About the Organization

The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (MI) is a community of scholars, journalists, activists, and civic leaders united by a shared commitment to advancing economic opportunity, individual liberty, and the rule of law in America and its great cities. City Journal is the Institute’s flagship publication, producing original reporting and commentary daily.

About the Role

City Journal seeks an ambitious, savvy editor who can help us take full advantage of the opportunities presented by digital technology to maximize our publication’s reach and impact. Success in this role requires an editor’s sensibility for detail, speed, accuracy, and storytelling. It requires a digital marketer’s creativity, visual acuity, and ability to craft and carry out data-driven strategies. And it requires a few essential personal qualities—chiefly sophistication, discretion, wit, and a commitment to excellence—needed to maintain fidelity to City Journal’s legacy while attracting and engaging new audiences.

The digital editor will be a core member of City Journal’s editorial team, involved with each piece’s production to ensure the best possible presentation across digital distribution channels. The digital editor will also be an important point of connection for the editorial team—liaising with other teams across the Manhattan Institute, staying abreast of and reporting back on business and editorial trends across the digital media landscape, and, most important, strengthening ties with City Journal’s digital readership.

Responsibilities may include:

Writing headlines (H1 and SEO) and producing metadata for all City Journal online content;
Developing language and visuals for all social media posts;
Helping source photos and visuals for online pieces to optimize their presentation on social media and other digital channels;
Collaborating with the Marketing team to produce video clips and other audiovisual content for social media;
Working with the Marketing team to support editorial needs for digital experiments (e.g., subject-line testing, language and visuals for off-platform advertisements, etc.);
Assembling and editing the daily City Journal e-mail newsletter;
Helping to produce regular virtual events highlighting City Journal writers and content;
Helping to develop and produce a City Journal podcast feed;
Actively staying on top of, and reporting on, digital media trends: how consumers are getting their news and information, how people are engaging in debates and conversations with others online, how platforms and search engines are changing algorithms, how AI is reshaping media production and consumption, etc.

The ideal candidate will:

Demonstrate strong philosophical alignment with MI's policy priorities, and a keen interest in supporting and extending this work;
Have editorial experience, ideally in a nimble, digital-first environment;
Have digital/social-media/content marketing experience, and/or experience at a tech company;
Be a great wordsmith and careful reader, with a mastery of spelling, grammar, and style;
Have a strong eye for visuals and design;
Be confident and creative while also open to guidance and feedback;
Consistently surface original ideas;
Demonstrate maturity, sound judgment, and an understanding of the political and professional landscape within which we operate;
Have a sense of humor and know how to channel it, appropriately, into compelling copy;
Be comfortable with a multi-pronged reporting structure;
Be genuinely interested in internet culture and the digital media business.

While this role may be remote, it will require regular travel to New York City every 1-2 months and a willingness to work U.S. Eastern Time hours. The salary range for this position will be $85,000 to $120,000 per year, depending on skills, experience, and geography.

Benefits

MI offers generous benefits, including four weeks paid vacation, a Summer Fridays program, paid paternity/maternity leave, medical and dental coverage with HSA options, medical and dependent-care FSA, mental health benefits, remote medicine, paid company cell phone, life insurance, and a 401(k) with a company-funded match. MI staff also benefit from the opportunity to collaborate and socialize with prominent scholars in our policy space.

To apply, please visit our website at https://manhattan.institute/job/digital-editor-city-journal. Be sure to include a resume and cover letter explaining both your interest in MI and your qualifications for the role. A work sample will eventually be required, with the specifics to be determined during the initial interview.

Manhattan Institute jobs

City Journal Digital Editor