Standard Editor

Radio Free Asia•Washington DC, WA

1d•$162,000 - $180,500•Hybrid

About The Position

Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a private, nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with editorial and operational bureaus in Taipei, Bangkok, and Seoul. Its mission is to provide accurate, uncensored news and information to people living in countries where a free press does not exist. RFA broadcasts in nine languages and dialects and reaches audiences across Asia and beyond through shortwave, satellite, and the internet. The Standards Editor is the institutional guardian of RFA’s journalistic credibility and the primary point of accountability for journalistic integrity across the organization. Working in real time with reporters, editors, and Managing Editors, the role advises on significant standards risks before publication, establishes standards across language desks and platforms, maintains the Code of Journalistic Ethics, and leads the institutional response to alleged standards breaches. The position has newsroom-wide authority and works alongside Managing Editors. The role 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. The salary range is $162,000–$180,500 per year, with final salary based on compatible experience and skills. Applicants must already possess work authorization; company sponsorship is unavailable. Applicants should submit a cover letter with their application.

Requirements

At least 15 years of journalism experience.
In-depth knowledge of journalism principles and methods and effective delivery of news and information programming to international audiences across platforms.
Deep knowledge of journalism ethics and 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.
Experience navigating ethical questions arising during news gathering, program preparation and production, and broadcasting operations across formats.
Strong managerial experience and the ability to lead teams through complex issues and crises, understand policy and procedural implications, and make sound recommendations.
Knowledge of adapting RFA production elements to multimedia platforms, including online news delivery, 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 working with HR/Training on staff training and assessment and with Human Resources on disciplinary action when necessary.
Strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate and negotiate with staff and agency management to reach agreement.
Exceptional writing skills and the ability to turn complex judgments into clear, usable guidance for editors and reporters.

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 when 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 for 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 flag stories requiring formal legal review.
Assess risks involved in identifying or describing sources, victims, minors, and vulnerable individuals, particularly where publication could endanger them or their families.
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 risk, AI and emerging technologies, and closed-country reporting.
Draft and revise policies on generative AI, synthetic or manipulated media, deepfake detection, and audience disclosure.
Develop social media guidance for staff and freelancers, including personal accounts, political expression, and interactions with sources and subjects.
Establish and refine policies on corrections, clarifications, retractions, unpublishing, anonymous sourcing, conflicts of interest, plagiarism, and translated or secondhand material.
Develop standards guidance tailored to RFA’s reporting context, including intermediaries and stringers, sources under surveillance, difficult verification environments, and editorial independence in relation to federal funding.
Make standards documentation accessible to multilingual desks, including translated or adapted materials, plain-language summaries, and practical examples.
Monitor consistent standards application across language desks and web, social, video, audio, and shortwave platforms; identify inconsistencies and work with newsroom leaders to address them.
Conduct periodic content audits and spot checks across languages to identify recurring issues in attribution, sourcing, labeling, tone, and corrections.
Ensure standards apply 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 assessments to editorial management, General Counsel, and Human Resources, distinguishing standards findings from personnel decisions.
Provide proactive standards guidance ahead of major 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 moving into higher-risk roles.
Run case-study workshops based on real or anonymized decisions to build shared judgment across language services.
Support Managing Editors in coaching their teams on standards.