Executive Editor Chron

Executive Editor

Job Description:

Chron a Houstonbased digitalfirst Texas news site is seeking a new Executive Editor to run its 25person newsroom.

The ideal candidate must be a newsroom leader who can think big picture about what Chron should be as a brand and be able to inspire the newsroom to win every day in support of that editorial vision. This hire must be a tenacious editor who enjoys the pace of news and the thrill of a good narrative and be driven to make Chron a mustread for Texas culture stories that everyone will talk about. In a world of breaking and trending news this person should be able to quickly envision a fresh take on a story that no one else has and that the Chron audience wants to read and share.

This hire must understand Houston and Texas in their bones: what makes locals tick who the personalities places and businesses are that fire people up and get them talking. Understand how to assign and shape stories that dig into Texas culture and reflect voice sound reporting and have a sense of fun. Keep up on what others outside of Texas are saying about the Lone Star state and be able to call out national hot takes that dont sit right locally.

This hire needs to understand audience and have past success at and a deep understanding of growing audiences as the land shifts continue. Never be precious or boring. Have a knack for finding the unexpected story that will connect with readers and be so good that it reaches outside of local news boundaries to go national. And be relentless about testing microbeats and new ideas to keep Chron fresh and traffic flowing.

What is Chron

Once the digital home for the Houston Chronicle Chron became its own distinctive site and newsroom in 2012. Focusing on stories that capture Texas culture and that spark conversation Chron covers trending news sports food and entertainment real estate local TV personalities space and other topics that impact culture and life for people living in Houston the surrounding Gulf Coast region and throughout Texas.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Newsroom leader Craft a bold new vision for Chron. Set the editorial direction tone and brand voice for Chron in concert with senior stakeholders while executing newsroom operations that support that effort.
• Editorial strategist Zero in on the most interesting story ideas from an inundated news landscape and pivot the newsroom as needed based on traffic needs or the news cycle to make sure Chrons coverage reflects the brand is fast highly readable and valuable to readers
• Audiencefirst editor Understand audience metrics how to package and distribute a story who the Chron reader is how to find new audiences and turn the casual reader into a loyalist
• High metabolism Be energized by running a fastpaced newsroom that turns out highquality unexpected mustread stories every day
• Texas fundamentals Have a firm grasp of the issues people and cultural moments that readers care about and that are shaping Houston and Texas
• Grow a team Ability to inspire senior editors and younger reporters alike to test new franchise ideas and content beats evolve storytelling
• Eye for detail Empower editorial lieutenants spot opportunity manage newsroom needs including the budget
• Journalism fundamentals Have excellent news judgement and reporting and writing skills; awareness of macro challenges affecting the national digital media landscape and ability to brainstorm solutions; facility with content management systems and AP style

Competencies/Critical Skills:

• Idea honing: collaborate daily with editors to shape ideas into compelling stories that reflect an insatiable curiosity about Texas and connect with readers across the region
• Topnotch leadership skills to guide the newsroom every day assuring the editorial calendar is fed and reflects the Chron brand
• Excellent writing editing and communication chops particularly within news and feature journalism
• Ability to lead a team of editors and reporters daily keeping the team motivated and inspired to grow Chron and sharpen its brand voice
• Facility with analytics tools and ability to unpack those metrics to spot areas of opportunity and audience growth
• Calm demeanor in a fastpaced alwayson news environment

Measures of success for this position include:

• Meet and strive to exceed monthly traffic goals for the site
• Expand audience: Greater audience penetration within the Houston DMA increase loyal inDMA readers and grow readership elsewhere in the state through experimentation of new beats and topics story packaging and distribution
• Improve reader engagement across all platforms: grow video views social following on emerging platforms reader shares and commenting newsletter subscribers and clickthru rates
• Establish clear brand identity reflected in story mix that is distinctive from other local and statewide brands

What will it take to be successful

• Experience: Minimum of 10 years in a newsroom with at least 5 years in a management and editorial role
• Skills: Strong news judgment creativity attention to detail ability to write with clarity and authority. Comfortable with multimedia storytelling.
• Collaboration: Ability to work effectively with various newsroom teams and adapt to a fastchanging news environment.
• Technical proficiency: Knowledge of multimedia tools and platforms data analysis and metrics to inform coverage decisions.
• Strategy: Strong editorial perspective on the kinds of stories and audiences that Chron should pursue. Keen understanding of audience referral channels and how to optimize content for distribution across various platforms.
• Education: Bachelors degree in journalism communications or a related field preferred.
• Bilingual: Ability to speak a second language such as Spanish is a plus.
• Location: Must be based in the region or willing to relocate.

Chronis an essential digitalfirst local news source serving more than 6 million unique readers a month in Houston and the surrounding region including Galveston and the Gulf Coast. Once the digital home for the Houston Chronicle Chron became its own distinctive site and newsroom in 2012 whenHoustonChronicle.comlaunched. Focusing on stories that capture local culture and spark conversation Chron covers trending sports food and entertainment travel local TV personalities real estate space and more.Chron.comhas become the goto destination for metro and regional readers who are curious about whats new in Houston and whats affecting culture and life in the Bayou City.

About Hearst Newspapers:

With 2500 employees across the nation HNP encompasses a network of 24 daily and 52 weekly publications including the San Francisco Chronicle Houston Chronicle San Antonio ExpressNews and Albany Times Union several top digitalonly news and lifestyle sites marketing services businesses and entertainment businesses such as King Features Syndicate.

At HNP we are investing in new and innovative ways to tell stories growing newsrooms diversifying tools evolving platforms to support the millions of people who trust us each month to help them make decisions take action and be inspired.

Be a part of something bigger your headline awaits.

Recognizing the diverse needs of our candidates if you are interested in applying for employment and need assistance or an accommodation to use our website or regarding the application process please contact us by email at Please do not use this email address to inquire about the status of applications. We will only respond to inquiries concerning requests for a reasonable accommodation through this email address.

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