Working closely with other members of the State News team, the Editor/State News assigns and edits copy for the 18-20 state and regional pages that appear in each issue of the AARP Bulletin. The Editor monitors the progress of his/her stories throughout the editing, factchecking, copyediting, and design processes, and pushes for creative, high-energy writing and display of the work. The Editor also helps maintain a database of potential freelance writers around the country and assists his team and the Pub team at large as needed in other editing, brainstorming or production tasks.
- Assigns and edits state and regional news stories for the Bulletin, including writing headlines, decks and cutlines.
- Also assigns and edits Enterprise Community stories for the Bulletin.
- Directs the editorial production on those stories in which s/he is the assigning editor, through copyediting, factchecking and design.
- Posts Bulletin state news stories on the state blog pages.
- Prepares Bulletin state news stories for use on tablets.
- Edits other Bulletin copy as may be assigned by the Executive Editor for State News or the Bulletin Deputy Editor.
- Participates in matrix meeting throughout the association to help develop story ideas covering the broad range of AARP activities in the states.
- Ensures that proper payment is made for freelance articles.
- Corresponds with members when they ask questions about stories s/he has edited.
- Demonstrates AARP mission, purpose and values in all interactions
- At least 5 years of experience as a reporter and/or editor on a recognized publication.
- We are looking for candidates who are proven wordsmiths, highly creative, and passionate about service journalism.
- The editor must be proficient in the use of the Microsoft Office Suite of tools and have experience and competence in using social media.
- The editor must also have top-notch communication and people skills, as the role requires maintaining strong, positive relationships with a wide range of internal and external clients.
AARP offers competitive benefits with a 401K, 100% company funded pension plan, health, dental, vision and life insurance, STD/LTD, paid vacation and sick, and other benefits.