Deputy Editor, News Coverage

The Los Angeles Times has an opening for a deputy editor of news coverage.

This deputy will manage the day-to-day flow of breaking news and enterprise stories for the Los Angeles Times’ Metro and Breaking News teams, working with top editors to assign stories, define editorial priorities and identify agenda-setting accountability projects that will inform and engage our core Southern California readership.

They will act as a key newsroom leader, helping to oversee and manage a staff of more than 60 reporters and editors over two desks, and will be called upon to make rapid editorial decisions in a breaking news environment. This deputy will coordinate with other departments, task reporters and editors with coverage assignments, enforce deadlines and drive audience engagement. They will help mentor and develop a team of reporters and editors, and provide guidance on reporting and story development. They will also specialize in coverage of Los Angeles city and county government, assigning and editing stories.

The successful candidate will be a ravenous student of Los Angeles who will read the competition rigorously, monitor social media and follow The Times’ own coverage with the goal of spotting the seeds of investigations, explainers and enterprise stories. This deputy will bridge the gap between what the paper’s staff want to do and what the paper needs to do to inform readers and ensure its success.

A veteran journalist who understands what is required to feed the digital news beast, this deputy will be able to juggle many things at once and function as the newsroom’s ultimate traffic cop — averting story collisions, signaling newsroom resources and helping to lay the foundation for reporters and editors to do their best work.

Finally, we are looking for a happy warrior, someone very comfortable in challenging situations who has the ease and emotional intelligence to work with different editors, including those who don’t directly report to them, and can use their power of persuasion to get done what needs to be done. This will be a person who really understands what is required to execute on a specific type of story and who can get all of those elements in place, then hand them off so that others can drive them home.

Responsibilities:
• Manage the day-to-day flow of breaking news and enterprise stories in a competitive news environment, ensuring that staff meet digital and print production deadlines
• Work with top editors to assign stories, define editorial priorities and identify agenda-setting accountability projects
• Oversee coverage of Los Angeles city and county government; assign and edit stories
• Collaborate with fellow newsroom leaders to help grow readership and digital subscriptions
• Help to oversee and manage a staff of more than 60 reporters and editors over two desks
• Conduct performance reviews; help hire and assign staff and assist with scheduling
• Complete managerial tasks such as timecard approval and absence requests for direct reports
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements:
• A minimum of eight years of journalism experience, heavily weighted toward editing and assigning
• Ability to stay up to date with current events and popular trends in a fast-paced and competitive news environment
• Ability to marshal reporting forces in the face of breaking news
• Ability to identify a range of potential stories – explainers, news features, enterprise, accountability projects – and initiate their production
• Ability to foster excellent communication with peers
• Proven ability to work well in a team setting and juggle multiple tasks
• Excellent skills in line editing, combining strong news judgement, fluency in style and deep knowledge of taste and legal considerations; understanding the importance of accuracy and precision
• A nuanced understanding of audience data and analytics and a track record of using data to make informed decisions on coverage
• An ethical and inclusive approach in the workplace that promotes collaboration
• An excellent team player and effective communicator who is able to work comfortably with a wide variety of personalities and skill levels and across departments
• Versatility and adaptability, working not just across production platforms but also across subject areas

This is a management position and includes supervisory and administrative duties, as well as occasional night and weekend work. It will be based in El Segundo, Calif., with a requirement of four days per week in the office.

Qualified candidates should submit a cover letter, resume and PDF of editing samples to Deputy Managing Editor Monte Morin at the apply link.


The L.A. Times is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all qualified applicants regardless of race, ethnicit