Assistant Editor, Social Media

El Segundo, CA

The Los Angeles Times is looking for digital media creators to join “the meme team,” a new group of storytellers who will animate The Times’ brand on emerging platforms, widening the aperture of our potential audience.

These self-starting, internet-obsessed people will create fun, quirky, unique and inspiring content meant to start conversations and build community online with the goal of establishing new, uplifting relationships between the L.A. Times and communities who may not think of The Times as a part of their world.

The meme team will find conversations online or even start new ones. Think memes, gifs, videos and responses in an authentic voice that helps to define who we are.

Team members will branch out to new platforms, find the people behind hot conversations and invite them to take over our feeds, participate in live conversations or contribute their own work for our profiles. They’ll work in sync with our current audience engagement team, which works with Times journalists on the ground floor to best optimize content for platforms on social media.

If you look at legacy news organizations’ social media presence and think “I could bring some swagger to that,” if you have ideas for building a community online for people often ignored by traditional media, if you want to get weird online for a living, we want to talk to you.

We’re looking for people from all backgrounds and industries – not necessarily journalism – to help launch a new type of content for The Times. This is a new team and we’re looking for new perspectives.

To start, we’re hiring for these six positions, plus a Deputy Editor, Social Media who will lead the team.

If one of these roles sounds like your cup of tea, apply! The posting below is for Assistant Editor, Social Media.

Job Description

The Los Angeles Times is looking for an editor who is skilled at tracking success metrics, understanding platform changes and trends, maintaining partner relationships for each platform and keeping the content team aligned with the core values of The Times.

This editor helps set goals for the team, audits the tone and style of the content making sure it’s current with memes, trends and internet-speak and pushes the team to pivot, experiment and reinvent itself.

If you join us, you will:

Help guide a team of content creators to launch new accounts, optimize old ones and create content in the form of graphics, videos, memes and text for social audiences
Collaborate with teams including audience engagement editors, designers, video journalists and reporters to create content tailored for social media audiences
Collaborate with data analysts to understand our audience and its needs and with product developers, interactive news designers and UX designers working to improve the digital experience of The Times
Maintain social media standards and practices and establish a voice for Times social media presences across platforms
Experiment on new social media platforms, using data and audience feedback to guide strategic initiatives
Interact and engage with our readers and build online communities for Times journalism and staff

Qualifications:

At least five years of experience working on social media platforms for a media organization; experience guiding a team is a plus
A nuanced understanding of audience data and analytics and a track record of using data to make informed decisions
Proficiency with an analytics platform (we use Chartbeat, Google Analytics, CrowdTangle and native social media metrics)
Versatility in working across words, images and video and providing technical feedback for each type of media
Proven ability to write surprising, engaging and internet-savvy headlines and display copy
Ability to successfully juggle multiple projects with varying deadlines and timelines
An excellent team player and effective communicator who’s able to work comfortably with a wide variety of personalities and skill levels
Receptive to feedback and flexible with regard to shifting work responsibilities
A proven history of creating or assigning content that has taken off with an audience
Ability to discern the best medium/platform for a story

The L.A. Times is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes candidates from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Explore our company history, achievement, values, mission and more on our Careers Site.

This position is classified as an Assistant Editor within the Los Angeles Times Guild. Times staff is currently working remotely, but when we return to the newsroom the position will be based in El Segundo, Calif. Occasional night and weekend work is required.

The Times requires that its employees who come to or work at a physical L.A. Times worksite be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. If you require a medical or religious accommodation, we will engage in the interactive process with you. Proof of vaccination will be required prior to entrance to a physical worksite. If we make you an offer and you are not yet vaccinated, we will accommodate a delay in start date.

Qualified applicants should upload a resume, cover letter and work samples or links to Assistant Managing Editor Samantha Melbourneweaver at the apply link. Please note, the opportunity to attach additional documents appears on the third screen and is labeled “Upload.”

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Thank you for your interest in joining our team at the Los Angeles Times! We look forward to reviewing your application.