Senior News Editor

Position Overview

The Senior Editor is a senior operational authority in Newsweek's U.S. newsroom, responsible for setting the editorial bar and enforcing it relentlessly. This role demands editors who can run a national news desk at full throttle-making high-stakes editorial decisions in real time, rewriting aggressively, and delivering journalism that competes head-to-head with the strongest U.S. newsrooms.

Reporting to the US News Director, the Senior Editor owns daily execution of the U.S. news report, turning strategy into journalism that is fast, authoritative, analytically sharp, and unmistakably worth a reader's time. This is a role for editors who expect to touch the most important stories themselves, not manage them from a distance.

This is a full-time position working 3:00 pm-12:00 am ET five days a week, including one weekend shift. This position may be worked remotely anywhere in the United States.

Key Responsibilities

Desk Command & Editorial Judgment

• Run the U.S. news desk during peak coverage hours, making final calls on framing, prioritization, and play.
• Distinguish decisively between stories that advance public understanding and those that merely follow the pack.
• Kill weak or redundant stories quickly-and demand better replacements.

Elite Editing & Rewrite Authority

• Deliver first-class framing on the most competitive national stories, identifying where Newsweek can add clarity, originality, or analytical value.
• Rewrite without hesitation: leads, nut grafs, headlines, structure, sourcing, and tone.
• Take raw field notes, transcripts, interviews, and exclusives and turn them into clean, analytical, tightly argued journalism.
• Perform rapid second-day and rolling rewrites that materially improve stories as facts evolve.

Breaking News & Hands-On Reporting

• Operate as a desk reporter when the moment demands it-making calls, confirming facts, chasing documents, and closing gaps.
• Personally intervene on high-stakes or sensitive stories where precision and judgment are critical.

Standards, Culture & Accountability

• Hold yourself and your team to elite newsroom standards.
• Provide blunt, constructive feedback and demand improvement.
• Mentor reporters and junior editors into sharper thinkers and stronger journalists.
• Take ownership when coverage underperforms.

Audience & Competitive Awareness

• Maintain a sophisticated understanding of how serious readers engage with news.
• Work with audience teams to ensure performance goals support editorial ambition.
• Monitor competitive coverage and push Newsweek to outperform, not echo.

Qualifications & Requirements

• 7-10+ years of experience at a high-level U.S. digital newsroom.
• Demonstrated record editing breaking news, exclusives, and enterprise reporting at speed.
• Exceptional news judgment.
• First-rate rewriting skills.
• Comfortable making consequential editorial decisions independently.
• Proven ability to handle sensitive and legally complex stories.
• Deep understanding of U.S. political, legal, and cultural dynamics.
• Calm, decisive leadership style under pressure.

Salary Range

$100,000 - $115,000 commensurate with experience.