Assigning Editor: Social & Viral News
About The Position
The Mary Sue and We Got This Covered are seeking a skilled and motivated assigning editor to enhance story sourcing, pitching, and article curation, with a focus on social-first stories and syndicated news. The role involves covering a wide range of topics from politics to celebrity news and streaming hits, as well as identifying compelling real stories from social media. The ideal candidate will be comfortable sourcing and pitching engaging stories from various online sources and mainstream news, aiming to create content that sparks thought, discussion, and organic sharing, rather than relying solely on traditional SEO. This position is for someone excited about innovative approaches and eager to discover the next big story.
Requirements
- Experience as an assigning, commissioning, news, trending, or social editor in a fast-moving digital media environment, or extensive experience as a self-pitching writer.
- A genuine love for TikTok and social culture, with a strong instinct for what people want to read and a passion for exploring new niches.
- Excellent, compelling headline writing without being misleading.
- Comfortable working with traffic data and using it to guide editorial decisions.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-volume pitching environment.
- Strong understanding of ethical journalism.
- Strong understanding of US culture and audiences.
Nice To Haves
- Syndication and/or social media experience.
Responsibilities
- Lead story sourcing and pitching for the social and viral news desk across multiple brands.
- Monitor major news stories, TikTok, Reddit, and other social media platforms to identify potential big stories.
- Write clear pitches and context for writers.
- Assign stories to staff and freelance writers.
- Frame stories and headlines for syndication and social platforms (e.g., MSN, Facebook, SmartNews).
- Track performance and use data to refine pitches.
- Build and document discovery workflows to improve pitching skills across the team.
- Verify story accuracy, ensure proper creator credit, and treat individuals in stories fairly.
- Collaborate with the editorial team to identify stories requiring extra attention, follow-ups, or investigation.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Education Level
No Education Listed
