Posted On: May 26, 2021
Journalism Job
Media Organization: Jewish Currents
Company Description
Founded in 1946, Jewish Currents is a progressive Jewish magazine covering politics, culture, the arts, and more. Relaunched in 2018 with an all-new staff and design, Jewish Currents publishes daily on our website and in our newsletter, and quarterly in print issues of our award-winning magazine. Since our relaunch, we have quadrupled in size, and received coverage in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Bloomberg, Buzzfeed, Vice, The Nation, Poetry Daily, and elsewhere.
Jewish Currents is building the most important Jewish publication in the Anglophone world, and is already proving itself to be a key progressive platform in the public conversation. A more robust website—focused on timely, meaty stories that wouldn’t appear anywhere else—is central to our plans for continued growth.
Job Description
Jewish Currents is seeking an Assistant Editor to write frequently for the website and magazine and help direct editorial coverage.
Jewish Currents covers a wide variety of topics, including Israel/Palestine, antisemitism, US politics, labor, movement politics, race, immigration, and the climate crisis. The Assistant Editor will help set short-term and long-term goals for online coverage, develop fruitful relationships with writers and thinkers on our beats, and identify story opportunities in which Jewish Currents can make a robust intervention. You do not have to be Jewish—or a current expert in Jewish politics—to be right for this job, though you must demonstrate a familiarity with our work and our positioning in the media landscape. Eventually, this job will include becoming an expert in the issues we cover, and representing the magazine in public appearances as necessary.
The Assistant Editor is expected to turn around sharp, timely articles that make essential interventions in the news cycle. Jewish Currents occupies a unique space between news outlet and journal, and publishes at a rate of one article daily; we are seeking a person with a vision for achieving maximum impact at this pace, both as a writer and a commissioning editor. We are building a model where every piece counts, and has lasting value beyond its peg.
The Assistant Editor is responsible for both writing and editing work:
Writing
- Be capable of turning around stories ranging from breaking news analysis to deeply-reported features at a timely pace.
- Be adept at collecting, verifying, and analyzing newsworthy information, and delivering clean copy with sharp analysis.
- Be eager to brainstorm about how to expand Jewish Currents’s coverage, and to work in a fun, collaborative environment.
- Be comfortable working across mediums, including contributing to podcasts.
- Carve out beats, develop sources, chase leads, and publish great work, abiding by standards of journalistic ethics.
- Stay up-to-date with the latest current events on your beats by studying papers, attending events etc.
Editing
- Attend and contribute to editorial staff meetings, following up with freelancers when required.
- Generate sharp ideas and enlightening angles for stories across our beats.
- Undertake first-draft edits on articles, conversations, newsletters, and other materials.
- Assist staff in recruiting, commissioning, and supervising freelance writers.
- Assign and supervise fact-checking and copy editing for content you are editing as needed.
Requirements
- 2+ years of relevant professional experience
- Exceptional editorial skills
- Competency with core elements of reporting and investigations including source cultivation, security, research, and more
- Strong sense of the most important story, and a hunger to both make and shape news cycles and discourse
- Ability to articulate our vision and our work to donors, grantors, strategic partners, and as a participant on forums, panels, and in other media
- Natural leadership qualities and a collaborative spirit
- Ability to work remotely
Compensation
- $52,000 yearly salary
- Great benefits package
Jewish Currents is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. Jewish Currents is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Jewish Currents are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to age, race, color, creed/religion, disability, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, veteran or military service member status, familial status, marital status, domestic violence victim status, genetic information, arrest and/or criminal conviction record, or any other category protected by law. Jewish Currents will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. We highly encourage individuals from marginalized groups of any kind to apply.
This is a position covered under the collective bargaining agreement with the WGA-E.
To Apply
Interested individuals should send a cover letter, clips, and a resume to hires@jewishcurrents.org. Application will be open until position is filled.