Posted On: March 15, 2023

Journalism Job

Media Organization: Jewish Currents

Company Description

Founded in 1946, Jewish Currents is a magazine committed to the rich tradition of thought, activism, and culture on the Jewish left and the left more broadly. As an award-winning magazine of politics, culture, and ideas, we publish quarterly in print and daily online. We have received acclaim for our in-depth reporting, analysis, and cultural criticism, and for our attention to literary quality and style. Since relaunching in 2018 with a new staff and design, we have established ourselves as an essential voice in the contemporary conversation, quadrupling in size and receiving coverage in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Bloomberg, Buzzfeed, Vice, The Nation, Poetry Daily, and elsewhere.

Job Description

News Editor

Jewish Currents is seeking a News Editor to edit reported stories and analysis pieces as well as our daily newsletter, and to help direct editorial coverage. Interested individuals should send a cover letter, clips, and a resume to hires@jewishcurrents.org.

Jewish Currents covers a wide variety of topics, including the uses and misuses of antisemitism, the inner workings of Jewish communal organizations, the politics of Israel/Palestine both on the ground and internationally, race and racialization, strategies and horizons of American left movements, the global rise of the far right, diasporic cultural expression, labor, climate, incarceration, immigration, and feminism. The News 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 position 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 News Editor will be expected to turn around sharp, timely articles that make essential interventions in the news cycle. Jewish Currents publishes at a rate of one piece of content daily, and we are seeking a person with a vision for achieving maximum impact at this pace. We are building a model where every piece counts and has lasting value beyond its peg. The right candidate enjoys working on quick turnaround pieces, without sacrificing attention to detail. They will also have an eye for the opportunities that arise during quicker news weeks, and the ability to manage a content calendar—balancing responsive, opportunistic commissions with more evergreen scheduled work.

Responsibilities

The News Editor will be responsible for managing and serving as the primary editor for the Jewish Currents newsletter—including our Tuesday newsletter, focused on Israel/Palestine, which is our most read editorial product. You will also play a central role in shaping coverage and editorial strategy for the website, and commissioning and editing deeply reported stories and trenchant analysis pieces.

Among other duties, you will:

Coordinate, commission, and edit a range of pieces for the Jewish Currents newsletter. You will work with a rotating group of contributors to coordinate original reporting on Israel/Palestine for the Tuesday News Bulletin, and with members of the Jewish Currents masthead to solicit short-form criticism for the Friday Shabbat Reading List. You will also be responsible for shaping the identity of our general interest Thursday Newsletter and commissioning on-the-news conversations, dispatches, and short-form analysis pieces to run in that space.

Serve as the first editor on diverse forms of web content, including breaking news stories, deeply reported news features, analysis essays, conversations, explainers, and other materials. Potentially assist with edits on print stories as well.

Manage the content calendar for the newsletter, making sure that slots are filled as far in advance as possible without the content feeling stale

Generate sharp ideas and enlightening angles for stories on our beats.

Bring your own interests and forms of expertise to Jewish Currents and work to build them into new beats for our publication.

Attend and contribute to editorial staff meetings.

Assist staff in recruiting, commissioning, and supervising freelance writers.

Supervise fact-checking and copy editing for content you are editing as needed.

Pitch in on special projects and editorial initiatives as they arise; Jewish Currents is a small magazine where everyone does a little bit of everything.

If you so desire: Contribute to Jewish Currents as a writer as well as an editor, pitching stories for which you would be the best author and working with colleagues to bring them to fruition.

Requirements

3+ years of relevant professional experience

Experience turning around high-quality news pieces on a one- or two-day timeline

Exceptional editorial skills

Exceptional planning and organizational skills, and adaptability to fast-moving events

Competency with core elements of reporting including source cultivation, interview tactics, research skills, and more

Strong sense of the most important story, and a hunger to both make and shape news cycles and discourse

Unfailing commitment to journalistic ethics

Natural leadership qualities and a collaborative spirit

Ability to work remotely

Compensation

$70,000 yearly salary (non-negotiable)

Competitive 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

Applicants should send a cover letter, clips, and a resume to hires@jewishcurrents.org.