Summary of the Assistant Editor, Fine Arts job at The New York Times

The New York Times Culture desk covers the arts and culture to help people understand the world. Through our reporting, criticism and service journalism, we provide trusted guidance to help people live fuller, more considered lives.

We are seeking an Assistant Editor, Fine Arts to help shape and elevate our coverage of visual art, architecture and design; museums and other art institutions; and auctions, with an eye toward ambitious, distinctive journalism that reaches a broad, curious audience. You should have expertise that will produce stories that lead readers into the boardrooms and the studios of today's cultural influencers and will also develop stories about the intersection of art and new media, including artificial intelligence.

You will work closely with the art discipline editor, critics and reporters to determine coverage, assign, edit and second edit news, features, reviews and visual story forms.

You'll also manage a critic and assign and oversee the work of freelancers. You should have a deep understanding of fine arts and art institutions, strong editing skills across formats and platforms and a track record of guiding world-class journalism.

This is a hybrid position, based in New York City, and includes regular attendance in the office at least four days each week.

Responsibilities:

• Help identify and prioritize key fine-arts storylines, from breaking news to longer-term investigations, profiles and criticism that illuminate how the arts intersect with politics, power and the broader culture
• Assign, shape and edit daily art stories, including news, features, criticism, service pieces, visual pieces and enterprise projects
• Assign and edit news of institutions, including museums, art galleries, auction houses and non-profits, throughout the U.S. and Europe
• Respond to news events in the art world by assigning and editing timely stories, explainers and off-the-news pieces that give readers essential context and insight
• Plan and assign advance obituary coverage of notables in art
• Coordinate with our European cultural editor on coverage of major events including biennales and museum openings
• Manage and direct the work of at least one critic
• Assign, schedule and edit freelance reviews for Weekend Arts, including the weekly Galleries section
• Identify and shape features and profiles for the weekly Arts & Leisure page
• Collaborate with photo, design, visual and video editors on stories across a variety of formats
• Help foster a collaborative, inclusive culture on the desk, modeling clear communication, constructive feedback and high editorial standards
• Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world
• You will report to the Art Editor

Basic Qualifications:

• 7–10 years of editing experience, ideally as an editor in a newsroom
• Knowledge of and curiosity about visual art
• A track record of editing a variety of story forms and formats
• Ability to meet deadlines, juggle multiple stories at once and make sound editorial decisions under pressure
• Excellent communication and organizational skills, including the ability to manage complex workflows and coordinate across multiple teams

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience supervising or mentoring journalists, including guiding reporters from pitch through publication
• Experience working closely with visual, audio and video teams on digital storytelling, and a willingness to experiment with new formats
• Familiarity with Times style, standards and journalistic independence, and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world
• A demonstrated ability to collaborate across desks and disciplines, building strong working relationships in a large, complex newsroom
• A passion for expanding the audience for arts coverage and making our journalism accessible, surprising and indispensable to a global readership

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