Editor-in-Chief Job at Floodlight Inc. in Memphis

ABOUT FLOODLIGHT

Floodlight is hiring an editor-in-chief to lead the organization's journalistic mission, guide its team of investigative reporters through the next phase of organizational growth and deepen Floodlight’s partnerships with local and national newsrooms.

Floodlight is a nonprofit, independent newsroom that investigates the powers stalling climate action. Since launching in 2021, Floodlight has collaborated with local and national news outlets including The Guardian, NPR, ProPublica, the Los Angeles Times, the Texas Tribune, the Louisiana Illuminator and Capital B. Floodlight stories reach millions. Each story is distributed directly to hundreds of news editors and republished through aggregation services. In 2025, hundreds of news outlets republished Floodlight stories. This position will work closely with colleagues and with journalists at external partner organizations. Floodlight produces both medium- and long-form online and video stories. Floodlight’s model has shown how collaborative investigative journalism can have an impact. Our reporting with NPR and Florida news outlets about how power company consultants swayed elections, spied on journalists and bought media coverage was followed by the departure of two Fortune 500 CEOs. The stories were seen nationwide and reposted by more than 2,000 outlets. The coverage was a finalist for Harvard’s Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting. More recently, Floodlight, along with local and national media partners, won top honors from the National Press Club in 2025 for exposing how corporations and special interests were manipulating public opinion by creating “news” outlets to push their hidden anti-renewable, pro-fossil fuel agendas — in two cases even taking over legacy local newspapers to do it. Floodlight’s reporting is nonpartisan, adhering to the standards of the Institute for Nonprofit News for financial transparency and editorial independence. While the organization is supported by philanthropic grants from foundations and gifts from individuals, Floodlight retains full authority over editorial content, and our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Read more about our standards & supporters. Our team of seven consists of two reporters, an investigative producer, an audience director, a chief operating officer, an executive director and an editor-in-chief, who will retire at the end of 2025. We all work remotely, with occasional travel for reporting, in-person meetings, industry conferences or events.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The ideal candidate for this position is a strong leader with extensive editing, reporting and management experience in investigative journalism and a deep understanding of both Floodlight’s collaborative approach and its role in the climate journalism space. The Floodlight editor-in-chief will manage a team of investigative journalists and work closely with a network of reporters and editors from external media partners on collaborative projects. The ideal candidate is tough, fair and collegial. This person will lead and shape the newsroom culture, striving to manage to our team members’ strengths while helping them deepen their skillsets. Floodlight produces deep-dive investigations that reveal the obstacles to climate action, ranging from disinformation and political influence to corruption and fraud. We aim for our stories to be locally relevant and nationally resonant. Because we spend more time on each individual project, it is key that the editor-in-chief have a keen eye for compelling stories that engage local and national audiences and have the potential for impact. The editor-in-chief must be adept at editing and fact-checking stories in many formats, including medium- and long-form text reporting, as well as video scripts. Most of Floodlight’s work happens through partnerships with national and local news outlets. We’re looking for a person with a strong understanding of the media landscape, and who will excel at managing those relationships. This includes the judgment to determine, along with the audience director, which partners might be best suited for a particular story and set expectations for how stories will be developed and schedules maintained.

ABOUT THE EXECUTIVE TEAM

The editor-in-chief will work closely with other members of Floodlight’s executive team. Emily Holden, Floodlight’s founder and executive director, leads the organization’s fundraising and business operations, while the editor-in-chief leads the organization’s editorial efforts and works closely with Emily to set the organization’s vision and priorities. Lee Pedinoff, Floodlight’s chief operating officer, supports the Floodlight team behind the scenes, assisting in fundraising efforts and building systems to help the newsroom perform at its best. Rosie Gillies leads Floodlight's audience development, engagement and partnership efforts, in collaboration with the editor-in-chief. The current editor-in-chief, Dee J. Hall, plans to retire at the end of the year, and the ideal candidate will overlap with her for some period of time for a smooth transition.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Work with the executive team to set and implement the strategic editorial vision in accordance with Floodlight’s overall goals and mission

Manage the editorial staff and audience director, including conducting quarterly and annual performance reviews and leading staff recruitment for those positions

Ensure reporting meets the highest standards of editorial excellence, including by leading Floodlight’s extensive fact-checking process and ushering reporting through any legal reviews

Lead twice-a-week editorial meetings and maintain up-to-date story budget

Oversee the editorial calendar and production of output across multiple distribution channels

Secure rights for visuals for publication and distribution of stories

Be the face of Floodlight, promoting its work by speaking at news industry conferences and preparing contest entries and other activities

Write quarterly and annual editorial reports for internal and external consumption

Consult with the business staff on grant proposals and reports

Oversee expansion of partnerships with external news organizations

IDEAL CANDIDATE QUALITIES

5+ years experience managing a team of journalists and at least 10 years in journalism

Strong editorial judgment and skills

Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to manage, motivate and mentor a diverse and talented team of journalists

Strong collaborative skills as liaison with partner media organizations

Exceptional organizational and project management skills with a fine attention to detail

Exceptional communication skills

Ability to weigh in on or make decisions with authority across all parts of the organization

Self starter who is highly motivated and resourceful

The role will work remotely, with occasional travel for events and team collaboration.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary for this position is commensurate with experience, starting at a minimum of $130,000 per year. Floodlight provides 25 days of vacation / PTO, plus 12 paid holidays, 10 days of medical / emergency / bereavement leave and 12 weeks of paid parental leave. To give staff maximum flexibility for choosing appropriate health insurance plans, Floodlight reimburses health insurance premiums and other qualified health expenses up to the federal maximum (currently $529 per month for an individual and $1,067 per month for an individual and their family). Floodlight provides a retirement 401(k) plan match of up to 4% on employee contributions to a pre- or post-tax plan. We know there are great candidates who might not check all these boxes or possess important skills we haven’t thought of. If that’s you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself. We also encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including people of color, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities.

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