The Requirements
To be a good fit as a curator you will have:- A bachelor’s degree in Journalism, English or a related field, OR an equivalent combination of education and experience
- Three or more years of solid newsroom experience
- Strong writing and copy editing skills
- A demonstrated ability to package news
- Demonstrated news judgment that aligns with the direction set by senior management
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A working knowledge of:
- Online social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter), blogs, wikis, and emerging communications technologies
- Newspapers and other forms of print media
- Graphic design concepts and theories
- The ability to see the possibilities and opportunities of a multimedia synergy
- A commitment to developing print products of exceptional quality
- The skill to solve problems and make judgments autonomously
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- The ability to thrive in a fast-moving and sometimes hectic environment where priorities can change rapidly
- The desire to be a team player, and the ability to work well with those around you
- The ability to work a flexible schedule that includes nights, weekends, and holidays
The Role
You will join a team of Curators to collect and organize, edit and repurpose content from a variety of sources. The team works on every section of the newspaper and all of our magazines, so you’ll need flexibility and versatility in news, sports, entertainment and opinion.You’ll work with Managing Producers overseeing our reporting team. You’ll stay current with digital content -- poring over Syracuse.com, monitoring wires, and being aware of the news getting a lot of play on social media. The search for content will continue throughout the day. Once you select the copy, you will rewrite, edit, craft headlines, and ensure that it is reworked to meet our high standards.
Just as important as your excellent writing, editing and proofreading skills and good layout judgment, you’ll need to be able to communicate in a fast-paced newsroom environment. You will direct and work with artists, and you will work with page producers.
Some of your specific tasks will be to:
- Manage workflow and story budgets on deadline, ensuring processes keep things moving.
- Discuss the development of illustrations, charts, maps and other graphics to augment stories.
- Merge and edit text, write captions, craft headlines.
- Collaborate with Designers and Page Producers in page creation.
- Assemble copy, graphics, photos, etc. for editorial packages.
Keys to Success
To excel in this role you will be an idea person, not only generating great ideas yourself, but also helping to cultivate a creative atmosphere on the Curation team and with other journalists. You’ll need to know how a news package is selected, copy edited and produced, and you’ll also need the creativity to envision alternative story formats.We are in the process of installing Saxotech, a state-of-the-art editorial system that will make your job faster and easier. It will be a plus if you have experience with Saxotech. You’ll need to be nimble and flexible in moving among various platforms -- you’ll have a wide array of platforms with which to work and you’ll need to leverage them all.
Just as important as your abilities, experience, and vision will be your interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate with and influence people. You’ll need a focused approach to identify the compelling stories, respond in a timely manner and deliver content that is consistently high quality, error free and on time. This means you’ll need to be comfortable in a fast-paced environment, bringing high energy and the ability to juggle a lot at once.
