The Star-Telegram in Fort Worth, Texas, is looking for an assistant sports editor.
The gamer is dead an hour after the final whistle. The assistant sports editor and his or her team know this and will excel by sharing unique stories and breaking news with smart analysis.
This person should have an understanding of how the needs of our audience must be at the very center of the way we shape our stories and share them out. Our newsroom is looking for someone who can help increase our reach and impact, as well as help us build trust and loyalty with our readers. He or she will discuss original story ideas with reporters and visual journalists, consistently asking who cares about the story and why.
The ideal candidate recognizes that even in sports readers expect us to look out for them and as such, this person will embrace our watchdog role and push reporters to approach their coverage with a skeptical eye that holds powerful institutions, coaches and administrators accountable.
He or she will know how to mine Omniture and Chartbeat to coach reporters to grow their audience by identifying what works and, more important, what fails to connect with readers. Doing things the way we have “always done them” is no longer an acceptable approach. We will experiment our way to success by embracing changes in technology and audience trends, and by understanding that what works today might not six months later.
This editor will coach reporters to find the best platform for their stories — whether it’s a podcast, video series or 800-word enterprise story (or a combo of all three).
We are in an ultra-competitive market, so immediacy is key, as is having a sharp eye for SEO, keywords and “shareable” headlines that encourage readers to stop scrolling.
The assistant sports editor is responsible for working with our sports columnist and enterprise, college and breaking/digital sports reporters. He or she will work closely with a deputy sports editor responsible for professional sports (Cowboys, Rangers, Mavs and more) and will jump in on high school sports planning and strategy sessions as well.
For more on the position and to apply, click here.
