Assistant Editor - USA

Media Matters for America a progressive, Washington, D.C.-based, nonprofit research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media seeks a candidate with strong editing skills to serve as Assistant Editor.

This is a full-time position and is remote. Remote work can be done anywhere from within the United States, including our Washington, D.C., office.

In order to maintain a safe and healthy workplace, Media Matters employees accessing our D.C. office are required to provide proof of full vaccination for COVID-19 as defined by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Media Matters will discuss reasonable accommodations with employees who may be unable to receive a vaccine due to disabilities or medical status, and/or employees with religious objections or concerns that may prohibit them from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

Role Summary:

The Assistant Editor's role is to work with a team of editors to ensure content for every department at Media Matters is readable and accessible to a broad audience, factual and well-sourced, grammatically correct, and timely. Hours may be nonstandard; flexibility in scheduling and willingness to sometimes work evenings and/or weekends is desired.

After successful training, the Assistant Editor will be assigned an alternative schedule that would focus on the late afternoon and evening, to include prime-time hours in Eastern Time (example schedule: 3-11 p.m. ET).

Reporting Structure:

• The Assistant Editor reports to the Senior Editor and Editorial Director and works closely with the other editors as well as the writers on staff.
• This is a nonmanagerial position.
  
  

Responsibilities:

The essential functions include, but are not limited to the following:

Editing and fact-checking:

• Provide critical style and content editing for every department at Media Matters.
• Edit research items and reports written by teams across the organization for the Media Matters website, as well as occasional press releases, promotional/donor materials, and member communications.
• Ensure that content is readable and accessible to a broad audience, factual and well-sourced, grammatically correct, timely, and impactful.

Monitoring the media landscape:

• Stay up to date and informed on relevant media narratives and major stories of the day by tracking internal emails, reading news websites and blogs as well as all Media Matters content.
• Monitor various social media outlets to maintain an understanding of media narratives relevant to Media Matters' mission.

Collaboration:

• Communicate with members of all Media Matters departments in a collaborative way to ensure effective content and consistent writing style that meets our standards for publication.
  
  

Required qualifications:

• Minimum of 2 years of editing experience.
• Ability to work a schedule other than 9am-5pm, including 3-11p.m. ET
• Flexibility to work within rapid news cycles, sometimes outside of typical work hours, on weekends, or evenings.
• Ability to quickly synthesize information about new topics and identify the most critical or interesting parts of a specific news story.
• Ability to multitask and adjust in fast-paced and high-pressure situations within a 24/7 news cycle.
• Ability to adapt to new technologies and systems quickly and effectively.
• Alignment with Media Matters' work culture, including:
  • Interest in media and the effects conservative misinformation has on our public debate, and an understanding of Media Matters' mission and work.
  • Ability to operate effectively both independently and in a team setting.
  • Demonstrated ability to meet tight deadlines on a daily basis, organize long-lead projects, and quickly adapt to new challenges in a fast-paced news cycle.
  • Ability to prioritize and manage simultaneous assignments and quickly synthesize information about new topics.
  • Receptivity and responsiveness to both concrete and abstract feedback.
  • Dedication to accuracy, with the ability to prioritize and give keen attention to detail.
    
    

Preferred Qualifications:

• Background in journalism or communications.
• Knowledge of AP style.
• Familiarity with the progressive political space and the right-wing media landscape, U.S. media, and the ways conservative misinformation affects public debate.
• Knowledge of web-based platforms and/or content management systems.
  
  

Compensation & Benefits: Media Matters for America offers competitive compensation and a comprehensive benefits package. The starting salary range for this position is $51,00-54,749. Candidates with substantial additional experience may be considered for more senior positions.

This position is part of the Media Matters Union represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 500.

Media Matters offers extensive benefits, including:

• multiple health insurance options, including a no-cost option for employees and vision and dental coverage;
• a monthly student loan repayment benefit;
• a safe harbor automatic 3% contribution to a 401(k) account on the employee's behalf;
• relocation stipends;
• work-from-home transitional support benefits;
• a supplemental payment of $2,250 per year for employees who choose to work at least 60% of the time from the Washington, D.C., office;
• access to both individual health care and dependent care flexible spending accounts;
• life insurance;
• short- and long-term disability insurance; and
• confidential, no-cost counseling through an Employee Assistance Program.

Additionally, we offer generous paid time off, including paid new parent and family medical leave; 10 days of vacation (increasing each year, up to 21 days in/after an employee's fifth year at Media Matters); 12 paid holidays; 2 personal floating holidays; 3 wellness days; and 12 sick days per year. We also traditionally close the week between Christmas and New Years Day.

Essential Physical Requirements

The physical demands of the position include regular work on a computer for all or part of the work day, as well as regular communication with colleagues, both verbally and in writing, using tools such as email, Slack, and audio and video conferencing. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions, including the use of assistive technology.

How to Apply:

Please visit to apply through our online portal. No phone calls, please.

Media Matters for America is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value a diverse workforce and strongly encourage applicants of all backgrounds to apply, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, or disability.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.