The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for.

The New York Times is seeking a senior news assistant to support the News Desk. The ideal candidate will be an engaged and collegial team member with an interest in news. Flexibility and a desire to learn new skills are critical to success in this role.

Efficiency and strong organizational skills are a must, as the assistant will work closely with editors, desk heads and project managers across the newsroom to help the news desk team track stories and coordinate enterprise scheduling logistics, among other tasks.

This is an in-office position, based in New York City and includes regular attendance in the office four days each week.

Responsibilities

Act as a primary liaison for the desk, field communications and ensure smooth administrative and logistical operations.
Write and produce the newsroom-wide Driving the Day email signaling masthead news priorities, every day.
Take detailed notes during the 9 a.m. news meeting to capture priorities, slugs and publication timing.
Create and maintain a newsroom-wide master list of stories each week and frequently liaise with editors, desk heads and project managers to pick up daily updates.
Track the progress of top stories each day, updating the daily pitch list as stories publish.
Compile a list of site lead and top stories candidates based on current news priorities, preparing News Desk editors to run the 4 p.m. news meeting.
Work closely with desk heads, editors and project managers to coordinate enterprise scheduling logistics to ensure prime run and play.
Attend weekly enterprise meetings on behalf of the News Desk.
Support the weekend editor in building the plan for the weekend report, including coordinating with the Home team and desk editors to pin down slugs and timing and logging and sorting all slugs pitched for weekend in internal planning documents.
Track scoops from across the report, following up with reporters and editors when exclusive stories publish to include in Driving the Day.
Facilitate central planning and coordination on breaking and ongoing cross-desk lines of coverage.
Monitor the news, keeping a close eye on major competitors and flagging high level news stories.
Maintain multiple newsroom-wide email distribution lists.
Schedule, book and attend all desk meetings.
Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.
You will report to a deputy director on newsroom operations.

Basic Qualifications

Experience with Google Workspace
Experience in a role requiring operational skills
Experience in a fast-past environment
Demonstrated troubleshooting and problem solving skills

Preferred Qualifications

B.A. or B.S. degree
A passion for learning about new tools and journalism formats
Strong communication skills
Strong news judgement, writing and editing skills
A collaborative attitude and the desire to work in a team toward common goals

This position is represented by the NewsGuild of NY.

REQ- 020261

The annual base pay range for this role is between:

$80,952.15—$82,000 USD

For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.

For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.

We’re excited to learn more about you and your experience. To keep our hiring process as fair and authentic as possible, we ask that you submit your own work and not use GenAI tools to generate substantive content during the application and interview process.

If you’re an Engineering candidate, we’ll let you know what specific GenAI tools you are permitted to use for your technical assessment.

The New York Times Company is committed to being the world’s best source of independent, reliable and quality journalism. To do so, we embrace a diverse workforce that has a broad range of backgrounds and experiences across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Know Your Rights Poster is available here.

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Senior News Assistant, News Desks

Job details

The New York Times