Assistant Editor, Climate

The New York Times•New York, NY

3h•Onsite

About The Position

The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for. The Climate desk is seeking a creative and ambitious editor to lead our efforts to use visual storytelling to help people understand the climate and their world in new and surprising ways. Visual journalism is at the heart of what we do every day. The Climate desk is a highly collaborative team; editors and reporters work closely together to experiment with new storytelling forms that resonate with readers. We break news, of course. But we also go deep to illustrate climate and environmental changes and what they mean for people, communities, industries and the financial health of the United States and countries across the globe. You will be part of the leadership team responsible for setting our news and enterprise goals and then realizing our ambitions. You'll coach and manage the work of a team of visual journalists and reporters. And you'll collaborate with other editors on the desk and across the newsroom, as climate stories know no boundaries. You are a capable editor of text and visuals, and you're adept with the technical complexity of modern digital publishing. By overseeing lines of coverage or individual stories, you help select, assign and edit news, features and enterprise, with the aim of making the report more visual. You will work with reporters and collaborate with visual departments to facilitate a variety of coverage forms that leverage text, video, graphics, photography or a mix of forms. This is an in-office position based in New York and includes regular attendance in the office four days each week. There may be some flexibility to work remotely per your departmental guidance.

Requirements

At least 8 years of relevant professional experience.
Experience managing journalists and/or multidisciplinary teams.
Excellent news judgment and visual creativity while ensuring the accuracy, clarity and readability of the material.
Demonstrated record of producing high-level visual journalism, with an emphasis on visualization, explanatory visuals, digital design, use of video, photos and other visual forms.
Demonstrated ability to write clearly, and edit to sharpen the relationship between visuals and copy.
Demonstrated ability to work on tight deadlines and to adapt to change in a daily, unpredictable news production environment.
Strong communication and diplomatic skills, with the ability to clearly articulate the purpose of each story and the roles for each of the journalists making it.

Nice To Haves

Experience in covering and/or editing climate, science, business, technology, infrastructure or policy.
Curiosity and interest in finding innovative approaches to covering the news.
Understanding of evolving media, technology and design landscape, including emerging standards and devices.
Proven expertise with data analysis and visualization, including strong mobile design ideas, a solid understanding of storytelling techniques and a smart UX sensibility.
Willingness to work a flexible schedule as news or deadlines demand.

Responsibilities

Engage deeply with Climate coverage, help determine its visual direction and raise ambitions for visual journalism across news and enterprise.
Drive Climate's visual journalism strategy by guiding the development of stories that make smart and innovative use of video, photography, illustration and graphics.
Manage and edit climate-focused graphics editors, helping them to develop ambitious projects.
Collaborate with the Graphics team to help determine the requirements and possibilities for graphics and multimedia storytelling, including statistical visualizations.
Determine integration of video, photography, audio, and animations
Initiate and manage specific lines of news and enterprise coverage.
Conceive, commission and edit story assignments in a variety of story forms, ranging from breaking news to high-impact opportunities.
Establish desk-wide goals for visual storytelling fluency.
Guide Climate editors and reporters toward greater fluency when it comes to conceptualizing, editing and executing new story forms.
Collaborate closely with video, photo and graphics editors, designers and art directors across the newsroom and be point of contact for larger multimedia efforts.
Display a strong familiarity with competitors and new challenges and opportunities created by the changing media landscape.
Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.