Standard Editor

Radio Free Asia•Washington, DC

16h•$162,000 - $180,500•Hybrid

About The Position

Radio Free Asia (RFA) is seeking a Standards Editor to serve as the newsroom’s institutional guardian of credibility and the primary point of accountability for journalistic integrity across the organization. RFA is a private, nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with editorial and operational bureaus in Taipei, Bangkok, and Seoul. It provides news and information to audiences in countries where a free press does not exist, broadcasting in nine languages and dialects across multiple platforms. The Standards Editor has newsroom-wide authority, working alongside reporters, editors, and Managing Editors to advise on standards before publication. The role maintains RFA’s Code of Journalistic Ethics and related guidance; reviews sensitive, high-risk, and legally complex stories; promotes consistent standards across language desks and platforms; investigates alleged standards violations; and leads proactive guidance, risk planning, and training. The position is based in Washington, DC, on a hybrid schedule of three days in the office and two remote. Some flexibility in work hours is required to accommodate international time zones. This is a full-time, exempt position. Applicants must already possess work authorization; the company does not provide sponsorship. A cover letter is required with the application.

Requirements

At least 15 years of journalism experience and in-depth knowledge of journalism principles and methods and delivery of news and information programming to international audiences across platforms.
Deep knowledge of journalism ethics and accepted professional norms, including sourcing, attribution, fairness, conflicts of interest, corrections, and plagiarism.
Demonstrated experience making real-time, high-stakes editorial judgments on sensitive, legally complex, or high-risk stories, with sound decisions under deadline pressure.
Substantial experience editing investigative or enterprise reporting, including stories involving anonymous sources, leaked materials, or allegations against powerful subjects.
Proven ability to navigate ethical questions arising in newsgathering, program preparation and production, and broadcasting operations across formats.
Strong managerial experience and ability to lead a team through complex issues and crises, understand policy and procedural implications, and make sound recommendations.
Knowledge of adapting production elements to multimedia platforms, including online news, audio and video streaming, web publishing, social media feeds, and newsletters.
Experience working directly with in-house or outside counsel on pre-publication legal review.
Experience designing and delivering newsroom training on ethics, verification, libel, and sourcing, and collaborating with HR/Training on staff training and assessment and with Human Resources on disciplinary action when necessary.
Strong oral and written communication skills, ability to communicate and negotiate with staff and agency management, and exceptional writing skills to turn complex judgments into clear, usable guidance.
Existing work authorization is required; the company does not sponsor work authorization.
A cover letter must be submitted with the application.

Nice To Haves

Experience as a standards editor, public editor, or member of a standards and ethics team at a major international or multilingual news organization.
Experience reporting on or editing coverage of East Asia or Southeast Asia, or familiarity with the political and media environments of closed or restricted countries.
Working knowledge of media law relevant to an international news organization, including defamation, privacy, source protection, and legal exposure of reporting on or from authoritarian states.
Familiarity with digital verification and open-source investigation techniques (OSINT), including image, video, and geolocation verification.
Working understanding of how generative AI, synthetic media, and emerging technologies affect newsgathering, production, and disinformation.
Experience working across editorial cultures, with sensitivity to how standards are interpreted and applied across language desks.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary pre-publication standards checkpoint for sensitive, high-risk, or legally complex stories, advising newsroom leaders in real time on sourcing, verification, accuracy, fairness, and ethical compliance.
Evaluate sourcing on high-stakes stories, including single-source reporting, anonymous or confidential sources, and sources at risk of retaliation.
Assess legal exposure with General Counsel, including defamation, privacy, and leaked or hacked materials, and identify stories requiring formal legal review.
Evaluate risks related to identifying or describing sources, victims, minors, and vulnerable individuals.
Document significant standards decisions and their rationale.
Maintain and update RFA’s Code of Journalistic Ethics and Best Practices Guide to address platform changes, legal risks, AI and emerging technologies, and closed-country reporting.
Draft and revise policies concerning generative AI, synthetic or manipulated media, deepfake detection, audience disclosures, staff and freelancer social media conduct, corrections, retractions, unpublishing, anonymous sourcing, conflicts of interest, plagiarism, and translated or secondhand material.
Develop context-specific guidance for reporting through intermediaries and stringers, working with sources under surveillance, verification challenges, and protecting editorial independence in relation to federal funding.
Keep standards documentation accessible and translate or adapt it for multilingual desks, including plain-language summaries and practical examples.
Monitor consistent application of standards across language desks and web, social, video, audio, and shortwave platforms; work with editorial leaders to address inconsistencies.
Conduct periodic content audits and spot checks across languages to identify recurring issues in attribution, sourcing, labeling, tone, and corrections.
Ensure standards are applied to short-form and fast-turnaround formats, including social posts, video captions, and live audio.
Report standards trends and recommendations to senior editorial leadership.
Investigate alleged violations of the Code of Journalistic Ethics, conflict-of-interest policies, and editorial standards by reviewing work, interviewing relevant parties, and examining editing and publication records.
Provide findings and expert assessment to editorial management, General Counsel, and Human Resources, distinguishing standards findings from personnel decisions.
Provide proactive standards guidance ahead of major news events and high-risk coverage periods, including elections, protests, crackdowns, leadership transitions, disasters, and conflicts.
Advise on new editorial initiatives, formats, and partnerships before launch, including collaborative investigations, data journalism, new platforms, and AI-assisted workflows.
Anticipate disinformation campaigns and coordinated influence operations targeting RFA or its coverage areas, and advise on response and verification protocols.
Design and deliver training for editors, reporters, producers, and freelancers on ethics, verification, sourcing, legal risk, and responsible AI use.
Develop onboarding materials for new hires and editors entering higher-risk roles.
Run case-study workshops based on real or anonymized decisions and support Managing Editors in coaching their teams on standards.