Executive Editor, Chron

Executive Editor 

Job Description:

Chron, a Houston-based, digital-first Texas news site, is seeking a new Executive Editor to run its 25-person newsroom.

 

The ideal candidate must be a newsroom leader who can think big picture about what Chron should be as a brand, and be able to inspire the newsroom to win every day in support of that editorial vision. This hire must be a tenacious editor who enjoys the pace of news and the thrill of a good narrative, and be driven to make Chron a must-read for Texas culture stories that everyone will talk about. In a world of breaking and trending news, this person should be able to quickly envision a fresh take on a story that no one else has and that the Chron audience wants to read and share.

 

This hire must understand Houston and Texas in their bones: what makes locals tick, who the personalities, places and businesses are that fire people up and get them talking. Understand how to assign and shape stories that dig into Texas culture and reflect voice, sound reporting and have a sense of fun. Keep up on what others outside of Texas are saying about the Lone Star state and be able to call out national hot takes that don’t sit right locally. 

 

This hire needs to understand audience and have past success at, and a deep understanding of, growing audiences as the land shifts continue. Never be precious or boring. Have a knack for finding the unexpected story that will connect with readers and be so good that it reaches outside of local news boundaries to go national. And be relentless about testing microbeats and new ideas to keep Chron fresh and traffic flowing.

 

What is Chron?

Once the digital home for the Houston Chronicle, Chron became its own distinctive site and newsroom in 2012. Focusing on stories that capture Texas culture and that spark conversation, Chron covers trending news, sports, food and entertainment, real estate, local TV personalities, space and other topics that impact culture and life for people living in Houston, the surrounding Gulf Coast region and throughout Texas.

 Primary Responsibilities:

• Newsroom leader — Craft a bold new vision for Chron. Set the editorial direction, tone and brand voice for Chron, in concert with senior stakeholders, while executing newsroom operations that support that effort.
• Editorial strategist — Zero in on the most interesting story ideas from an inundated news landscape, and pivot the newsroom as needed based on traffic needs or the news cycle to make sure Chron’s coverage reflects the brand, is fast, highly readable and valuable to readers
• Audience-first editor — Understand audience metrics, how to package and distribute a story, who the Chron reader is, how to find new audiences and turn the casual reader into a loyalist
• High metabolism — Be energized by running a fast-paced newsroom that turns out high-quality, unexpected, must-read stories every day
• Texas fundamentals — Have a firm grasp of the issues, people and cultural moments that readers care about and that are shaping Houston and Texas
• Grow a team — Ability to inspire senior editors and younger reporters alike to test new franchise ideas and content beats, evolve storytelling 
• Eye for detail — Empower editorial lieutenants, spot opportunity, manage newsroom needs, including the budget
• Journalism fundamentals — Have excellent news judgement and reporting and writing skills; awareness of macro challenges affecting the national digital media landscape and ability to brainstorm solutions; facility with content management systems and AP style

 Competencies/Critical Skills:

• Idea honing: collaborate daily with editors to shape ideas into compelling stories that reflect an insatiable curiosity about Texas and connect with readers across the region
• Top-notch leadership skills to guide the newsroom every day, assuring the editorial calendar is fed and reflects the Chron brand
• Excellent writing, editing and communication chops, particularly within news and feature journalism
• Ability to lead a team of editors and reporters daily, keeping the team motivated and inspired to grow Chron and sharpen its brand voice
• Facility with analytics tools and ability to unpack those metrics to spot areas of opportunity and audience growth
• Calm demeanor in a fast-paced, always-on news environment

 Measures of success for this position include:

• Meet, and strive to exceed monthly traffic goals for the site
• Expand audience: Greater audience penetration within the Houston DMA, increase loyal in-DMA readers, and grow readership elsewhere in the state through experimentation of new beats and topics, story packaging