Senior Editor/Politics

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.

What you'll bring:

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.

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.