Editor in Chief

Job Description

The Editor in Chief will lead The Beacon at a moment of transition.

The Beacon is a nonprofit newsroom serving Kansas City and the surrounding region. We were founded in 2019 in response to the growing need for independent local journalism that serves the public, and we launched in early 2020 at the outset of the COVID pandemic. From the beginning, our reporting has focused on public institutions, public health, public policy, and the issues that shape people’s lives over time.

Our mission is to cultivate engaged and informed communities with a sustainable nonprofit business model. To deliver on that mission, we produce accessible, in-depth journalism on public health, workforce and economic mobility, housing, education, democracy, and local and state government and civic engagement programming to bring communities into the conversation proactively.

In recent years, our work has become increasingly relied upon by other newsrooms, broadcasters, and community partners as a source of clear, credible reporting. As The Beacon’s role in the local journalism ecosystem has grown, so has our responsibility. In 2026, we are leaning hard into our core strengths: public health and local government accountability, while continuing to explain how public policy and economic forces shape everyday life.

The Editor in Chief will help guide the newsroom through this next phase. This role sets editorial priorities, shapes newsroom culture, and makes decisions about how our journalism evolves in scope, form, and reach. It requires strong editorial judgment, comfort working in an environment that is still taking shape, and a steady commitment to trust, fairness, and independence.

We are building a public service newsroom that people can rely on now and over time that reflects the realities of the communities we serve and brings those perspectives into broader public conversations across the region. The Beacon’s next Editor in Chief will approach that work thoughtfully and collaboratively, in close partnership with the CEO and the newsroom team. This is a senior leadership role for an experienced editor who wants real responsibility, real influence, and the opportunity to shape accountability journalism in Kansas City at a pivotal moment.

The role

The Editor in Chief is a senior leadership partner to the CEO. Together, you shape organizational strategy, culture, and external relationships that strengthen The Beacon’s impact and sustainability. The CEO leads fundraising and long-term financial strategy. The Editor in Chief leads the newsroom, setting editorial vision, standards, performance expectations, and impact.

This role requires living in Kansas City and becoming deeply connected to its civic life, institutions, and communities.

What you will lead

You will lead The Beacon’s editorial operation, guiding a Kansas City–based reporting team covering public health, local government, education, workforce and economic issues, and state policy in Kansas and Missouri.

You will set editorial priorities across daily, enterprise, and investigative reporting and make final editorial decisions. You are responsible for maintaining high standards of accuracy, fairness, and transparency, and for shaping how stories move from pitch to publication, including editing practices, ethical standards, corrections, and decisions around legal review.

You will shape newsroom culture and performance. This includes coaching editors and reporters, clarifying roles and expectations, improving workflows, and building systems that support strong output without burnout. As the newsroom grows, a Managing Editor role is expected to report to you, and you will help define how editorial leadership evolves over time.

Community-powered reporting is central to The Beacon’s strategy, including through Documenters, which trains and pays residents to report on public meetings and civic processes. Community input is expected to inform both individual stories and longer-term editorial priorities.

You will lead The Beacon’s role as a collaborator and convener in the local journalism ecosystem. This includes shared reporting projects, voter guides, election coverage, and partnerships with local, regional, and national news organizations. These relationships help extend the reach of our reporting and strengthen coverage across the region.

You will also be responsible for editorial growth. Working closely with audience and product leadership, you will help expand newsletter readership, develop new editorial products, and increase reach through partnerships and republishing. Audience growth and distribution are viewed as extensions of strong public-service journalism, not separate from it.

The Beacon is primarily funded by philanthropy, which allows us to prioritize public-interest journalism over commercial pressure. The Editor in Chief plays a key role in communicating the value of our journalism while protecting editorial independence, clarity of mission, and rigorous standards at all times.

What success looks like

• The Beacon produces sustained, high-quality journalism that is trusted by audiences and relied upon by partner newsrooms
• Editorial priorities are clear, disciplined, and reflected consistently in coverage choices
• Community input, including Documenters, meaningfully informs both individual stories and longer-term coverage
• The reach of Beacon journalism grows through newsletters, partnerships, and republication
• Collaborative projects, such as voter guides and shared reporting, are strong, well-executed, and editorially sound
• The newsroom operates with clear workflows, strong editing, and sustainable expectations
• Staff are supported, retained, and developing professionally, and the newsroom culture is healthy and resilient.

To apply

• Visit the job posting here: https://thebeaconnews.org/jobs/

Review of applications starts March 22, 2026. This posting will remain open until the role is filled.

Job Requirements

Education & experience

• Significant experience in a senior newsroom leadership role with responsibility for editorial decision-making and staff supervision
• A track record of editing and leading enterprise, investigative, or accountability journalism
• Experience collaborating with external partners, including other newsrooms or civic institutions, while protecting editorial independence
• Deep familiarity with journalistic ethics, standards, and best practices
• Willingness and ability to be based in Kansas City and engaged in the civic life of the region.

Skills & competencies

• Strong editorial judgment and the ability to make clear decisions under pressure
• Deep editing skills and a coaching mindset that supports reporters and editors at different career stages
• Ability to set priorities, manage complexity, and connect individual stories into a coherent editorial strategy
• Proven ability to vet, interview, and hire reporters and editors, with strong judgment about talent, fit, and team needs
• Comfort working across teams, including audience, product, and executive leadership
• Ability to communicate editorial strategy clearly to internal teams and external partners
• Curiosity about experimentation and new approaches to storytelling, grounded in strong editorial standards
• Organizational discipline and attention to detail, particularly around workflows, standards, and newsroom systems.

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