Opinion Director, USA TODAY

USA TODAY Co.

13d • Remote

About The Position

USA TODAY is seeking an experienced, ambitious, and creative Opinion Director to build the most compelling opinion team in American journalism. Our aim is to create a new standard for opinion journalism—one that reflects the full range of perspectives across America, not just those elevated on the coasts, and helps bridge divides through thoughtful, challenging, consequential conversation.
This role sits at the center of our mission to elevate informed civic dialogue, surface bold and thought-provoking perspectives, and engage audiences around the defining issues of our time. The Opinion Director will set the editorial vision for opinion at USA TODAY across platforms and formats, while serving as a key partner to USA TODAY Network newsrooms—identifying strong local and regional voices for national amplification and driving standards, innovation, and impact.
This is also a community-building role. The right candidate will help us find ways to cultivate an active, loyal civic community around our opinion journalism, one that rewards our existing audience and creates a compelling reason for new readers, viewers and listeners to stay. That includes programming live and digital experiences, such as live Q&As/editorial events, town halls and community forums, that make participation, not just reading, the hallmark of USA TODAY Opinion.
This leader will oversee a team of editors, writers, and social engagement experts and will be accountable for excellence in opinion across text, video, on-platform, and off-platform experiences. The right candidate will bring urgency, agility, and a clear point of view—and will build a culture that experiments with purpose and performs at a high level.
This role is remote and can be based anywhere in the US, except for Alaska, Hawaii and Wyoming.

Requirements

• A bias toward action and comfort with change.
• Significant experience leading opinion journalism at a major media organization.
• Exceptional editorial judgment and deep command of ethics, libel, and publishing standards.
• Proven ability to shape a clear editorial voice while managing a wide range of perspectives.
• Strong editing, writing, and coaching skills.
• Deep commitment to sourcing, reporting, and rigor in opinion journalism.
• Ability to lead effectively across a large, distributed newsroom.
• Track record of digital innovation and audience growth in opinion or commentary.
• Experience in both print and digital (newsletters, social, podcasts, video) formats, plus eagerness for using data to inform audience decisions and ongoing experimentation.

Responsibilities

• Set the editorial vision and strategy for USA TODAY Opinion, aligned with our mission, ethical principles, audience priorities, and civic role.
• Maintain the highest standards for accuracy, fairness, transparency, and legal and ethical compliance in opinion journalism.
• Lead and develop editors, writers, and contributors, building a culture of excellence, range of thought, and continuous improvement.
• Represent USA TODAY Opinion internally and externally, including at industry events and public forums.
• Shape a distinctive opinion report grounded in facts, strong reporting, and clear points of view.
• Set coverage priorities across timely commentary, explanatory opinion, and the defining debates shaping the country.
• Lead USA TODAY Opinion's experimentation with and oversight of AI tools, setting contributor standards around AI-generated and AI-assisted content, piloting potential applications, and helping shape organization-wide policy in this rapidly evolving space.
• Partner across the USA TODAY Network to raise standards, surface strong local voices, and expand the reach and impact of opinion journalism.
• Work across Product, Audience, Brand, and Multimedia to evolve how opinion is presented, distributed, and experienced.
• Use audience insights to sharpen strategy, deepen engagement, drive subscription conversion and retention, and grow loyalty.
• This role has final say on what runs, how it’s framed and promoted, and owns the roadmap for opinion products (digital packages, newsletters, podcasts, video franchises, live events, etc.)

Benefits

• The annualized base salary for this role will range between $138,000 and $215,625.
• variable compensation is not reflected in these figures and based on the role, may be applicable.
• USA TODAY Co., Inc. is a proud equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a diverse workforce.
• As such, we will consider all qualified applicants for employment and do not discriminate in connection with employment decisions on the basis of an applicant or employee’s race, color, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, citizenship status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, marital status, personal appearance (including height and weight), sexual orientation, family responsibilities, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy status (including childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), education, genetic characteristics or information, political affiliation, military or veteran status or other classifications protected by applicable federal, state and local laws in the jurisdictions where USA TODAY Co. employs employees.
• In addition, USA TODAY Co., Inc. will provide applicants who require a reasonable accommodation, as a result of an applicant’s disability or religion, to complete this employment application and/or any other process in connection with an individuals’ application for employment with USA TODAY Co., Inc.
• Applicants who require such accommodation should contact USA TODAY Co., Inc.’s Recruitment Department at [email protected].
• Applicants must be authorized to work in the applicable location.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed