The Athletic is seeking a managing editor to lead our coverage of the WNBA and women’s college basketball, a Los Angeles Dodgers reporter and an associate editor for betting and SEO.
Managing Editor, WNBA/college basketball
The Athletic is seeking a Managing Editor to lead our coverage of the WNBA and women’s college basketball, with added responsibility around coverage of men’s college basketball. This is a senior role contributing to comprehensive editorial oversight of these coverage areas, and will require the use of data analytics to evaluate performance. The successful candidate will partner with stakeholders across the editorial organization and business teams on a range of initiatives.
Responsibilities
- Manage reporters with an emphasis on the delivery of news and distinct feature storytelling.
- Collaborate with editorial leadership to establish a conceptual vision for coverage across these sports, including long-term direction, and talent planning.
- Generate a coverage calendar built around a consistent cadence of daily storytelling and tentpole features, and build out multi-story content packages built around events and themes.
- Work with writers to shape story pitches, consistently come up with story ideas to assign to writers, and coach reporters on the importance of news-gathering and breaking news.
- Provide regular feedback on content balance and assignments ranging from short-form and breaking news to daily coverage to longform projects.
- Build a deep understanding of subscription and engagement metrics, as well as a proficiency around search optimization.
- Edit and publish stories via WordPress; choose impactful visuals to pair with stories.
Requirements
- At least five years of experience in digital sports journalism, including multiple years of direct editorial management.
- High-end knowledge of the assigned sports.
- This position is based in North America and reports to the vertical Senior Managing Editor.
Staff Writer, Los Angeles Dodgers
The Athletic is looking for an energetic, motivated writer who is interested in taking charge of a beat and telling unique and differentiating stories to an audience that appreciates quality above all else.
Responsibilities
- Excellent news sense, along with strong sources or the ability to cultivate sources to break or advance the news.
- A sharp, analytical mind able to analyze a situation and add perspective.
- Attention to detail; must be meticulous and thorough when sourcing stories.
- Ability to tell rich, ambitious, features through deep reporting and access that takes readers beyond the superficial storylines .
- Ability to work on a number of projects at the same time, balancing mid- and long-term projects with the need to deliver stories on a regular basis.
- Creative and innovative approach to story ideation and formats.
- Unique and strong voice that can stand out from competitors.
- Must have the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and share information.
- Desire to connect with the audience by interacting with our community section and also holding Live Q&A’s, as appropriate.
- Interest in internal metrics that can help educate what subscribers desire.
Requirements
- Minimum three years of relevant experience at a media company.
- Thorough knowledge of MLB and understanding of advanced analytics.
- Thorough knowledge of the journalistic process.
- Interest in other journalistic platforms, including podcasting, a plus.
- This position is based in Los Angeles.
Associate Editor, Betting and SEO
The Athletic is hiring an associate betting/SEO editor. The candidate will assist in the publishing of betting content, as well as work across the company to grow and maintain search-optimized content. This position reports to the Senior Editor, Betting.
Responsibilities
• Build and maintain search-optimized content in key areas
• Analyze audience trends and engagement patterns to increase search visibility, page views, and alert the newsroom to opportunities
• Assist with maintenance and search capability of live coverage on key events
• Line edit stories from start to finish for quality, context, style and grammar
• Assist with development of multi-writer fantasy and betting content franchises
• Follow best practices on photo selection, headline writing and SEO
• Constructively collaborate across the company, taking on tasks and projects of varying scope• Help maintain and update editorial budgeting schedule
• Ability to work nights and weekends, as required
Requirements
• Knowledge of WordPress and basic functionality of CMS platforms
• This job is located in the US or Canada
• Photo editing skills, while not required, are a positive
• Familiarity with multiple social media platforms
