News Editor

Job Description

Position: News Editor

Hours: 50-120 hours / month

Employment type: 1099 independent contractor

Pay: Hourly, $40

Location: Fully remote

Unicorn Riot, an educational non-profit media organization that’s reported on grassroots social movements and produced independent alternative media for over 11 years, is expanding our editorial team. We’re seeking an experienced Editor who can help direct our journalists in generating, reporting, and publishing stories that align with our mission and areas of coverage. For more about Unicorn Riot visit our About Us page.

About the role:

We’re working to grow and restructure our editorial team, and hiring a savvy editor is among our first steps in making those goals a reality. As we work to increase our output and improve the quality of our coverage, having someone at the helm who knows news, can manage multiple tasks, keep a team on track, has a familiarity with our topics and areas of coverage, and can offer constructive criticism with an eye for improvement is a top priority.

We’re primarily a video-first outlet, with an emphasis on visual coverage. Editors who apply should be familiar with visual news ethics, practices, and production and be prepared to work across media ranging from natural and voiceover news packages, social media content, short-form documentary and occasionally long-form video production. Editors should be comfortable offering feedback on story structure, sourcing, content, accuracy and grammar whether in video or written form.

The qualifications listed below are a good-faith effort to explain the general scope of work we need done, but specific tasks and responsibilities undertaken as part of this job may change as you progress in the role.

Goals:

• Oversee Unicorn Riot’s editorial output across media
• Ensure all media is up to Unicorn Riot’s editorial quality standards
• Provide direction and support for UR’s journalists throughout the editorial process – from idea to publication

Job Requirements

Responsibilities:

• Assess newsworthiness and suggest/assign stories to journalists, and set the editorial tone for stories/projects (i.e. recommend topics and angles for journalists to explore)
• Oversee journalistic work, including editing written and visual work for substance and standards
• Review and edit all original editorial work, including articles, videos, audio reports/podcasts, commentary and analysis for accuracy (factual and contextual), coherence, structure, substance, editorial and ethical standards
• Join in-the-field work and reporting stories at your discretion or on an as-needed basis
• Facilitate weekly editorial meetings to discuss and assess in-progress and potential stories
• Guide journalists and offer support as needed to complete reporting
• Oversee publication the processes including layout and formatting in our WordPress backend

Qualifications:

• At least 2 years experience as an editor or journalist at a news organization or in a similar field
• Demonstrated ability to understand news writing and story structure and provide feedback to improve the substance, style and content of a story
• Strong practical understanding of journalistic ethics and best practices
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English. Being multilingual is helpful but not necessary.
• Familiarity with and proficiency in AP style
• Ability to work at least 12 hours a week in a fully remote position
• Familiarity with CMS back end (WordPress preferred)
• Basic knowledge of HTML tags and image preparation for web publication

We understand some strong candidates may not meet every criteria listed here. But more than checking off skills on a list we’re interested in finding someone who’s passionate, driven, and committed to our mission of providing independent coverage on topics that often go unreported. If that’s you, please reach out and send us your application.

TO APPLY: Please submit your resume and a cover letter to info@unicornriot.ninja with the subject line “Application for Editor position – [Your Name].” In your cover letter, please strive to show how your skills and background can help our organization meet its mission. The position will be open until filled.

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