Local Editor (Koreatown, Pico Union, Westlake)

Job Description

The L.A. Local News Initiative is seeking an editor who will lead one of our community publications and join a local leadership team spearheading a significant effort to ensure all communities of Los Angeles have access to quality news and information.

The local editor will manage two-four reporters, dedicated to producing stories of high relevance and interest to local residents in Koreatown, Pico Union, and Westlake, and create a go-to primary news source for the neighborhoods in this area. The editor will be instrumental in shaping our strategy to best serve the area, including web articles, social media and other media that effectively reach our audiences on their preferred platforms. They will have specialized support in multimedia production, data journalism, social media strategy, and other centralized functions.

Our approach to community journalism builds on Boyle Heights Beat, a nationally recognized newsroom that super serves Boyle Heights and East L.A. by combining original, on-the-ground reporting with curated and collaborative content with our media partners. The editor will execute a content strategy prioritizing local information needs, based on deep listening to community members. The local editor will work closely with the initiative-wide programs, including our community engagement team and a high school student journalism program that trains and pays local youth to do high-quality reporting on their neighborhoods.

The successful candidate will have strong news judgment, a passion for serving the diverse communities of Los Angeles, and a commitment to storytelling.

Responsibilities

• Supervise four reporters serving two of our coverage areas and collaborate with others across the newsroom to identify and execute impactful community-focused journalism.
• Edit web stories, newsletters and other content for your areas of coverage, and ensure they are reflective of the voice and tone in our strategy, and meet consistent, high standards.
• Plan daily and long-term coverage in coordination with the Managing Editor, Neighborhoods. Develop weekly news budgets and maintain editorial calendars for two local publications.
• Work with LALNI leadership to set measurable targets for journalistic impact and local audience engagement, and guide your local news teams to achieve them.
• Supervise, train, and manage direct staff through coaching, mentorship, performance meetings, and ongoing feedback.
• Lead weekly editorial meetings, incorporating input from the community engagement team and student journalists and work with other news staff and student mentors to determine the assignments of the day.
• Help to cultivate, support and edit a network of community/freelance reporters
• Through consistent leadership, foster a creative, learning-oriented and productive work environment where journalists of all levels and backgrounds, including high school reporters, can develop their skills.
• Create individualized development plans for staff and training to enhance skills and foster growth.
• Understand and integrate our promise to practice diversity, equity, and inclusion in how we assign, report, edit, produce, and distribute our journalism.
• Represent the newsroom internally and externally.
• Other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements

• Strong experience in daily journalism; three years editing or equivalent experience, including experience managing the work of others.
• Experience reporting or editing in Southern California preferred.
• Experience in maintaining high journalistic standards under deadline pressure, including standards of objectivity, balance, and fairness.
• Some experience providing work direction or supervisory experience.
• Experience assigning stories and editing copy.
• Experience with digital news production and presentation.

• Strong news judgment
• Strong writing and editing essential
• Demonstrated digital production skills
• Ability to make decisions on deadline, direct coverage and communicate effectively with colleagues and supervisors
• Ability to handle multiple assignments on deadline
• Strong leadership and personnel skills
• A commitment to principles of diversity, equity and inclusion
• Ability to work well with others and to inspire and lead the staff
• Passion for building community relationships through networking and social media
• Ability to use community engagement tools/methods, crowdsourcing and digital news-gathering techniques, including curation and aggregation.
• Knowledge and experience with WordPress or similar website platform
• Commitment to public service journalism.
• Understanding of metrics, social media and SEO strategy

• Fluency in Spanish or Korean
• Experience working with diverse communities
• Multimedia production skills
• Knowledge of Los Angeles

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