Managing Editor

Date Posted	December 19, 2025
Industry	Newspapers
Specialty	Local News
Required Education	Bachelor's Degree
Job Status	Full-time
Salary	$45,000 to $50,000

Description:

The Cortland Standard, a five-edition per week newspaper in Central New York, is searching for a managing editor who will manage a team of three journalists, a designer and multiple stringers and unpaid contributors. The position is responsible for all content in the daily newspaper and being a strong communicator with the public.

Cortland is a small college town on I-81 located 30 minutes south of Syracuse, 50 minutes north of Binghamton and 40 minutes east of Ithaca. There is a newly-renovated Main Street with ample dining and shopping and lots of outdoor recreation opportunities just outside the small city.

Responsibilities

• Provide a hyper-local product that readers enjoy consisting of news, feature stories, police and court records, social news, community events, obituaries and calendars — all in an easily-digestible and well-edited format.

• Ensure all deadlines are always met unless technological/mechanical breakdowns occur, or major news breaks.

• Be a face of the newspaper, answering questions and communicating with the public in a professional, friendly and honest way.

• Manage a team of journalists by assigning beats and stories, scheduling out and editing content and making sure the work going into the newspaper is of the highest quality. The managing editor should also constantly work to develop the journalists’ writing, source building, judgement and planning skills.

• Write strong headlines and provide the page designer with a steady flow of content. The managing editor picks up page design duties when needed.

• Provide a national and global wire report devoid of any slant or bias. There are large pockets of the greater Cortland area with unstable internet connection and lots of readers who come to the Cortland Standard for all their news, so providing the top stories of the day from the wire is still essential.

• Brainstorm new story, series, concept, theme and format ideas, as needed.

• With assistance from the publisher, hire news staff when needed. Evaluate and supervise staff, with a focus on day-to-day productivity. Be sure to key in the publisher if any serious concerns about the news staff arise.

• Schedule and post the editorial content to the web, making it look as visually appealing as possible. Schedule social media posts and monitor the social media pages.

• Work with other departments to coordinate an editorial effort regarding special projects (pages, sections, editions), advertising, production, circulation, marketing and online publishing.

The ideal candidate will have excellent written and verbal communication skills, energy, an open mind and a minimum of five years’ experience in a newspaper environment. Experience in InDesign and Photoshop is essential, and experience in web design and knowledge of the TownNews Blox Content Management System is a plus. A four-year degree in English, Journalism, Mass Communications or a related field is preferred, but not required.

Applicants can send their resume, cover letter and some examples of their work to Publisher Mindy Lawrence at mlawrence@cortlandstandard.com.

Sample News Group offers a competitive salary package, comprehensive benefits and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.