Director of Newsletters

Description:

About Boulder Reporting Lab

Boulder Reporting Lab is Boulder County, Colorado’s nonprofit newsroom, dedicated to producing high-impact, public-service journalism that helps residents understand their community and participate in it.

Since 2022, BRL has grown into one of the region’s most widely read local news sources, reaching tens of thousands of readers through our website and newsletters. Our morning newsletter, BRL Today, is our most widely read product, serving as the primary way many residents encounter our journalism. It functions as a front page, explainer, curator and connective tissue for the newsroom’s work.

We’re now hiring an editor to lead this product and help expand our broader newsletter portfolio as the newsroom grows.

The Role

We are hiring a Director of Newsletters to lead a core editorial product and help shape how our journalism is framed, presented and delivered to readers.

This is an editorial role at the intersection of editing, writing, audience strategy and product development. You’ll oversee our flagship daily newsletter, ensure it reflects the newsroom’s strongest journalism and voice, and help expand additional newsletter products that serve distinct community needs, including growing our food and drink newsletter and helping launch new topic-focused newsletters as opportunities arise.

This role is well suited for someone who wants to take ownership of a core newsroom product, balancing the rigor of a daily publication schedule with the opportunity to shape how journalism reaches and connects with readers in a local community. You’ll help define what a modern, community-rooted local newsroom front page can be.

What You’ll Do

Lead and grow our flagship daily newsletter

• Serve as the primary editor of BRL’s daily newsletter, overseeing the BRL Today writer and setting the editorial standards for each edition.
• Shape the lineup, framing and presentation of each edition, deciding how the day’s reporting is prioritized and explained to readers.
• Write and edit headlines, summaries and transitions that make complex local reporting clear and engaging.
• Ensure the newsletter reads as a cohesive journalistic product, not simply a list of stories.
• Work closely with a small, collaborative team of editors and reporters to identify key takeaways, surface the strongest angles and provide necessary context.
• Help guide the continued growth of the newsletter, including expanding its publication schedule to at least five days a week.

Write and shape the editorial voice

• Write top-of-newsletter items, explainers and occasional reported pieces.
• Help establish and maintain a clear, grounded editorial voice.
• Translate breaking or complex local developments into accessible, reader-focused coverage.

Strengthen newsletter strategy and product development

• Work with the publisher to align newsletter growth with audience, revenue and mission priorities.
• Contribute to the launch of new newsletters or recurring editorial formats.
• Identify gaps in how we serve readers and propose new approaches to coverage or presentation.
• Use analytics and reader feedback to refine tone, structure and coverage mix.

Lead breaking news coverage in newsletters

• Play a central role in how breaking news is framed, written and delivered to readers in real time.
• Develop and refine newsletter approaches for urgent coverage, major local developments and high-interest stories.
• Work with the editorial team to ensure the newsletter functions as a timely briefing during fast-moving news cycles.

Support reader engagement and fundraising through newsletters

• Work with the publisher and team to ensure newsletters effectively communicate the value and impact of BRL’s journalism.
• Help shape messaging, calls to action and editorial framing that support reader contributions and membership growth.
• Collaborate on special fundraising campaigns and moments where newsletter presentation plays a central role.

What We’re Looking For

We don’t expect one person to check every box, but strong candidates will bring many of the following:

• Experience working in a newsroom environment, with a strong understanding of editorial standards and workflows.
• Strong editing instincts, sound news judgment and the ability to sharpen stories quickly.
• A clear, engaging writing style and a commitment to high editorial standards.
• Experience with newsletters, audience-focused journalism or digital-first publishing.
• Comfort managing daily deadlines while thinking strategically about products and coverage.
• Interest in how journalism evolves in a nonprofit, reader-supported model and a commitment to local, community-centered reporting.
• Initiative and ownership, paired with the ability to work collaboratively in a growing newsroom where systems and products are still evolving.

This role could be a great fit for:

• An editor who wants more product ownership.
• A reporter ready to move into a leadership/curation role.
• A newsletter editor at a national outlet who wants to work closer to community impact.
• Someone interested in helping invent what the next generation of local news products looks like.

Location & Salary

• Based in Boulder County
• Salary range: $70,000–$85,000. Final compensation depends on experience and qualifications.

How to Apply

Send the following to Stacy Feldman, publisher, at jobs@boulderreportinglab.org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

• A resume
• A note explaining your interest in the role, how your experience fits, and why you want to work at this newsroom and in this community.
• Two to three examples of writing or editing work (newsletter work especially welcome).