Photo Editor, The Christian Science Monitor

Department:          The Christian Science Monitor

SUMMARY

The purpose of this position is to assist the Director of Photography in providing photographic content to all our platforms. The Photo Editor also helps in managing the clerical needs of the department. This is a growth position at the Monitor, with support for expanding responsibilities and assignments as the individual demonstrates deeper capabilities. 

The Photo Editor approaches this role with curiosity and open-mindedness and a willingness to set aside personal bias or prevailing consensus. The editor applies rigorous journalistic principles, and treats all points of view with diligent inquiry and respect. The incumbent prizes photos that promote calm over fear and insight over assumption. A Monitor journalist depicts the subject of the story fairly and without embellishment, and eschews advocacy. The Monitor equips the reader to reach his or her own well-reasoned conclusions.

The incumbent strives to uphold The Christian ScienceMonitor’s founding mission “to spread undivided the Science that operates unspent,” and its object “to injure no man but to bless all mankind.” That includes hewing to our five operational guidelines:

• Bring a healing, purifying thought to many homes. We counteract cynicism about news and humanity by upholding a higher standard of both. 
• Get above the fray. Because we’re owned by a church, we’re free from corporate and political interests. 
• Cover the day’s vital global news. We provide a trustworthy and concise compilation for our thoughtful, busy readers. 
• Investigate ideals and endeavors, not just events. We keep abreast of the times by recognizing key currents of thought and their impact.
• Be clean, family-friendly, and non-sensational. We are “a newspaper for the home.”

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Photo Editor embraces our newsroom’s three culture pillars:

• We’re scrappy. We seek creative solutions. We’re hungry and nimble. We experiment and streamline.
• We’re rigorous. We embrace others challenging our ideas and our writing. We strive for editorial excellence, and we help each other continually improve. We know that feedback is a gift.
• We have unwavering fidelity to our mission. We make our founding mission the basis for every decision and initiative.

The Photo Editor consistently utilizes demonstrated technical expertise regarding digital photography. The editor works to support the efficiency and excellence of a small photo department that must work collegially as a team. The editor’s skills include:

• A strong eye for strong news photography that engages the reader immediately;
• A good sense of best photojournalism practices;
• Constant engagement with learning new skills;
• Ability to work within established processes and handle multiple simultaneous requests;
• Ability to stay on top of deadlines and alert relevant journalists to any related problems;
• Ability to share insights and suggestions for improvement in a constructive manner.
• Ability to run the department when the Director of Photography requires it.

The editor is attuned to what is going on among staff, including stories that are being assigned, and works to get to know editors and to be proactively engaging with them while supporting the photo department’s photographers. On a daily/weekly basis, this individual: 

• Attends editorial meetings as needed and promotes best photo usage;
• Reviews incoming pitches and drafts for the department’s awareness;
• Researches and assigns photo shoots;
• Receives and processes photos sent for publication;
• Searches news services sites to locate the best /most relevant photos for publication;
• Understands and works within a budget;
• Works with page designers;
• Contributes ideas for photo stories;
• Performs clerical work, updates databases, tracks payments, etc.;
• Masters our content management system and our photo archive;
• Coaches staff writers/special correspondents on photography. Including feedback on their submissions.
• Understands photo sequencing and layout with the vocabulary to discuss decision making with all parties involved
• Shoots photo assignments as determined by the director of photography.

STAFF MANAGEMENT AND JOB CONTACTS

Supervisor: Director of Photography

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Education/Experience

A bachelor’s degree and/or relevant experience in shooting for news stories and providing support to photographers. At least five years of professional experience.

Work environment

Works in the Boston newsroom four days a week. 

Engagement with Christian Science

Membership in The Mother Church is valued, but is not required. The Photo Editor respects that, while the Monitor is not a sectarian publication, it is grounded in the healing mission of the Church that publishes it. The incumbent is receptive to developing a deeper understanding of how that mission informs and uplifts our journalism. For more background, see www.CSMonitor.com/About.

Pay Range: $76,025 - $98,832.20 annually

The pay ranges disclosed in our job postings are the compensation ranges the Church reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for a given position at the time of posting. 

The offered salary will be determined by factors such as the applicant’s relevant education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities; and benchmarking, work location, and internal equity.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.