Block Club Chicago is looking for a results-driven and organized Managing Editor to lead our award-winning newsroom’s breaking news and neighborhood coverage. Applications are due by March 3.
Block Club Chicago, a nonprofit newsroom focused on Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods, is hiring a Managing Editor to oversee its daily news coverage. We’re looking for an editorial leader who understands what Chicagoans care about, from the “big” (an election) to the “small” (a beloved neighborhood business closing), and can work collaboratively to ensure Block Club’s coverage is accurate, engaging and timely.
This leader will oversee daily editorial meetings, create coverage strategies, make critical editorial decisions quickly yet thoughtfully and ensure all content follows Block Club’s editorial and ethical standards.
The Managing Editor will report to Block Club’s Executive Editors and supervise a team of editors, reporters and freelancers.
The Skills
You’re right for the job if:
You have a proven track record of conceiving, assigning, developing and editing engaging stories for a daily news organization. At least five years editing experience is required.
You have experience managing a remote team and can enthusiastically mentor early- and mid-career reporters and freelancers in a collaborative work environment.
You have strong news judgment, writing and copy-editing skills. You are familiar with AP style.
You have experience managing breaking news, can write speedily and have a sharp eye for accuracy and fairness.
You know Chicago, its neighborhoods and what matters to its people.
You are passionate about local news, the impact it can have on a community and Block Club’s mission.
You can manage multiple priorities on a daily, weekly and long-term basis.
The Perks
Salary: Commensurate on experience, range $100,000-$125,000
Full benefits (medical, dental, vision), 401K
4 weeks paid vacation, paid holidays, paid sick and maternity leave
Supportive, scrappy, tight-knit editorial staff
Requirements
This position is based in Chicago and requires the person to live in the Chicago area.
This is a work-from-home/office hybrid role, but the editor should expect several days of in-person work at our Downtown office to work alongside and collaborate with colleagues.
A commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is required. Block Club Chicago is committed to providing coverage that reflects the communities we cover. We believe a diverse newsroom is essential to achieving that goal. We strongly encourage people of all ages, disability status, economic circumstance, ethnicities, genders, races, religions and sexual orientations to apply for this position.
How to Apply
Send us an email telling us why you’re best positioned for this job along with your resume, examples of coverage you’ve led and three references to jobs (at) blockclubchi (dot) org. Put “Managing Editor Position” in the subject line, please.
Deadline To Apply: March 3, 2023
About Block Club
Block Club Chicago is a nonprofit, reader-funded newsroom dedicated to delivering reliable, nonpartisan and essential coverage of Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods.
Our newsroom was founded in 2018 by former DNAinfo Chicago editors and reporters after the award-winning site abruptly shuttered. We decided to call ourselves Block Club because we felt it reflected our mission: to build community through truly ground-level reporting of the city’s neighborhoods.
In just four years, Block Club has transformed from scrappy startup to one of the most-read news organizations in Chicago by being responsive to the city’s neighborhoods. Our team of 24 full-time journalists publish more than a dozen stories daily from every corner of the city and inform Chicagoans through our neighborhood newsletters, “It’s All Good” podcast, “On The Block” TV show and free, bilingual COVID-19 hotline.
In the last year alone, Block Club has been named Editor & Publisher’s Best News Site, LION’s Publisher of the Year, INN’s Community Champion of the Year and we are proudly home to Chicago’s Journalist of the Year.