Overview

CoinDesk is seeking an experienced journalist to take the lead on how the site covers news. This is an important position that has a strategic component that goes beyond merely covering the events of the day — the editor will take the lead in developing CoinDesk’s voice in the daily conversation in all the areas we choose to focus: not just cryptocurrency but also adjacent topics (like privacy and security) as well as the greater world of business, finance, and geopolitics.

CoinDesk’s news section is evolving. It aims to respond quickly to events, but also to be a voice of trust and authority, bringing in needed context to the stories we cover (think: DealBook vs. the NYTimes Business page). We want our writers to think critically about the news, both reporting what happened AND discussing how it ties to ongoing trends and looking ahead to what’s next — all in an accessible, conversational style.

In consultation with CoinDesk’s audience development team, the candidate will be expected to experiment with and establish best practices for sharing across social platforms. Beyond simply “driving engagement,” the News Editor must take the lead in building meaningful two-way conversation with our audience on the topics that matter to them on any given day. The candidate will also work CoinDesk’s multimedia team to develop new ways to better integrate audio and video into news stories.

Management and mentorship are fundamental to the role: The News Editor will lead a tight team of writers and editors, guiding them on beats, story choice, sources, and finding their voice and how that voice aligns with the CoinDesk vision.

The candidate will report to the Executive Editor, Operations & Strategy

Duties:

  • Lead CoinDesk’s daily news coverage: Develop and execute on strategy for the news section and how it helps achieve CoinDesk’s audience goals and how news coverage overlaps with different editorial sections of the site
  • Own the “voice” of CoinDesk news
  • Develop the process for how CoinDesk gathers and generates news, from internal organization (roles and beats) as well as external-facing tools like CrowdTangle, Dataminr, and cryptocurrency-specific communities
  • Edit news stories from reporters, shepherding them from pitch to outline to story to published to promoted to follow-ups, giving advice and feedback along the way
  • Write news stories and cultivate sources
  • Lots of copy editing
  • Manage a news team, mentoring writers in story choice, covering a beat, and how to brand themselves on social
  • Work with audience to develop tactics that build CoinDesk’s presence on social media

Qualifications:

  • 5+ years of experience on a news team at a digital media site
  • Familiarity with cryptocurrency and blockchain
  • Ability to excel in a fast-paced, news-driven organization
  • Unmatched copy editing skills
  • Team player
  • Bias to action