Staff Writer, Kids/Pets, NYT Wirecutter

Posted May 9

The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for. 

Job Description

About the Role

Wirecutter is seeking a staff writer to cover baby/kid and pet products for our discovery team, a group of writers and editors dedicated to applying Wirecutter’s best-in-class approach to service journalism in formats outside of our classic product guide. 

As a journalist covering kid and pet gear, you’ll work on cross-platform content packages — writing voicey articles, reporting on viral products, fronting videos, bylining newsletters and more — all to help our readers sift through the noise of the internet to delight in great product solutions — and great storytelling. 

You should have extensive experience in the parenting and/or pet space. You’ll look at the trends that are targeted to parents, and report with an inherent skepticism of marketing and influencer claims. 

You’ll work closely with both our baby/kid and pets teams, representing short-form and off-platform opportunities. You’ll interview personalities, own franchises on site and social, and be a tastemaker our audiences look forward to seeing and hearing from. This is an exciting job: telling creative stories that are anchored in Wirecutter’s rigorous research and testing. You will have the potential to be remote, though New York City-based applicants are preferred. 

Responsibilities:

  • Research, report, and write articles related to Wirecutter’s coverage areas, focusing on parenting and pets gear, gifts, tips and trends
  • Work quickly and efficiently to ensure accuracy and timeliness of quick-turnaround content that is rooted in Wirecutter’s deeply-reported guides
  • Work with our social and newsletter teams to develop off-platform content
  • Work with our social and community teams to respond to reader feedback and questions
  • Request product samples and process their return
  • Call experts and review academic journal articles and other scientific data; methodically scan user reviews and forums to find what truly matters to readers
  • Collaborate with editors to conceive new content and formats and move ideas from pitch to promotion     
  • Collaborate with creative teams to produce visuals to support articles
  • Create and update content for retail events (i.e., Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday), curated Wirecutter deal events, and other seasonal projects
  • May be required to attend trade shows and product news events as needed to build contacts and expertise in relevant topic areas
  • Perform related work as assigned

Basic Qualifications:

  • 5+ years experience writing experience at a major publication, media company, or service journalism outlet  

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Knowledge of SEO from an editorial perspective and understanding of how to use web analytics data to make editorial decisions
  • Excellent communication and task management skills in a remote work environment; patience to work through multiple rounds of edits and balance multiple reporting projects and deadlines simultaneously; ability to work very independently, with minimal supervision and revision
  • Experience doing original reporting and research for features or how-to guides is preferred; experience covering products or services, especially involving hands-on or lab testing, is also valuable
  • Experience collaborating with a visuals or photo team on art and content packaging 
  • A passion for and experience with kids and pets

The annual base pay range for this role is between $71,000.00 and $82,000.00.

Locations

Even with our office in New York City, Wirecutter remains a highly remote-friendly culture and is proud to employ incredible people across the country. Right now, we are eligible to hire in the following states: CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, ME, MA, MI, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, TX, UT, VA, WA.

Please include your résumé/CV and a cover letter with your application. You can only upload one file in the “Résumé/CV” box, so please combine and upload your résumé and cover letter as one file.

This is a union position as classified by the News Guild of New York. 

The New York Times is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce, one that reflects the varied global community we serve. Our journalism and the products we build in the service of that journalism greatly benefit from a range of perspectives, which can only come from diversity of all types, across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. Achieving true diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do. It is also the smart thing for our business. So we strongly encourage women, veterans, people with disabilities, people of color and gender nonconforming candidates to apply.

The New York Times Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. The New York Times Company will provide reasonable accommodations as required by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. Individuals seeking an accommodation for the application or interview process should email reasonable.accommodations@nytimes.com.  Emails sent for unrelated issues, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response.

The Company will further consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable "Fair Chance" laws.

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