Story Desk Editor

Overview

WUSA9 in Washington, D.C. is transforming how we gather, produce, and distribute local journalism — and we’re looking for a Story Desk Editor to join our team during this exciting transition to the newsroom of the future. This role is ideal for a journalist who loves the daily rhythm of a newsroom, thrives in breaking news, and enjoys working across teams to help coverage come together across broadcast, streaming, digital, and social platforms.

The Story Desk Editor is a hybrid newsroom position that blends elements of assignment desk coordination and digital content production. You’ll be part of the Story Management Desk (SMD) — a unified team that supports planning, producing, and curating stories across platforms with a streamlined workflow. In this role, you will work closely with newsroom leaders, producers, MSJs, and photojournalists to help identify daily story priorities, coordinate coverage logistics, support breaking news response, and publish accurate and engaging content across WUSA9 platforms.

This position requires strong news judgment, solid writing and editing skills, and the ability to stay organized and calm under deadline pressure.

• Support daily coverage planning by helping identify story opportunities, monitoring developing news, and contributing ideas during editorial discussions
• Assist in coordinating logistics and communication across the newsroom so coverage plans are clear, organized, and timely
• Assist in breaking news and severe weather coverage by helping gather information, communicating updates, and supporting quick execution across platforms
• Write, edit, and publish stories for WUSA9 digital platforms (website, app, streaming) using strong headlines, clean copy, and accurate information
• Edit reporter and producer content for accuracy, grammar, fairness, AP style, verification standards, and digital best practices
• Work with the team to enhance storytelling with video, graphics, UGC, live streams, and creative digital elements
• Contribute to a positive, collaborative newsroom culture that values speed, accuracy, innovation, and continuous improvement
• Uphold TEGNA’s journalistic standards and values across platforms

• 3–5 years of experience in journalism, local news, digital production, assignment desk, broadcast producing, or related newsroom roles
• Strong news judgment and the ability to prioritize tasks in a fast-paced environment
• Strong writing and editing skills, including comfort writing quickly and cleanly under deadline pressure
• Familiarity with AP style and modern digital best practices
• Experience working with newsroom systems, publishing platforms, and content workflows (CMS, video, planning tools, etc.)
• Strong communication and organization skills with the ability to manage multiple active storylines
• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or equivalent experience