Full-Time Reporter/Editor

Stacker is looking for a creative colleague to join our newsroom as a hybrid reporter/editor on our syndication desk, which focuses on creating high-performing content for third-party platforms, like MSN and Newsbreak.

In this role, you’ll help ideate and produce engaging content with broad appeal that we distribute to both content platforms and our local publishing network. You'll brainstorm fresh story ideas each week, write and edit new stories, update existing pieces, and work closely with our content strategy leads to fill out and refresh our content library.

We’re looking for candidates with excellent news judgment and storytelling skills who are seasoned editors, adept at identifying new angles with the potential to drive page views and spotting opportunities to repurpose existing content with new pegs. Because many of our stories are built around data rankings and analysis, we’re looking for candidates with experience editing and/or creating these stories (or a willingness to learn, if not).

About the company and the team

Stacker is a new media company excited by the future of journalism. Every day, our efforts center on developing new and more sustainable ways to produce, distribute, and fund great storytelling that contextualizes our world and drives impact for news publishers big and small. We do this through a number of ways—from our tech-forward storytelling method and freely accessible newswire, to offering a structured avenue for non-publisher organizations to participate and contribute to quality journalism.

The syndication desk is a key arm of our newsroom and business model overall. The team focuses on growing audiences across third-party platforms with content that is highly engaging, stokes nostalgia, encourages conversation, and is often informed by data, from movie rankings using Metacritic scores to determining the most popular fast-food restaurants based on data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index. We also produce deeply researched lists on topics ranging from one-hit wonders to the history and origins of slang terms.

As a bootstrapped company, we’re a resourceful team focused on building an inclusive, equitable culture around shared values of integrity, ownership, and collaboration. Building for the future is reflected in the way we work: we are remote-first, embrace flexible schedules, and offer competitive benefits and perks including unlimited vacation, an employee equity program, health & dental coverage, and 401(k) matching.

We’re always looking for curious, media-minded thinkers to join the team. We encourage women, people of color, veterans, people with disabilities, and gender-nonconforming candidates to apply.

Responsibilities

• Tackle first edits on stories, including fact-checking. Ensure every story is accurate, grammatically sound, complete and fair, as well as clear and engaging. (All stories also go through our copy desk, but this is the more substantive first round of edits.)
• Edit already published content that is in need of an update, whether due to new data releases or outdated information.
• Develop skills to produce data-based rankings from a range of sources.
• Brainstorm and greenlight pitches from freelancers and other staffers.
• Assign stories to freelancers and consistently provide feedback to them.
• Manage elements of the editorial calendar, including assigning and overseeing deadlines.
• Review traffic data and identify new story topics and frameworks with high-performance potential.
• Write stories that are well-researched, clear, and without errors.
• Help recruit and maintain a diverse network of freelance contributors. 

Requirements

Must haves:

• 3+ years of professional editing experience, including a strong record of working with writers (in-house and freelance) on story scope, deadlines, and content strategy.
• A track record of writing and editing research-driven content that drives high levels of engagement.
• A hunger for growing audience and revenue numbers—the prospect of seeing readership grow each day from your efforts thrills you.
• A strong sense of what stories and headlines resonate with readers.
• Experience analyzing performance data.
• Basic understanding of Excel/Google Sheets.
• Strong organizational skills.
• A drive to learn new skill sets.