Local Accountability Team Editor

The Sacramento Bee is seeking an experienced editor who will oversee a team of regional watchdog reporters charged with attacking the news of the day with urgency and meeting subscribers’ demand for real-time news about topics shaping their daily lives. The successful candidate will be a proven newsroom leader, adept at showing reporters how to mine stories from government meeting agendas, court records, social media posts and public records requests. This editor also will put community engagement at the heart of this team’s mission, with journalists hitting the streets, listening to residents and creating coverage that reflects real concerns.

Sacramento is home to about 536,000 people. About 2 million more live within its metropolitan statistical area, including hundreds of thousands in communities such as Elk Grove, Roseville, Folsom and Davis.

Four of the five watchdog reporters on the Local Accountability Team will cover at least one large municipality (about 100,000 residents) and school district (about 50,000 students), writing daily stories of varying lengths, from breaking news to quick-turn enterprise and investigations. A fifth team member, a regional reporter, will help synthesize this coverage and do original reporting on issues impacting Greater Sacramento, including homelessness, business development and residents’ quality of life. If a big story emerges in a particular community or region, members will work together to swarm it.

This editor will work closely with other editors and our visuals team to make sure our coverage is people-focused, and reaches the people who need it most. This includes everything from interacting with readers through live and virtual events to developing local newsletter and news-alert strategies.

McClatchy Media’s editorial leaders are expected to seek out and embrace the ethical use of artificial intelligence and other automation to enhance and elevate our work, create supplemental content and build efficiencies that free our journalists to focus on high-quality content production. Empowering staff to learn and employ audience-focused approaches to journalism is key to success in this role, as is using and championing AI in ways that build trust in its capabilities.

What you’ll bring :

• An ability to shepherd journalists “to meet audiences where they are” both geographically and technologically – and steer them to write about high-impact topics that engage our subscribers and create new ones;
• Strong writing and editing skills, excellent news judgment and a demonstrated ability to “see the story” that is going to matter to readers;
• Experience in obtaining government payrolls, city and school district contracts, and political campaign records, while also digging into crime, real estate trends and pocketbook issues that affect everyday people;
• An understanding of digital publishing, online metrics and reader engagement, and how to use these tools to elevate projects and engagement;
• A commitment to representing the diversity of our community in coverage and staff;
• An ability to work across teams, communicating early and often with all newsroom stakeholders;
• A track record for innovation, learning and using new skills and technologies, especially AI;
• Leadership skills that bring the best out of our journalists alike, and have fun in the process;
• A willingness to represent The Sacramento Bee in community events or live journalism initiatives.

Requirements : A degree in journalism or related field and a minimum of eight years of experience in a digitally oriented newsroom is required. Editing experience is preferred, but this role could also be a fit for a senior reporter who is considering transitioning to an editing role.

To apply , include a persuasive cover letter, your resume and four to six examples of high-quality work by you or teams you’ve managed.

The anticipated base pay range for this position is between $80,000 and $95,000 a year. Individual base pay may vary within that range depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience and relevant education.

What we’ll bring :

About the McClatchy Media Company

The McClatchy Media Company features a portfolio of vibrant and trusted news, lifestyle, entertainment brands and a robust retail distribution network. Our iconic local news brands such as the Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star and The Sacramento Bee, have collectively earned a total of 57 Pulitzer prizes and are complemented by popular lifestyle and entertainment brands such as Us Weekly and Woman’s World. Together, our brands reach more than 100 million unique visitors a month, The McClatchy Retail Network, our distribution and logistics arm, offers delivery to more than 56,000 retail locations weekly.

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Salary / Compensation : $85,000 - $105,000 per year

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