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Digital Editor

San Francisco, CA

KQED News is looking for someone who’s passionate about shaping stories and sharing solutions about climate change for digital audiences. 


California’s 40 million residents are living with droughts, floods and wildfires, but the state is also leading the world in developing solutions for our warming planet. You’ll be part of one of the largest science and environment journalism units in Northern California working with top reporters in the industry, who are laser-focused on the issue. 


This is a web editor role, but we know that web informs social media and social visuals (and vice versa), so any experience you have in those spaces is a plus. KQED has a wealth of climate science expertise – what we need is someone who can deliver the digital expertise through sharp writing, accuracy, SEO skills, but is also connected to the concerns of younger generations who have been the most passionate about climate change.    


This editor will work closely with our senior climate editor and report to the managing editor of digital news. They will also edit health and science coverage and local news as needed.  


The ideal candidate should also be communicative, collaborative and extremely organized, and able to prioritize under time constraints with grace and accuracy. They should be well accustomed to working in fast-paced environments.


This editor will coordinate and edit science news, including short-form, quick-turn stories done on a daily or weekly basis, longer topical features, as well as, ambitious journalism projects, per the discretion of the editor’s supervisor. Other duties include bulletproofing stories with data and shaping interactive elements.


The ideal candidate excels at writing engaging and effective display copy such as headlines, sub-headlines, summaries and captions.


KQED envisions a public media organization with a culture that centers on human dignity, equity, and belonging. This will enable us to better serve and reflect the Bay Area through diverse and inclusive storytelling. 


We value the contributions of marginalized people in society — including Black, Indigenous, and all people of color,  people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ people — and we believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do, and we strongly encourage members of these communities to apply.


The mission that drives us:

KQED provides citizens of Northern California with a community-supported alternative to commercial media. We provide citizens with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions; convene community dialogue; bring the arts to everyone and engage audiences to share their stories. We help students and teachers thrive in 21st-century classrooms, and take people of all ages on journeys of exploration- exposing them to new people, places and ideas.


This role is a hybrid one. You will be working in KQED's newly renovated headquarters and working remotely. KQED requires employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.


Salary Information: $80,448-$100,560 Annually


Essential Functions:

  • Takes editing assignments and direction from Supervising Senior Editor, News & Newscasts, and Managing Editor, Digital; Senior Editor, Climate and Health team; and Supervising Senior Editor of Race and Equity.
  • Pitches stories, assigns and delivers edits in a timely manner to meet digital needs as determined by team leaders.
  • Helps to write or edit highly effective headlines, excerpts and copy that is accurate, compelling, engaging and SEO friendly. 
  • Fact-checks with reporter — or editor — and sources as needed.
  • Ensures text is consistent with KQED style guidelines.
  • Provides production support and expertise for stories on KQED.org and KQED.org/science. 
  • Oversees and/or project manages series and projects, and their producers.
  • Offers topical expertise and editing guidance to all editors in the newsroom as it pertains to stories in production.
  • Offers topical expertise and editing guidance to reporters on these topic areas.
  • Edits text and photo content for the web, mobile and social media, ensuring that articles make sequential and logical sense, and ensuring accuracy of images and captions
  • Communicates clearly with reporters, editors and staff.
  • Works with audience engagement and platforms teams to develop platform-specific content


Knowledge/Experience Required:

  • Excellent writing and editing and story organization skills; science news judgment; and organizational skills to work in briskly paced, multi-platform news operation. 
  • Ability to edit in variety of publishing platforms and mediums (web, mobile, photography, video)
  • Thorough knowledge of journalistic principles, ethics and standards.
  • Thorough knowledge of copyright laws.
  • Strong communications and reporting skills.
  • Demonstrated ability to work well with both experienced and newer reporters.
  • Demonstrated ability to center people from marginalized communities in stories.
  • Ability to excel under intense deadline pressure.
  • Experience with investigative, enterprise or data stories and projects; climate, health or science content; basic HTML; social media tools and platforms to maximize reach and impact.
  • Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite. 
  • Proven capacity to identify opportunities for stories of high relevance to audiences.
  • Familiarity with and interest in optimizing language for social media and engagement platforms.
  • Ability to provide science and health expertise inside KQED and in the broader community.
  • Ability to work collaboratively with radio and audio teams.


Knowledge/Experience Desired:

  • Working knowledge of the 9-county Bay Area and California preferred.
  • Working knowledge of a range of significant regional and state-wide public affairs subjects such as government and politics, the economy, education, health, immigration, legal affairs, the environment, transportation, and the arts preferred. 
  • Experience working in a demographically diverse news environment is strongly desired.
  • Non-english language skills are a plus.


Non-Essential Functions:

  • Reports stories and conducts interviews. Conducts and oversees research for story assignment, development and production.
  • Assumes other duties as assigned.
  • On occasion, fills in for other producers or editors.
  • Represents KQED at events. 


If you’re interested in this job but don’t feel like you meet all of the qualifications, please consider applying and tell us more about yourself.

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