Managing Editor

Job Description

Carolina Public Press, an award-winning independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan and online-only news organization in North Carolina, is seeking a Managing Editor to lead our statewide news team.

CPP emphasizes in-depth and investigative articles rich in context and impact about North Carolina communities and topics that are underreported, especially in rural areas and those facing economic insecurity. Some of our major coverage areas include elections, politics, state and local government accountability, health care, economics, education, the environment and court and criminal justice issues. 

Duties: 

• Manage and supervise day-to-day news operations, including news staff and freelance photographers, graphic artists and writers.

• Oversee story and art assignments.

• Receive and vet tips for possible stories. 

• Coach content creators. 

• Edit news content with an eye for accuracy, AP style, reader interest, avoidance of undue libel risk, and maximizing SEO. 

• Write enticing and accurate headlines and deks. 

• Write effective alternative headlines for SEO. 

• Post articles to our site.

• Work closely with our executive director, who was our editor for many years, to implement coverage plans, including close coordination of our major investigative projects. 

• Communicate and collaborate effectively with other CPP managers.

• Represent CPP’s news team at industry conferences, public events, collaborations with other news media, etc.

• Help reporters tell more compelling stories through identifying news holes, editing for more active and clear prose, and reorganizing articles to improve flow and readability.

• Instill confidence in staff and freelance reporters, while working with them on breaking news, smaller assignments, enterprise stories and major projects.

• Maintain an organized, up-to-date and flexible publication schedule for internal use and review by other CPP managers.

• Participate in weekly virtual meetings with news staff and other managers.

• Organize and conduct regular weekly calls with reporting staff, with more frequent communication as needed.

• Monitor and participate in regular and frequent internal communications channels, via Slack.

• Attend quarterly in-person sessions with staff, making news training presentations.

• Other duties may be assigned as needed.

Compensation: This position offers a competitive salary that will depend in part on the editor’s overall experience and qualifications. We also offer health, dental and optical insurance, paid time off and paid holidays. 

Available: This position will begin on or after June 1, 2025. For anyone who needs to relocate to North Carolina, we have some flexibility on letting you start work remotely if needed.

Contact: If interested, please email careers@carolinapublicpress.org with a cover letter explaining why you are right for this position, along with your resume or CV. 

Job Requirements

• At least a bachelor’s degree, with some training in journalism or a related field. 

• At least two years of post-college recent supervisory and editing experience in mainstream daily newspapers or with digital-only newsrooms, though we will also consider strong candidates from broadcast, nondaily newspaper or magazine backgrounds. 

• A good understanding of news issues, Associated Press style, investigative and in-depth journalism, journalistic ethics, media law, digital media and search-engine optimization. 

• Knowledge of photography and infographics is helpful but less essential. 

• This person should be effective at helping reporters pursue stories through combinations of public records requests, event coverage and cultivation of sources.  

• Must be an effective communicator with colleagues.

• Knowledge of North Carolina politics, geography, recent news issues and state history is helpful but not essential.

Team members must be willing to live in North Carolina, but can reside anywhere in the state, provided they have reliable internet access and can reach other parts of the state by vehicle within a reasonable time. 

All qualified candidates of any race, religion or gender are invited to apply for this position. While the job requires high proficiency in English, the ability to communicate in additional languages common to substantial populations in North Carolina, such as Spanish, would be a plus.  

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