Description

This position reports directly to the executive director, and must be comfortable working with community residents, students, emerging journalists and seasoned veterans to create stories that resonate with readers who often are neglected, underrepresented or misrepresented by other media outlets.

Our staffers don’t parachute into our communities and then leave: we are embedded in our neighborhoods, and we remain invested in the lives of our readers.

As we inform, we believe we can transform through the power of fact-based multimedia reporting. We are looking for the person who can bring out the best in our staff and who can help us become required reading for all those interested in Milwaukee’s Black and brown communities.

In this role, you will:

• Edit stories, graphics and visuals to ensure they meet the high standards of NNS for accuracy, clarity and newsworthiness
• Supervise reporters, photographers, interns and community volunteers
• Lead editorial meetings; coach and collaborate with reporters to identify and prioritize key topics, stories and impactful cross-newsroom special projects
• Assist in managing the newsroom, working collaboratively to craft strategies that further the organization’s mission, including production of efficient and timely content
• Work closely with our community engagement team, which includes News414, our community-centered engagement initiative that uses text messages, social media, events and other tools to listen to and then provide critical information to underserved audiences
• In collaboration with the executive director, help provide strategic direction and vision for the editorial team in alignment with the organization’s mission and goals
• In collaboration with the audience engagement manager, develop and execute content strategies that are revelatory, engaging and support the nonprofit mission, with the goal of getting our stories to a wider audience
• Spur and expand collaboration efforts with media partners, with the goal of getting our stories to a wider audience
• Coordinate regular training sessions to elevate the skills of staff
• Represent NNS at community events to build and maintain relationships with readers and supporters to ensure we stay embedded and connected in the communities we serve
• Collaborate with the business team to support grant applications and donor relations, as needed

We’re looking for someone who is committed to serving readers, has excellent interpersonal communication skills, is good at multitasking, is attentive to detail (but can see the forest from the trees) and endorses our mission to paint a complete portrait of our neighbors by intentionally celebrating the ordinary people who do extraordinary things; connecting readers to the resources they need to navigate their lives; serving as a ferocious watchdog on their behalf; and giving them a platform to voice their opinions on issues.

Required skills:

• 7+ years of journalism experience, with experience managing direct reports
• Outstanding editing, coaching, organizational and communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to multitask and consistently work on deadlines
• Experience in WordPress or similar content management systems
• Self-starting, initiative-taking attitude
• Demonstrated experience collaborating across and outside of an organization
• Curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge are an essential part of who you are
• Copy-editing experience, with expertise in SEO headlines and knowledge of AP style

Bonus skills:

Has experience setting strategic priorities and vision, including content, that advance organizational mission
Fluent in Spanish

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE IS: 

• Experienced: You have at least seven years in journalism and four years of managerial experience, ideally managing a team of reporters. 
• Resourceful: You know what you don’t know and how to get your questions answered without an abundance of hand-holding.
• Unflappable and flexible: You can pivot when you need to and know how to keep the trains running.
• Patient: With a good sense of humor. We like to laugh in our newsroom.
• Enthusiastic: You bring a can-do attitude to work.
• Milwaukee-loving: You possess a working knowledge of (or eagerness to immerse yourself in) the character, people, relationships and ways of Milwaukee.
• Curious: You are eager to learn about the topics and  issues important to the communities we serve. You stay current on Milwaukee happenings and national news topics related to our coverage areas.
• Mission-focused: You frame work through the lens of the most vulnerable, with a focus on serving communities that have been or are underserved.
• A lifelong learner: You realize you don’t know everything and are willing to experiment and fill your own knowledge gaps.
• Organized: You know how to prioritize and balance multiple projects simultaneously.
• Possess a start-up mentality: We are building the newsroom of the future in real time. We need folks committed to experimentation, innovation, improvisation and adaptation who are not afraid to get their fingernails dirty as they do the work.
• Is a good human being: We want someone who champions good journalism and the people who do it and the people we serve. If you don’t know how to collaborate, ours is not the newsroom for you.

We know that there will be great candidates who might not check all these boxes or who hold important skills we haven’t listed. Don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself. We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities. We are an equal-opportunity employer and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, or any other status protected under applicable law.

Location: The managing editor should be located in the Milwaukee area.  

Salary and benefits: The salary range is $63,500-$80,000. Final offer amounts will carefully consider multiple factors and higher compensation may be available for someone with advanced skills and/or experience. NNS offers competitive benefits, including generous vacation (five weeks), a retirement fund contribution, paid sick days, paid family and caregiver leave, subsidized medical and dental premiums, vision coverage, and more.

Deadline: Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. For best consideration, apply by February 7, 2025.

To apply: Please submit a PDF of your resume, a cover letter explaining why you are the best candidate for this job and answer a brief question in the application form. If you’d like to chat about the job before applying, contact Executive Director Ron Smith at rsmith@milwaukeenns.org.

About NNS

The Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service (https://milwaukeenns.org/), often referred to as NNS, is an ambitious, collaborative and pioneering journalism venture that for 14 years has delivered fact-based reporting to communities of color in Milwaukee. Housed in the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, NNS is a division of Wisconsin Watch, a statewide newsroom that focuses on explanatory and accountability reporting.

NNS and Wisconsin Watch merged in 2024 with different but complementary missions that work together to super-serve Wisconsin residents. NNS’s hyperlocal journalism reports on the complex issues facing communities of color. Meanwhile, Wisconsin Watch has a history of accountability journalism, regularly cited by policymakers and government officials. While we frequently collaborate, all editorial decisions are made by the Milwaukee staff.

We approach journalism by integrating ourselves into the community and listening to needs. This process informs what and how we report on issues. For example, in response to growing concerns about the toll of gun violence on Milwaukee residents NNS added a gun violence solutions reporter. This has helped NNS and Wisconsin Watch reporters consider how gun violence affects urban and rural communities differently and explore how we can improve systems to create safer communities.

Milwaukee NNS’s editorial vision

To provide reader-centered reporting that: 

• Celebrates the ordinary people who do extraordinary things in the city to  balance out the overemphasis of trauma and drama as well as doom and gloom in communities of  color;
• Educates the community about resources that are available to help them navigate life;
• Illuminates through watchdog reporting and explanatory journalism  significant issues of interest for and in our communities;
• Innovates through the use of technology such as texting, videos, audio,  etc. that elevates our storytelling to engage and meet residents where they are.

Catch our momentum

NNS is proud to be known nationally and cherished locally.

Supported by the Milwaukee’s generous philanthropic community and by individual donors, NNS was one of 28 news organizations serving communities of color to receive capacity-building funding from the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund at Borealis Philanthropy and a $1.4 million shared grant with the Wisconsin Watch from the American Journalism Project.  In addition, we have employed journalists through Report for America since 2020.

We are entering 2025 with momentum as our executive director, who’s edited several Pulitzer Prize-winning stories, has been inducted into the Milwaukee Press Club’s Media Hall of Fame; NNS Basic Needs Reporter PrincessSafiya Byers winning the Loeb Award, which is considered the Pulitzer for business journalism, for her collaboration with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on “Milwaukee’s Hidden Landlords”; and NNS being selected in the inaugural cohort of newsrooms to receive funding from Press Forward.

Our newsroom is one of the most racially diverse newsrooms in the city, with 80% of the staff being people of color.

We want to give Milwaukee the newsroom it deserves while also giving the people on our staff the workplace THEY deserve as well.