The Upside Editor

Job Description

BuzzFeed

The Role

BuzzFeed News is hiring an editor for a new brand, tentatively called The Upside, focused on reporting and writing inspiring, funny, and uplifting news from the internet and society at large. BuzzFeed believes in spreading truth and joy, and The Upside team will publish rigorously reported journalism at the intersection of both of those virtues.

To start, you will hire one reporter to the team. You will manage the daily and long-term editorial strategy by writing, editing, assigning, and brainstorming pieces, and making sure all relevant articles from your team and the broader newsroom are tagged under the brand. Critically, you will think about audience (understanding what is and is not resonating with our readers) and revenue (how direct-sold advertising and programmatic revenue help create a sustainable business) - all while remaining editorially independent and upholding rigorous journalistic standards.

This is a fixed-term role with full benefits and a great salary for a 12-month period. It could convert into a full-time position, and we will be clear and transparent from the outset about outlining success metrics and the path to a permanent position.

You will have a lot of room to determine what The Upside's coverage should look like. What has worked for us in the past is coverage of inspiring people, genuinely funny events, the very best of social media, and compelling photo posts. Find feel-good stories that our readers will be compelled to share because it makes them laugh, cry, or feel impassioned. What the coverage should not include are stories masquerading as uplifting news that are actually just putting a positive spin on society's systemic issues - this includes flowery reports about companies, millionaires, or their products or donations; or tone-deaf reports that seemingly highlight an act of kindness but ignore systemic social issues.

You will work with BuzzFeed News editors focused on social news on editorial strategy, and with partners throughout BuzzFeed on editorial, business, and product strategy.

This position is open to journalists who do not have editing or managing experience but know that's a career path they want to move into. You also don't need to have experience with the business side of journalism, but you have to be eager to embrace and understand it. It can be based in either New York or Los Angeles.

To make sure The Upside editor is set up properly, we'll have conversations about goals and what it means to succeed in this role at BuzzFeed News with finalists for this position.

You Will
• Write, edit, assign, and brainstorm engaging, timely, and evergreen articles about inspiring news events and people who are genuinely uplifting.
• Be able to speak the language of the internet
• Be on top of the news, culture, and conversation on social media around your subject matter
• Hire and manage a team of one that has the potential to expand
• Work with people around BuzzFeed to ensure the team is a sustainable business
• Make sure the right pieces are tagged to The Upside vertical
• Embrace and understand reader metrics
• Edit copy for sensitivity, accuracy, inclusiveness, and authority without losing tone or voice

To Apply

Please include a resume; either writing or editing clips; and, if you wish, a brief cover letter. We may ask some applicants to respond to specific questions in a brief memo outlining their strategy for this role, and take an editing test.

All job applications must be received through the official BuzzFeed Jobs board (https://www.buzzfeed.com/about/jobs), including referrals. It is BuzzFeed's practice to not schedule job interviews until after an application is submitted through our jobs board.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-dy7zym-3-145-165-8-42 in your application.