Opinion Engagement Editor

Job Description

The opinion engagement editor is experienced journalist with strong editing and digital skills who seeks and recruits local, fresh voices from diverse perspectives and backgrounds from our communities in Lancaster County to contribute to LNP | LancasterOnline.  

The opinion engagement editor coaches and mentors community contributors to write thought-provoking commentary on life in Lancaster County and the region. The editor will also work on other engagement strategies for LNP | LancasterOnline’s Opinion and Perspective sections, which operate independently from the newsroom.  

LNP | LancasterOnline, the leading sources of local news in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is a subsidiary of LNP Media Group, which also publishes The Lititz Record Express and The Ephrata Review, and Pennon Inc., which owns and operates WITF, the NPR affiliate in Central Pennsylvania whose public radio and television broadcasts reach audiences in 19 counties. 

Job Requirements

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Recruiting: Finds and recruits talented writers from diverse backgrounds and walks of life to write for LNP | LancasterOnline.  
• Coaching and mentoring: Works the develop content ideas with network of contributors. 
• Editing: Ensures op-ed contributions from the community are thought-provoking, fair, well-researched and high-quality. 
• Audience Engagement and Community Building: Actively engages with audiences who respond to our work via letters to the editor or op-eds, fostering meaningful conversations around local issues.  
• Digital growth: Pitches new digital products or features to engage with audiences and communities we do not reach now.  

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS 

• Perform all supervisory and leadership responsibilities associated with the newsroom, including motivating, coaching, training, appraising, rewarding and disciplining, and addressing complaints and resolving issues of the employees. Also, as part of a hiring team, will be responsible for interviewing and hiring new talent. 
• Supervise and facilitate work that is fair, balanced, accurate, compelling, and makes a positive impact in the communities we serve. 
• Foster a newsroom work environment that champions excellent journalism, creativity, collaboration, teamwork and a sense of fulfillment. 
• Create and/or contribute to content as needed. 

In addition to the essential functions listed above, the employee is expected to exercise honesty, integrity and respect with all clients and co-workers, maintain a professional appearance and demeanor, demonstrate a positive attitude, communicate effectively with co-workers and clients, work with accuracy, efficiency, and attention to detail, respect the work environment and keep it as neat and clean as possible, and exercise initiative to learn new skills and tasks and to help co-workers when possible.   

QUALIFICATIONS 

• Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, related field or equivalent experience.   
• At least 3-5 years’ experience in administration and supervision in a newsroom environment. 
• At least 5-10 years’ social media experience (content creation, publication, analytics, paid campaigns). 
• Proven ability to lead a team. 
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.   
• Ability to work and collaborate in a mixed-media team environment, to multitask in a deadline-driven newsroom and to adapt constructively and creatively to change. 
• A firm grasp of current events particularly as they relate to LNP's Lancaster County area audience. 
• A keen interest in and knowledge of LNP competitors and partners. 
• Thorough familiarity with journalism and libel law. 

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