News Editor, Children’s Health Defense – $90,000 – $110,000 a year
This position is TEMPORARY with the potential to become permanent after 1 month. A cover letter is required to move forward in the process.
CHD Overview:
Children’s Health Defense (CHD) is a litigation advocacy organization dedicated to protecting child health, ending the epidemic of children’s chronic health conditions by eliminating harmful environmental exposures, holding those responsible accountable, and establishing safeguards. Guided by science, we are tackling big pharma, holding big industry accountable at an unprecedented scale, and establishing safeguards to make a safer environment for children. We share our discoveries about harmful environmental exposures with the public and nurture a culture of leadership in communities. Our programs and resources cultivate science literacy and build a foundation of collaborative problem-solving among our next generation of leaders, scientists, physicians, citizens, and stewards. Working both nationally and internationally, our collaborative approach engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners.
Department Overview:
The Defender department encompasses two services that bring the latest news and resources to our community, The Defender and Community Forum.
The Defender is the news and views website for CHD. We publish the Top News of the Day newsletter, Monday – Friday, and the Most Read News of the Week on Sundays.
Community Forum covers community news and views, including chapter news, and CHD advocacy efforts, including action alerts. The Community Forum site hosts the community calendar and an interactive message board where paid members/subscribers can connect with others around shared interests. Some Community Forum content is included in the Defender daily newsletter.
Position Overview:
The news editor works directly with The Defender’s managing editor and editor-in-chief to ensure that The Defender’s news content is accurate, engaging, and timely. This position requires a blend of editorial expertise, leadership, and strategic thinking to help guide The Defender’s content direction.
Responsibilities:
- Work closely with editors and reporters to identify breaking news stories and news feature story ideas, and provide story direction
- Work closely with editors and reporters to identify government health agency and corporate insiders/informers/whistleblowers who can help break investigative news stories
- Edit original content for accuracy, AP style, readability, clarity, organization/flow, use of credible sources, inverted pyramid-style news writing
- Coach reporters on strategies for improving writing/reporting skills
- Research potential reposts
- Write headlines and excerpts for original and reposted content
- Write short articles on trending news stories on an as-needed basis
- Collaborate with copy editor and content managers to finalize articles for daily newsletter
- Ensure Defender deadlines are met without compromising quality
- Attend meetings and events as required
- Respond to calls, emails and text communications in a timely manner
- All other duties as assigned
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s or higher degree in journalism or communications or related field
- 4+ years’ experience working as a news editor, reporter in a fast-paced offline/online newsroom environment
- Deep knowledge of medical freedom movement and alignment with CHD mission
- Proven experience as a journalist, reporter, or editor with a strong portfolio of work
- Exceptional writing, editing and proofreading skills with expertise in inverted pyramid-style news writing
- Understanding of news-writing style and ability to differentiate between news writing, opinion and feature-style writing
- Strong knowledge of AP Stylebook
- Excellent attention to detail
- Ability to work under deadline pressure
- Strong collaboration skills
- Ability to prioritize, multitask, and adapt to sudden changes in priorities
- Experience with multimedia journalism (video, podcasts, interactive content)
- Knowledge of social media platforms and their role in news dissemination.
- Proficient in standard business software including but not limited to MS Office or similar, email , and Experience using G Suite, preferred
- Candidates for this position must submit at least two writing samples that are 500 words or more
Environmental and Physical Requirements:
Essential physical and environmental requirements of this position include but are not limited to the ability to: speak, hear, see, write, type, use a computer, use a phone, attend online meetings, sit for prolonged periods of time, work on a set schedule, maintain a safe home office. Ability to travel if needed. In addition, must be comfortable working in a fast paced environment, under tight deadlines, and shifting priorities.