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Education Editor

Chicago, IL (Hybrid workplace)

About Chicago Public Media

Home to WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Public Media is the largest local non-profit news organization in the country. WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times serve more than 2 million people weekly across broadcast, print, and digital platforms. As a mission-driven organization, we aspire to become the essential and most trusted news source that Chicago turns to each day for understanding the people, events, and ideas that shape our community.

WBEZ is home to local and national news programming as well as a growing portfolio of popular podcasts. WBEZ serves the community with fact-based, objective news and information, and its award-winning journalists ask tough questions, dig deep for answers and expose truths that spark change and foster understanding. WBEZ is supported by more than 86,000 members, hundreds of corporate sponsors and major donors. In 2022, WBEZ received more than 20 awards for its journalism, including two prestigious National Edward R. Murrow Awards.

Chicago Sun-Times is Chicago’s oldest continuously published daily newspaper serving Chicago and is known for its hard-hitting investigative reporting, in-depth political coverage, timely behind-the-scenes sports analysis, and insightful entertainment and cultural coverage. Chicago Sun-Times is the winner of eight Pulitzer Prizes and countless other awards.  In recent years, the Sun-Times has focused on a digital transformation to deliver its news and content to a growing digital audience. Most recently, the Sun-Times dropped the paywall on suntimes.com to expand access to its journalism, and shifted to a community-funded digital membership program supported by voluntary member donations. 

Chicago Public Media believes independent journalism is essential to a well-functioning democracy and access to fact-based, objective news and information is a right of every citizen. We serve the public interest by creating diverse, compelling content that informs, inspires, and enriches. We connect diverse audiences and help them make a difference in the community, the region and the world.  And, we employ 300+ staff who want to belong to an organization that inspires, supports, and challenges them to do their best work.

For more information, please see the Chicago Public Media Annual Report.

The Opportunity

We’re looking for a highly skilled editor with strong news judgment and a proven ability to help reporters produce their best work to oversee our award-winning education desk. The desk includes a mix of daily and enterprise coverage of the Chicago Public Schools, K-12 school issues statewide, higher education and youth culture, with an emphasis on how policies and forces affect students, teachers and families. We produce stories for broadcast, digital and print. This editor will be an integral part of a larger team that includes coverage of immigration, health, the environment, race and class. The focus is on timely, informative, provocative (and sometimes delightful) reporting. This position is represented by SAG-AFTRA.

 

General Responsibilities

  • Lead daily news and enterprise news coverage for a team of three reporters across platforms, including broadcast, digital, print and social media.
  • Develop focus areas for the team, alongside reporters and assistant managing editor, and oversee development of reporters.
  • Work collaboratively with colleagues across the newsroom, including anchors, editors, reporters, producers and others to deliver distinctive coverage that helps define the public conversation, break news and move listeners and readers.
  • Help reporters conceptualize stories, define distinct angles/approaches and ensure that their work is accurate, inspired, fair and impactful.
  • Help conceptualize coverage plans for major breaking news and special coverage.
  • Collaborate with newsroom leaders to build the workflows necessary to ensure we are responsive to daily news across platforms while showcasing our distinctive enterprise journalism.
  • Foster and contribute to a culture of continuous learning, development, experimentation and collaboration through effective feedback and coaching.
  • Be versatile in problem-solving and responsive to the evolving needs of the newsroom.
  • Challenge, nourish and empower the journalists on staff, furthering a newsroom culture of collaboration, inclusivity and continued editorial excellence.

 

Skills & Experience

  • At least three to five years experience as a news editor.
  • Audio editing experience is preferred, but candidates who are eager to learn and develop audio editing skills are welcomed to apply. 
  • Outstanding news judgment and experience leading journalists to produce work of distinction and community impact.
  • Demonstrated passion for leading creative daily news and enterprise coverage.
  • Ability to conceptualize and edit news stories for content, accuracy, pacing, ideas, narrative and voice.
  • Excellent editing ability and demonstrated skill in working accurately and effectively under deadline pressure.
  • Fluency and enthusiasm for multiplatform journalism, including digital and visual storytelling and  social media. 
  • Deep commitment to the highest standards of journalistic ethics and the mission of public media. 
  • Ability to articulate your own ideas precisely and concisely — and to cultivate the strong ideas that come from other producers, editors and reporters. 
  • Strong relationship-builder and naturally collaborative leader; experience leading and inspiring diverse, inclusive teams to excellence. 
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills, verbal and written, with the ability to effectively collaborate across the organization.
  • Knowledge of the Chicago region’s rich diversity of stories, sectors and communities is very helpful.
  • Education: Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, humanities or related field.

* This is a SAG-AFTRA union position

 

Compensation

The expected pay range for this position is $86,700 to $105,000 per ANNUM.

Chicago Public Media provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the organization reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographical location, and external market pay for comparable jobs.

Working at Chicago Public Media

At Chicago Public Media, we care deeply about our employees as we know attracting, developing, and growing talent is key to our success and enhancing our impact.  

Our culture is one where collaboration, diversity of ideas, and innovation are encouraged.  We value colleagues who will enhance our culture by bringing new ideas, divergent experiences, and talents to our dynamic workplace.

At Chicago Public Media we believe dedication to a great workplace includes supporting our employees and their families. As a result, we provide a broad and generous benefits package for employees at hire and in the years to come.

Our benefits include a competitive salary and benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, vacation, holidays, life insurance, disability coverage, retirement savings, and a commuter benefits plan.

Chicago Public Media is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we actively seek and welcome people from all backgrounds, orientations, and life experiences to join our team.

 

The essential functions described above are not all-inclusive and are not intended to create any contractual or other legal commitment. Chicago Public Media may change the content or format of this job at any time in its sole and exclusive discretion without notice.

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