The Oklahoma Eagle, a community-driven, award-winning news organization in Tulsa, seeks an editor to lead the Eagle newsroom through an era of expansion and change. The Oklahoma Eagle is transitioning to become a nonprofit news outlet after more than a century as a family-owned, for-profit newspaper as part of the Tulsa Local News Initiative.

In close collaboration with the executive editor, managing editor and deputy editor of the Tulsa Local News Initiative, the editor will determine the coverage priorities for Eagle reporters and assign and edit stories to deliver high-quality local journalism online daily. In the Eagle’s weekly newspaper, the editor will carefully curate original assignments from the three Eagle reporters as well as relevant stories from the rest of the newsroom to create a print product that readers will cherish, and trust as a source of vital information and storytelling that represents the underserved communities of Tulsa.

The editor will lead and mentor a staff of three full-time reporters and a team of freelance writers, photographers, and designers. The editor will provide constructive feedback and foster professional growth for the team.

The new editor will be expected to build on the newspaper’s solid record of award-winning journalism and help coordinate collaboration with several Tulsa-based partner news outlets.

The Oklahoma Eagle, one of the oldest Black-owned newspapers in the U.S., primarily serves the readers in the Black community of Tulsa. However, its base of readers reaches beyond the city, across the state of Oklahoma, and nationwide.

The Eagle is a newsroom at the forefront of the revolution centered on finding novel ways to report and present local news. As a first-read newspaper for many of Tulsa’s Black community members, The Eagle is a place for talented journalists to engage in the mission-driven work that impacts the lives of Black people and other underserved readers in Tulsa.

The Tulsa Local News Initiative is a yet-to-be named startup nonprofit organization that has raised nearly $14 million so far in service of a vision to give everyone in Tulsa the local news they need. The newsroom will produce high-quality accountability journalism while working directly with residents to produce and distribute community reporting, employing an innovative model for local journalism that is directly responsive to local information needs. In addition to a team of editors and beat reporters, the Tulsa newsroom will have best-in-class community engagement expertise, multimedia production, dedicated capacity for service journalism and research, and Tulsa Documenters.

At TLNI, we value learning, curiosity and diverse perspectives. We are dedicated to equitable hiring and follow best practices to create an inclusive hiring process.

• Work with the executive editor and other TLNI editors to create ample space for story ideation and development and a culture in which reporters feel challenged to do ambitious work in service of their communities
• Work with the executive editor and other TLNI leaders to develop a content strategy grounded in the audiences we serve, to set measurable targets for journalistic impact and local audience engagement, and to guide the Eagle news team to achieve those goals
• Work to instill a sense of ownership in the newsroom’s strategy among reporters, including motivating reporters to think in multimedia formats and to be collaborative with our audience and multimedia specialists to ensure their content reaches as many people as possible, using best practices in social and emerging media
• Create development opportunities and individualized development plans for staff and training to enhance skills and foster growth
• Help identify and create opportunities to take time to edit individual stories side-by-side with reporters to talk through strengths and opportunities for growth
• Work with the Tulsa Documenters Editor to identify opportunities for standout Documenters to contribute to news stories from events they’ve documented, shepherding their collaboration with reporters or to do stories on their own and mentoring and editing them in that process
• Contribute original reporting and writing as needed
• Participate in newsroom planning and strategy sessions

• Directly supervise and manage a team of beat reporters
• Manage a roster of freelance writers, photographers, and designers

• Experience in editing and mentoring, teaching, or managing early-to-mid-career journalists
• Strong editing skills and a keen eye for compelling storytelling
• Experience editing and managing journalists from nontraditional professional backgrounds
• Demonstrated ability to produce innovative digital and print content
• Strong news judgment and understanding of journalistic ethics
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience with audience engagement and community-centered journalism
• Familiarity with digital publishing tools and content management systems
• Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $100,000-120,000 with a generous benefits package.