Political Editor

The Sacramento Bee is seeking a strategic-minded editor to lead our Capitol Bureau, a group of hard-charging reporters who cover the policies and politics of the largest state in the nation and the fifth-largest economy in the world.

We’re looking for a skilled editor with politics experience, who will help ensure that our Capitol coverage is first and best – and can handle everything from breaking news to deep enterprise. The ideal candidate will excel under deadline pressure, take a hands-on approach to editing and coaching, and be comfortable using analytics to better understand how to serve readers. We want candidates who embrace a spirit of experimentation to improve our journalism and expand our reach.

Every challenge confronting California today comes through the Capitol: inequality, housing, climate change, criminal justice, racism, COVID and more. Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic leaders in the Legislature have once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to address those challenges and more with the state pulling in back-to-back budget surpluses running in the tens of billions of dollars. We’re looking for an editor who can shape coverage that interprets the Capitol and holds elected officials accountable for their decisions.

The anticipated base pay range for this position is between $110,000 and $140,000 annually. Individual base pay may vary within that range depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, relevant education, department equity, training, geography, and local wage and hours laws.

Responsibilities include:

Sharing a vision and setting priorities that maximize our journalism’s impact and interest.
Editing journalism, from breaking news to enterprise, for all platforms.
Coaching reporters on a wide range of skills, from real-time updates to source development to investigative reporting.
Creating a political calendar and long-range story budget.
Setting audience and development goals for reporters and strategizing on creative approaches to meet them.
Using metrics and analytics to increase digital audience and engagement and grow digital subscriptions.

What you'll bring:

A track record of experimenting and iterating, quickly and often.
Strong word editing and organizational skills.
Familiarity with digital planning and packaging.
Excellent news judgment and journalism ethics.
Strong collaborative instincts and a love of teamwork.
Comfort with a job that will be demanding, fast-paced and constantly evolving.

And if you are a great candidate for this position but don’t check all of these boxes, we’d encourage you to apply – and use a cover letter to highlight other skills you bring to the table.