Coordinating Weekend Editor - Breaking News, MS NOW Digital

Versant•New York, NY

9d•$115,000 - $130,000•Onsite

About The Position

VERSANT is seeking an experienced breaking news editor to help lead MS NOW Digital’s expanding coverage, with a primary focus on politics, breaking news, and trending news. The editor will help shape coverage of the 2028 presidential campaign, coordinate with the D.C. and N.Y. bureaus, breaking news reporters, and platform producers, and help expand and optimize weekend coverage across platforms. The position is based in New York or Washington, D.C., and is represented by the Writers Guild of America East. The editor will coordinate daily coverage, edit and mentor breaking news reporters, and work with senior editors and the managing editor for news on weekend strategy. The role also involves tracking the presidential campaign and reporter deployment, contributing to live blogs, optimizing reader engagement, maintaining the homepage, supporting headlines, push alerts, and newsletters, and editing and occasionally writing breaking news and enterprise articles. The regular schedule is 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, with flexibility as breaking news demands.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent years of relevant work experience.
At least 7 years working in a newsroom environment.
At least 7 years working in a strictly digital shop.
Ability to edit quickly and accurately.
Experience working in breaking news; political news experience is ideal.
Desire to work in a creative, demanding, and competitive environment.
Willingness to work in New York or Washington, D.C.
Unrestricted work authorization to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

Experience as an assignment editor at a major news publication covering breaking news.
Experience covering political news.
Exceptional news judgment, superb writing and editing skills, and a deep understanding of journalistic standards.
Comfort working across platforms and a strong understanding of the MS NOW voice and brand.
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-pressure newsroom.

Responsibilities

Coordinate with the D.C. and N.Y. bureaus and breaking news teams to cover the most important stories of the day.
Edit and mentor breaking news reporters during assigned shifts.
Work with senior editors and the managing editor for news to create and implement a weekend breaking news strategy for MS NOW.
Stay informed about the 2028 presidential campaign and its candidates, and help track reporter deployment, linear TV plans, and relevant coverage.
Help lead live blog coverage as needed.
Collaborate across editorial and platform teams to optimize reader engagement.
Work with platform producers to keep the homepage updated and fresh, and help with headlines, push alerts, and newsletter production.
Edit and occasionally write breaking news and enterprise articles on top headlines.