Editor (writing-intensive) for leading black lifestyle blog (Los Angeles)
<>
HI THERE!
<>
<>
You’re witty. You’re opinionated. You’re in touch with pop culture and politics. And you’re enthusiastic about black culture. Sound like you?
<>
<>
One of the web’s leading lifestyle blogs for African-Americans is looking for a new lead editor, and perhaps it’s you. We need a self-starter who’s enthusiastic about black news and entertainment. Somebody who’s overflowing with creativity. Somebody who can work well with other creative types but also get the job done by yourself.
<>
<>
This is an opportunity to have an entire platform — a soap box, if you will — to steer conversation in the black community. Let’s see if you’re up to the task.
<>
<>
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE JOB
<>
<>
• Almost any topic is fair game. Politics. Breaking news. Entertainment and celeities and gossip. Sex and dating. Fashion, style, and hair. Come prepared with familiarity in all these realms, and an understanding that you’ll soon become a semi-expert on all these fields. While our blog is black-focused, we also involve general interest material — and then tailor it for black audiences, showcasing the important issues for the black community.
<>
<>
• This is a writing-intensive position. You will be writing a lot. Every day. This should not scare you. And don’t think you’ll get away by filling copy with cliches and large quotes. We want original material here.
<>
<>
• You might get lonely. Yes, our team meets regularly, but much of your workday could be spent hovering over your keyboard, alone in your apartment. And instant messaging with colleagues only counts toward human interaction a bit. So you should be comfortable with an autonomous role, setting and meeting your own goals, and keeping distractions to a minimum.
<>
<>
YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR
<>
<>
• Growing readership. We have an established base, but crucial to our success is expanding our audience. You will play an important role there.
<>
<>
• Generating and executing feature ideas. There will be a heavy focus on creating original content. You should be able to take any newsworthy topic and create a feature around it. Whether this means a discussion of Michelle Obama’s fashion choices or exploring other celeities like Jennifer Hudson who have lost family members, you’ll be expected to constantly be coming up with these ideas, and then completing them.
<>
<>
• Monitoring the headlines. While our goal is to ing exciting new content to our readers, we also ing them the news. But our version of “the news” doesn’t have to read like the New York Times or AP copy — our readers expect a lighter, more conversational and transparent approach. So you should be aware of what’s going on everyday in the news, and be able to ing those headlines to readers in a non-preachy way.
<>
<>
YOU SHOULD HAVE:
<>
<>
• Strong editing skills. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation aren’t just important, they are required job skills. And that’s the bare bones minimum of “editing skills.”
<>
<>
• A working knowledge of Photoshop and HTML. You won’t be required to whip out complicated graphics, but you should be able to resize, crop, and manipulate images. Also, this is a blog, which means we’re published on the web, so basic HTML knowledge should be part of your package.
<>
<>
• A robust list of black news outlets, websites, and blogs that you check regularly. Is “RSS” a foreign term to you? That’s bad. Go look it up, and make sure you’re capable of using it. Staying on top of the news cycle is beyond important; it’s a deal eaker with this job.
<>
<>
• The ability to multi-task. We cannot stress the important of this skill more highly. You will always — always — have multiple projects that you’re working on each day. You should be able to manage time to attend to each, while also fielding unexpected hiccups that will inevitably arrive.
<>
<>
WHAT DO DO NOW
<>
<>
Send over a ief email and include:
<>
<>
• Why you’re perfect for this job. What makes you so special? There are a of talented and creative writers and editors out there. What sets you apart?
<>
<>
• A little bit about yourself. Introduce yourself, stranger! We want more than just a name and phone number. Where’d you grow up? What shapes your worldview? Been to any interesting cities lately? How’d your kid other get his name?
<>
<>
• Any prior work experience that’s relevant. You can probably leave out that after-school job flipping burgers, but have you worked in publishing before? Have you posted anything online that we can check out? Do you have a personal blog? What about your work history makes you a good fit? Mention previous publishing, writing, or editing experience. Are you fresh out of college? That’s not necessarily a bad thing!
<>
<>
• What are you reading and consuming? Got a favorite blog? Columnist? Movie review critic? Cocktail recipe? Let us know what influences you.
<>
<>
• At least one interesting thing about yourself that we won’t find on a resume. If this isn’t self-explanatory, move on!
<>
<>
• Please, please don’t be boring. A stodgy, formal email from you isn’t fun for us to read. Nor does it really show us that you’ll be fun for our readers to read.
<>
<>
PLEASE NOTE
<>
<>
Your acting credits? Your IMDB profile? Your six months working on a set as a production set? None of these things are terribly impressive, nor are they job qualifiers. In fact, if you’ve been cast as “Secretary #2″ in a straight-to-DVD movie, it’s clear your interests are in Hollywood, not publishing, so please don’t waste our time.
<>
<>
