We're seeking an exceptional journalist and leader to join our founding leadership team as Managing Editor, Neighborhoods. This role offers a unique opportunity to build and lead multiple community-focused newsrooms that will become the primary source of news and information for Los Angeles neighborhoods.

As one of our founding leaders, you'll oversee our local publications, including the existing Boyle Heights Beat, and three additional community publications in the coming year. You'll lead the launch of the new publications, shape how the newsrooms operate, building teams committed to on-the-ground, community-first reporting that directly serves neighborhood information needs.

In this position you'll have significant influence in determining how we establish our presence in communities across Los Angeles. You'll help define what truly community-centered journalism looks like in practice, developing approaches that build trust and deliver high-value information to residents, including those who have been overlooked by traditional media.

You'll establish editorial standards and workflows that prioritize community perspectives while maintaining journalistic excellence. Your leadership will directly shape our organizational culture and how we measure success in serving communities.

This role will evolve as our organization grows. We're looking for someone who's energized by the prospect of helping define their own role while adapting to the changing needs of a startup newsroom.

The Los Angeles Local News Initiative is a nonprofit startup dedicated to revitalizing local journalism in Los Angeles. We're building a new model for community-focused news that connects neighborhood-level reporting with broader regional issues. Our approach combines dedicated community newsrooms with a central hub that amplifies local stories, identifies cross-community trends, and produces region-wide coverage that matters to all Angelenos.

• Free, Independent Local Press: We believe all Angelenos deserve to have a source of unbiased information that equips them to thrive in their daily lives. Our work will meet high journalism standards, be independent, non-partisan, and free to access. We’ll prioritize reaching as many Angelenos as possible, in the most effective ways possible.
• Community-first: We center the needs of local communities, with an ultimate goal to strengthen communities and make LA work better for Angelenos. Journalism should be focused on serving people most affected by the subject matter, and equipping them to take action.
• Equity & Inclusion: We need a representative, equitable, and inclusive local press. Newsrooms should be representative of the communities they cover, shift narratives to be centered on community perspectives, and provide pathways into newsgathering for residents.
• Trust: We believe that building trust must be a core principle of our journalism. As a baseline, the journalism we support must be accurate, independent, unbiased, non-partisan, and a trusted source of shared facts by the communities we serve.

Neighborhood Newsroom Leadership

• Oversee a portfolio of community publications including the existing Boyle Heights Beat team and yet-to-be-launched publications focused on soon-to-be-announced areas of L.A.
• Serve as editor of one of the new community publications
• Develop distinct editorial approaches for each community, reflecting local information needs and priorities
• Ensure each publication produces daily journalism with multiple updates per day
• Ensure each publication creates and sustains pipelines for student journalism, in partnership with the Managing Editor overseeing that work
• Incorporate the work of Los Angeles Documenters into editorial planning, reporting and publishing
• Build editorial workflows that balance breaking news, enterprise reporting, and service journalism, as well as ongoing collaboration with the Managing Editor, Central Support & Partnerships to lift up neighborhood news to the city, region and state levels

Team Building & Development

• Recruit, hire, and lead teams of reporters and editors dedicated to neighborhood coverage
• Cultivate talent at all levels, coaching newer journalists and mentoring experienced reporters
• Develop specialized expertise in community-centered reporting approaches
• Create a collaborative culture across multiple community newsrooms

Product Strategy & Innovation

• Work with the Executive Editor and Managing Editor, Central Support & Partnerships to develop strategies for local products (websites, newsletters, social media, SMS)
• Design content approaches that establish our publications as the primary information source in each community
• Adapt successful models from Boyle Heights Beat while innovating for each new community
• Ensure content reaches residents through the most relevant channels
• Work with the Head of Audience and Membership to create and define our strategy for community editorial products (website, newsletters, social media), designing innovative approaches that make local news compelling to diverse audiences

Cross-Organizational Collaboration

• Partner with the Managing Editor of Central Support & Partnerships to connect community-level stories to regional trends
• Take full advantage of the organization’s work in community engagement, student journalism and the Documenters program to ensure that community perspectives inform our region-wide coverage
• In partnership with the audience team, grow our reach and impact is each community

A Typical Week Might Include

• Editorial meetings with each community team to plan coverage
• Site visits to communities we serve or plan to expand to
• Editing stories from local reporters
• Coordinating with the central team on stories that connect multiple communities
• Meeting with community members to better understand information needs
• Reviewing analytics to assess which content is resonating with community audiences
• Planning for upcoming community publication launches

What Success Looks Like

First 3 months: You've established relationships with the Boyle Heights Beat team and community-facing colleagues throughout the organization, developed plans for our next community launch, and created a consistent editorial framework across local publications.

First 6 months: You've successfully launched our second community publication, built high-performing teams, and established consistent publishing rhythms that serve daily community information needs.

First year: You've overseen the launch of multiple community publications that are becoming trusted information sources, growing readership in each community

• Passionate advocate for neighborhood-level journalism with a track record of impactful work
• Experience leading newsroom teams to produce daily, high-quality journalism
• Deep understanding of Los Angeles communities and their distinct characteristics
• Background in community or hyperlocal journalism (strongly preferred)
• Entrepreneurial mindset—someone who thrives in ambiguity and is excited by building something new
• Strong editorial judgment and ability to coach reporters and editors
• Experience in launching new products or publications
• Understanding of digital audience development in community contexts
• Multilingual

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $150,000-$175,000 with a generous benefits package.

We’re committed to building an inclusive organization that represents the people and communities we serve. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, Black, Latinx, Asian American, and Indigenous people, veterans, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities. The Los Angeles Local News Initiative is dedicated to equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees. We encourage people of all races, colors, national origins, ancestries, creeds, religions, genders, ages, disabilities, veteran status, sexual orientations, and marital statuses to apply.

‍What to expect in the hiring process

‍We hope to fill this role as soon as possible, though the hiring process can typically take weeks to months. We will do our best to communicate with you about timing expectations throughout the process. Candidates who advance to later rounds of this process can expect multiple interviews with members of our hiring committee, and will be asked to complete a written assignment designed to help us understand your thinking and approach to the role. We aim to truly get to know you, to help you fully understand the role you’re applying for.