Senior News Editor

Senior News Editor, Newsweek.com  

Location: United States (Remote or Hybrid in NYC)

Position Overview: 
The Senior Editor is a senior operational authority in Newsweek’s U.S. newsroom, responsible for setting the editorial bar and enforcing it relentlessly. This role demands editors who can run a national news desk at full throttle—making high-stakes editorial decisions in real time, rewriting aggressively, and delivering journalism that competes head-to-head with the strongest U.S. newsrooms. Reporting to the US News Director, the Senior Editor owns daily execution of the U.S. news report, turning strategy into journalism that is fast, authoritative, analytically sharp, and unmistakably worth a reader’s time. This is a role for editors who expect to touch the most important stories themselves, not manage them from a distance.

This is a full-time position working 3:00 pm-12:00 am ET five days a week, including one weekend shift. This position may be worked remotely anywhere in the United States.

Key Responsibilities: 

Desk Command & Editorial Judgment

• Run the U.S. news desk during peak coverage hours, making final calls on framing, prioritization, and play.
• Distinguish decisively between stories that advance public understanding and those that merely follow the pack.
• Kill weak or redundant stories quickly—and demand better replacements.

Elite Editing & Rewrite Authority

• Deliver first-class framing on the most competitive national stories, identifying where Newsweek can add clarity, originality, or analytical value.
• Rewrite without hesitation: leads, nut grafs, headlines, structure, sourcing, and tone.
• Take raw field notes, transcripts, interviews, and exclusives and turn them into clean, analytical, tightly argued journalism.
• Perform rapid second-day and rolling rewrites that materially improve stories as facts evolve.

Breaking News & Hands-On Reporting

• Operate as a desk reporter when the moment demands it—making calls, confirming facts, chasing documents, and closing gaps.
• Personally intervene on high-stakes or sensitive stories where precision and judgment are critical.

Standards, Culture & Accountability

• Hold yourself and your team to elite newsroom standards.
• Provide blunt, constructive feedback and demand improvement.
• Mentor reporters and junior editors into sharper thinkers and stronger journalists.
• Take ownership when coverage underperforms.

Audience & Competitive Awareness

• Maintain a sophisticated understanding of how serious readers engage with news.
• Work with audience teams to ensure performance goals support editorial ambition.
• Monitor competitive coverage and push Newsweek to outperform, not echo.

Qualifications & Requirements:  

• 7–10+ years of experience at a high-level U.S. digital newsroom.
• Demonstrated record editing breaking news, exclusives, and enterprise reporting at speed.
• Exceptional news judgment. 
• First-rate rewriting skills.
• Comfortable making consequential editorial decisions independently.
• Proven ability to handle sensitive and legally complex stories.
• Deep understanding of U.S. political, legal, and cultural dynamics.
• Calm, decisive leadership style under pressure. 

Salary Range: $100,000 - $115,000 commensurate with experience.  

• Highlight your proficiency with newsroom CMS platforms (e.g., WordPress VIP, Adobe Experience Manager) and analytics tools (Chartbeat, Google Analytics) by linking to a short case study where you used them to increase article engagement ≥ 20% in a remote setting.
• Curate a “digital newsroom” portfolio that includes 3‑5 published pieces showing headline crafting, SEO optimization, and multimedia integration (infographics, short video embeds); embed live URLs and add brief annotations describing your editorial decisions and the impact on traffic.
• In your cover letter and interview, reference Newsweek’s 90‑year legacy by citing a recent feature you admired, explain how you would modernize its angle for today’s audience, and propose one data‑driven story idea that aligns with the site’s “global perspective” and U.S. readership.
• Prepare to discuss your remote collaboration workflow: list the exact tools you use for editorial calendars (Trello/Asana), real‑time editing (Google Docs with comments), and cross‑time‑zone communication (Slack, Zoom); share screenshots or a brief video tour if asked for a work‑sample demo.
• When negotiating compensation, research the median senior editor salary for remote U.S. newsrooms (≈ $115k‑$140k) and be ready to justify a higher offer by quantifying your past results (e.g., “ drove a 35% lift in newsletter CTR”) and the value of your multi‑platform expertise (print, web, video).