 5 paid sick days per year.

Hybrid work policy based in our central Phoenix office.

To Apply

We’re committed to building an inclusive newsroom that reflects the people and communities we serve across the Valley. We encourage members of underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities.

Think you’ve got what it takes? Email a cover letter, resume and links for up to three stories you reported or edited, along with a few sentences explaining the backstory of each piece and your role, to PHX-news-editor@voicemediagroup.com. Please put News Editor in the subject line.