The Louisville Courier Journal seeks an assistant sports editor who can lead its high school sports team and elevate its coverage to new heights. High school sports is one of the strongest platforms of the newsrooms, and it’s an area the Courier Journal aims to dominate from every angle – giving our readers around the clock coverage beyond just gamers.
The ideal editor understands how to drive real-time coverage across digital platforms, using video and social media to deepen the report and connect with fans. The ideal candidate understands that sports coverage is more than X’s and O’sand wants the coverage generated by the Sports Team to be part of the daily conversation –– in metro Louisville and around the commonwealth.
This editor has solid news judgment and the ability to think quickly and respond appropriately in high-pressure situations. That person also will love working side-by-side with reporters to elevate their work, and with fellow editors to connect the sports to the interests of a diverse audience.
The Courier Journal is seeking an expert planner and strategist, who can put action behind his/her ideas, can collaborate well with others and meet deadlines in tense situations.
Responsibilities:
- Leading and managing the high school sports team and developing compelling content for readers.
- Execute tactics on growing subscriptions through storytelling, topics and headlines.
- Promote the brand, content and personalities across social media; plan and execute live event coverage on social media; and coordinate initiatives that involve fan feedback, contests or other engagement efforts.
- Ensure posts are high-quality talkers and timed to meet people’s needs and take advantage of multimedia such as polls, texts, slideshows and video.
- Keep track of sports buzz and what’s trending across social platforms.
- Create smart, thoughtful, engaging, sophisticated content in a variety of formats to help grow the audience.
- Provide leadership on developing audiences on social media and emerging social platforms.
- Display creativity in everything from developing fresh content to writing SEO-friendly headlines to sharing content socially to having an eye for images and video.
- Create, track and communicate key social engagement metrics.
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in communications, journalism, marketing or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- 2- 5 years’ experience as a sports journalism leader, with focus on digital content and multimedia platforms.
- Experience in high-level decision-making with complex, impactful or sensitive news content.
- A history of successful leadership, collaboration, innovation and goal achievement.
- Demonstrated leader who collaborates and communicates effectively with diverse peoples and personalities.
- Demonstrated record of leading a coverage team, including remote writers.
- Passion for strong watchdog, enterprise and features work across multiple platforms.
- Strong social media skills.
- Understanding of best uses of live and recorded video and how to inculcate video skills throughout the team.
- Ability to work well on deadline.
- Ability to write with accuracy and precision.
- Excellent communication and time-management skills.
- Approachability, comfortable with public speaking and a commitment to staff.
- Understanding of the changing sports media landscape and ability to adapt strategies that address continually changing market and consumer needs and desires.
- Strong competitive instincts and intellectual curiosity.
- Ability to effectively manage and coordinate in an environment of accountability.
