City Editor, LEXtoday - 6AM City

WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

6AM is redefining how communities engage, communicate, connect, and experience their cities. We’re rapidly growing our digital products and expanding our team across current and future markets. We’re eager to find energetic, curious, and driven multimedia storytellers that can effectively create dynamic daily content about our ever-evolving cities. 6AM is for deadline-driven performers who thrive off an adaptable work environment and see the direct impact of their work. Join us as we build upon our growing network of cities, continuing our vision of establishing the most relevant modern local media brand.

This position is based in Lexington, KY.

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING

Your responsibilities as a City Editor include planning, writing, editing, and publishing the most relevant, engaging, and conversational daily content about Lexington, KY. This includes producing and managing daily content for the newsletter, website, and social media, strategizing for audience growth, assisting in writing sponsored content relevant to your market, executing on engagement tactics, and more as assigned. You will be the expert in your market and will be seen as a local influencer. Passion for your local city, excellent news judgment, curiosity, and interest in innovative media is a must.

As a City Editor, you are encouraged to try new things, be a creative thinker, and be empowered to follow through with the ideas you bring to the table to best serve in helping readers be the most educated and engaged citizens of your city. 

• Brainstorm and deliver hyper-local, timely original content. The ability to identify and produce relevant content in a deadline-driven environment is a must.
• Produce content primarily consisting of brief, daily lead stories that reflect breaking news while also creating and maintaining local features and city guides. 
• Curate news, lifestyle, and events-based content from local news outlets and social influencers. Plus, being able to summarize into short-form, original content for newsletter, web, and social media.
• Be an expert in distilling the important points of a larger story so our readers can stay informed everyday through our unique curation model. 
• Discover exceptional content before it goes mainstream.
• Have an unbiased approach to content creation. Our brand is objective. We inform our readers.
• Deliver publish-ready, error-free content in a simple, conversational format.  
• Bring engagement into everything you do. You’ll be activating the audience through surveys, polls and questions, replying and following up with readers daily. We continually work to have a conversation with our readers. 
• Be the example of an informed and engaged citizen. Attend community events, be in the know when it comes to local news, and be a leader in civic development of your region.
• Publicly represent the brand, as a role model of the company’s core values.
• Be the community manager of the brand’s social channels. This includes curating reader photos for our Instagram feed, taking original photos and videos, replying to DMs, being the first to re-share breaking news, and more. 
• Assist in creating goodwill with partner brands, brainstorming creative ways to elevate partners on social media and in the newsletter.
• Be a team player. Each member of our team has the same goal, and working together is integral to achieving it.
• Be ready to get the story. In order to be relevant and responsive, you may work outside of typical working hours as you cover breaking news. A majority of our content creation takes place during standard business hours. That said, some of the best local events take place on the weekends and sometimes news breaks after 5pm. We ask our teams to work in a rotational capacity to monitor breaking news and to post to social media as needed after hours and during the weekends.
• Act as our eyes and ears, always seeking out new media trends and technology to help us continue to innovate the business.
• Own your content. Creating relevant, timely, and clean content for the newsletter, web, and social media, will set you up for success. You will be empowered to take ownership and should be proud to sign your name to the newsletter every day.

WE’D BE FIRED UP IF YOU HAVE SOME OF THESE TRAITS

We are looking for team members with a strong and diverse knowledge of content relevant to growing communities, established community, and editorial relationships, and a track record of success in digital media.

• Interest. In escaping traditional media models, with a desire to explore new story formats and create incredible short-form content with a talented team of content creators, managers, and leadership alongside you. 
• Personal Brand. Driven, confident, adaptable, passionate, and spirited. Ownership of your brand, your opinion, and your voice.
• Know How to Innovate. Seek out new ways to think, filter, and be creative; lead the charge, report results, and do it all over again. 
• Be in the Know. Know who your audience is, what they want to hear, where they’ll be seeking the information, why they’ll want to engage and when to tell them the story.
• Willingness to Learn New Tech. A solid understanding of social media, email campaigns, data, analytics, CMS experience, and social media management would be a plus. Show us what we’re missing!
• Team Player. Curious individual who portrays enthusiasm while learning and working with others.

WE’RE PUTTING OURSELVES ON THE LINE

• Competitive salary 
• Premium health insurance
• Matching 401k
• Cell phone benefit
• WiFi stipend
• Unlimited sick and vacation time
• Two additional weeks of paid time off post maternity leave
• New Parent Wellness Stipend
• Mental Health Benefits 
• Virtual company-sponsored social events
• Paid time off to volunteer in our communities
• A commitment to an open, inclusive, and diverse work culture
• Leading in tech. We’re creating the future of local media, providing the newest technology to our staff.
• Set you up for success. We’d love to pick up the tab for opportunities that support career development.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

All applicants are considered for all positions without regard to race, religion, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, ancestry, physical/mental disability, severe/morbid obesity, medical condition, military/veteran status, genetic information, marital status, ethnicity, alienage or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. We promote diversity of thought, culture, and background, which connects the entire 6AM family.

Equal access to programs, services, and employment is available to all qualified persons. Those applicants requiring an accommodation to complete the application and/or interview process should contact a management representative. 6AM City is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.