Local Editor, The Stockton Record

Local Editor

The Stockton Record / recordnet.com, part of the USA TODAY Co., seeks an ambitious news leader to run one of the Central Valley's most storied print and digital mastheads and coach its dedicated staff.

You'll be physically based in Stockton and if you're the right candidate, that's the only way you'd have it. Stockton is home to some 320,000 people and is among America's most diverse cities full of vibrant culture, a global smorgasbord of food options and an endless supply of great stories. Its local government and public schools remain mired in controversy and allegations of corruption. A political operator runs a large-scale local influence network posing as news. Local journalists here have to rely on tough skin and fierce determination. There are few places where the need for professional journalism is greater.

In short, somebody could win the Pulitzer covering Stockton. It might be you and your team.

As the top local editor, you'll prioritize coaching and developing journalists as they balance daily enterprise with lighter, audience-serving coverage of food, business and things to do. You'll know how to help others bring context and clarity to their work.

You'll fearlessly defend and advance the newsroom's work and prioritize time out in the community representing the newspaper. You will drive breaking news online and have a laser focus on growing digital audience through engaging content and effective use of social media, SEO, and other tactics.

The job requires a mentor who can help reporters improve their newsgathering and writing skills, cultivate deep sourcing and take on ever-more sophisticated work. But you also have to be able to jump in and do the work helping the newsroom create relevant coverage that not only increases its reach but also drives loyalty and encourages more readers to subscribe.

The job requires a problem solver who is well-organized, can work independently and exercises solid news judgment. Collaboration and teamwork skills are a must; this local editor will work closely with an audience team to maintain a consistent flow of quality stories, visuals and other content, enforce deadlines and identify opportunities.

Dedication to transparency and accountability is key, as well as an eye for meaningful enterprise and watchdog stories with a focus on solutions.

Local editors are part of a team in Gannett's Center for Community Journalism, a nationwide leadership, editing and planning structure supporting small and mid-sized newsrooms. They may work across multiple newsrooms and even across state lines, so curiosity and commitment to remote teams and other communities is essential. The CCJ is designed to prioritize what matters most to local communities even those that don't have an on-site local editor.

The local editor reports to a group editor and supervises frontline journalists within the wider context of the CCJ.

Responsibilities:

• Boots on the ground editing for local newsrooms.
• Primary assigning, story vetting, line editing. Managing workflow to meet deadlines.
• Coaching and directly supervising front-line journalists, including regular 1:1s.
• Ensuring steady productivity around high value topics and adjusting as needed.
• Prioritizing DEI values in story selection, sourcing and hiring.
• Being the local face of the news organization for the community where based and ensuring local engagement by frontline journalists in others.
• Helping the staff hone skills in a wide range of storytelling: from real-time digital updates to narrative storytelling, employing alternative story forms and multimedia.
• Using metrics and analytics to determine how to best reach and grow the audience.
• Increasing digital audience and engagement and growing digital subscriptions.
• Assuring daily work is completed on time and efficiently, setting priorities and coordinating with colleagues.
• Receiving assignments in the form of objectives to meet goals; administering company policies that directly affect team members.
• Assigning and editing articles for context, completeness, fairness, accuracy, balance, and adherence to news values. Demonstrating strong news judgment in the selection, prioritization and editing of content.
• Writing effective digital headlines, social media posts, briefs and breaking news alerts that help attract audiences.
• Market leader duties such as office/building administration, compliance and customer service that require hands-on engagement at the local level (with Market Leader Administrators).
• Leading or coordinating coverage when local news attracts a national audience (with Group Editor, Producer/Planners, others).
• Cultivating a recruitment pipeline and screening, conducting first interviews for frontline journalists (with Group Editor, News and Talent Team, Recruiters).
• Reviewing and optimizing beat and topic assignments within local newsrooms (with Group Editor).
• Manage freelancers (with Operations Assistants).

Requirements:

• Bachelor's or master's degree in journalism or related field or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 3-5 years of relevant work experience. Management/supervisory experience.
• Proven proficiency in applying analytics to content strategy.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Exposure to deadline-driven environment.
• Exceptional planning and organizational skills.
• SEO knowledge.
• Self-motivation and self-direction.
• Strong line-editing skills.
• Strong people-management skills.
• Strong problem-solving skills.
• Creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.
• Candidates should have facility with AI and automation and experience in using it to enhance their journalism.