Senior Editor, London Express Desk

Position description

The New York Times is looking for an Express editor for the breaking news hub in London. This role will involve guiding reporters and editing a wide range of news and trending stories, including live coverage, as well as collaborating with desks around the newsroom, including International, National, Washington, Metro, Weather and Live.

The ideal candidate will bring a strong interest in breaking news, outstanding editing skills, a spirit of collaboration and a sense of humor. They will maintain skills for finding, developing and breaking news and reinforce sharp headline writing and story framing, with a knowledge of what succeeds on the home screen, social and search platforms. Technical proficiency, collegiality and clear communication skills will be key to this role. So will dedication to the Express desk’s mission to enchant Times readers and attract new ones with timely, engaging stories in a variety of formats.

This is a permanent, hybrid position based in London and will report to the Deputy Editor of the Breaking News Hub. Working hours will generally be 9 a.m.-5 p.m. U.K. time five days a week, including one weekend day.

Main responsibilities: 

• Assign breaking and trending news coverage during the European working hours

• Handle first and second edits on Express stories and live coverage as well as occasional reporting duties.

• Pitch stories to the Home, Social and other teams involved in promotion.

• Produce daily written handoffs and attend daily turnaround meetings with the teams in Seoul and New York to discuss the day’s priorities. 

• Ensure that copy has excellent headlines, strong visuals, search optimization and framing for maximum audience reach and follows a proper workflow.

• Attend coverage planning meetings for major storylines when requested.

• Stay on top of all the tools and methods for finding, developing and breaking news online.

• Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.

Ideal candidate: 

• Strong news judgement and experience handling first and second edits of breaking news.

• Previously assigned and run reporters on breaking news, and shown the ability to handle rewrite and reporting duties as needed.

• Experience working on live news coverage, especially on complex and fast-moving stories, ensuring both speed and accuracy.

• Demonstrates the ability to navigate and collaborate with other desks in the newsroom.

• Can prioritise and maintain a clear head under pressure.

• Experience assigning and editing stories in multiple forms and formats.

Application instructions

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