News Assistant

The New York Times is seeking a news assistant to work in a floater role that will involve learning several different news assistant jobs throughout the newsroom. Floaters fill in on various jobs to cover other employees’ vacations, leaves and other types of time off, as well as filling in on night or weekend jobs that don’t have a regularly assigned news assistant. 

The ideal candidate will be a quick learner who is versatile and able to rotate easily from one job to another. Organization and a desire to learn new skills are critical to success in this role. Flexibility is also key as floaters do not have a set schedule; a floater’s schedule varies week to week and will include nights, weekends, and holidays. Schedule changes occur regularly and being cooperative with changes and quickly responsive to calls/emails from Newsroom Operations managers are required. 

The duties of this role may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Assist editors in producing various newsletters and other online content 

• Handle layout of some parts of our print newspaper 

• Screen and sort mail, send out newspapers, answer telephone calls and manage other incoming information for the assigned department 

• Maintain department documents, including spreadsheets and various listservs that contain reliable information of reporter locations 

• Various proofreading and fact-checking duties

• Various audience-related tasks, i.e. SEO and URL verification

• For publication in listings, review and confirm background facts for events submitted to The Times, seek out appropriate upcoming events, select events and edit content for space requirements

• Determine accuracy of data, correcting apparent errors as needed and calling attention to news developments the material may disclose

• Manage desk social media accounts at the direction of editors

• Write and/or reword caption information attached to incoming pictures or other material submitted by photographers so that editors can write captions for publication

• Gather, prepare and archive content, including, but not limited to, a wide variety of tables, listings, captions, summaries, photos, graphics and other content elements accurately and efficiently, repackaging, reformatting and appending assigned content as needed for immediate publication in any and all media

In addition, floater news assistants may be called upon to help ensure the smooth administrative operation of the assigned desk by performing a variety of tasks under the supervision of desk editors and/or the operations manager, including:

• Helping to maintain varied departmental files and personnel and other office records including work and vacation schedules, timebanks, whereabouts lists and payroll records

• Assisting editors and operations managers with processing of freelance and staff payments

• Learning and utilizing evolving administrative tools and working with editors and operations managers to help create and apply newsroom policies on the assigned desk

• Strong grammar and communication skills

• Familiarity with Google Workspace (Google Docs, Sheets, Forms, Slides)

• Strong organizational skills 

• Ability to multitask and prioritize to meet deadlines

• Ability to quickly learn and apply new skills 

• B.A or B.S degree

• A passion for learning about new tools and journalism formats

• Versatile skills in writing

The job will be based in New York and is represented by the NewsGuild of NY.

Additional Compensation and Benefits

For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, employee stock purchase plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs. 

For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.

REQ- 020010

We’re excited to learn more about you and your experience. To keep our hiring process as fair and authentic as possible, we ask that you submit your own work and not use GenAI tools to generate substantive content during the application and interview process.

If you’re an engineering candidate, we’ll let you know what specific GenAI tools you are permitted to use for your technical assessment.

The New York Times Company is committed to being the world’s best source of independent, reliable and quality journalism. To do so, we embrace a diverse workforce that has a broad range of backgrounds and experiences across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do 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 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Know Your Rights Poster is available here. 

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.

For information about The New York Times' privacy practices for job applicants, click here.

Please beware of fraudulent job postings. Scammers may post fraudulent job opportunities, and they may even make fraudulent employment offers. This is done by bad actors to collect personal information and money from victims. All legitimate job opportunities from The New York Times will be accessible through The New York Times careers site. The New York Times will not ask job applicants for financial information or for payment, and will not refer you to a third party to do so. You should never send money to anyone who suggests they can provide employment with The New York Times.

If you see a fake or fraudulent job posting, or if you suspect you have received a fraudulent offer, you can report it to The New York Times at NYTapplicants@nytimes.com. You can also file a report with the Federal Trade Commission or your state attorney general.