Audience Editor

The Forward seeks an Audience Editor to help broaden our reach and deepen reader engagement and loyalty by working with reporters to publish quick, smart takes on the news that drive the day and the American Jewish conversation.

The person in this new management role will: identify promising audience-centered ideas based on social and search trends; frame and assign stories; and edit and optimize them to reach the widest range of current and new users. They will also draw insights from data about story performance and help colleagues apply them.

This editor must have excellent news judgment, be grounded in journalism ethics and care about Jewish topics. They should be comfortable reporting and writing as well as editing. They will be skilled at both analytical thinking and tactical execution, including crafting compelling headlines, understanding SEO signals and developing audience plans for in-depth enterprise stories.

The role requires equal parts curiosity and urgency, and the successful candidate will confidently triage a steady stream of demands in a small, scrappy team. There will be no “typical” day; they’ll sometimes program a newsletter, update the homepage, flag Forward content to aggregators, post on social; or analyze audience data. The Audience Editor is our First Responder, ready to mobilize colleagues to provide readers with what they need when they need it.

Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish, Socialist broadsheet, the Forward taught generations of Eastern European immigrants how to be American. Publishing mainly in English since 1990 and fully digital since 2019, our news, culture and full-spectrum opinion coverage now reach 1.5 million people each month across platforms. We are a member-supported nonprofit, having removed our paywall in late 2023, and an Equal Opportunity employer that welcomes applicants from all backgrounds.

The Audience Editor, a new role, will report to the Managing Editor for Audience and directly supervise 1 to 3 reporters, but also work across the editorial staff and with freelancers as the news demands. Salary range is $65,000 to $80,000, depending on experience, with generous health benefits and PTO.

Responsibilities include:

• Using tools like NewsWhip, Brandwatch, SEMrush, and Google Trends to identify promising opportunities for reaching audiences, and helping employees do so
• Translating conversations around Jewish topics into compelling ideas for Forward takes
• Collaborating with reporters and editors to develop angles, formats, and distribution
• channels
• Brainstorming conversational headlines, optimized across platforms
• Maximizing SEO and other techniques to drive growth and engagement
• Analyzing audience data to gain insights and helping colleagues apply them
• Careful editing that conforms to AP style, grammar rules, fairness and integrity

Qualifications and Skills

• 2 to 5 years of successful work in newsrooms or non-media audience work (ideally both)
• Proficiency in using Web analytics tools, including Google Analytics and Chartbeat
• Fluency in social analytics tools
• Experience with SEO content strategies, including headline optimization and keyword-rich use of descriptions and tags
• Deep interest in keeping up with digital trends and forecasting
• Sharp editorial instincts and skills
• Collaborative, with stellar communication skills

To apply, send to jobs@forward.com your cover letter, resume, three examples of audience-centered storytelling work with an explanation of your role in it, and three audience-centered Forward story ideas you’d assign this week. Subject line: Audience Editor.