Opinion Director, USA TODAY
Position Summary
USA TODAY is seeking an experienced, ambitious, and creative Opinion Director to build the most compelling opinion team in American journalism. Our aim is to create a new standard for opinion journalism-one that reflects the full range of perspectives across America, not just those elevated on the coasts, and helps bridge divides through thoughtful, challenging, consequential conversation.
This role sits at the center of our mission to elevate informed civic dialogue, surface bold and thought-provoking perspectives, and engage audiences around the defining issues of our time. The Opinion Director will set the editorial vision for opinion at USA TODAY across platforms and formats, while serving as a key partner to USA TODAY Network newsrooms-identifying strong local and regional voices for national amplification and driving standards, innovation, and impact.
This is also a community-building role. The right candidate will help us find ways to cultivate an active, loyal civic community around our opinion journalism, one that rewards our existing audience and creates a compelling reason for new readers, viewers and listeners to stay. That includes programming live and digital experiences, such as live Q&As/editorial events, town halls and community forums, that make participation, not just reading, the hallmark of USA TODAY Opinion.
This leader will oversee a team of editors, writers, and social engagement experts and will be accountable for excellence in opinion across text, video, on-platform, and off-platform experiences. The right candidate will bring urgency, agility, and a clear point of view-and will build a culture that experiments with purpose and performs at a high level.
This role is remote and can be based anywhere in the US, except for Alaska, Hawaii and Wyoming.
Reporting Relationship
- Reports to the SVP of USA TODAY.
- Leads the USA TODAY opinion team, including center-right and center-left writers.
- Partners closely with opinion leaders across the USA TODAY Network's local newsrooms.
Core Responsibilities
- Set the editorial vision and strategy for USA TODAY Opinion, aligned with our mission, ethical principles, audience priorities, and civic role.
- Maintain the highest standards for accuracy, fairness, transparency, and legal and ethical compliance in opinion journalism.
- Lead and develop editors, writers, and contributors, building a culture of excellence, range of thought, and continuous improvement.
- Represent USA TODAY Opinion internally and externally, including at industry events and public forums.
- Shape a distinctive opinion report grounded in facts, strong reporting, and clear points of view.
- Set coverage priorities across timely commentary, explanatory opinion, and the defining debates shaping the country.
- Lead USA TODAY Opinion's experimentation with and oversight of AI tools, setting contributor standards around AI-generated and AI-assisted content, piloting potential applications, and helping shape organization-wide policy in this rapidly evolving space.
- Partner across the USA TODAY Network to raise standards, surface strong local voices, and expand the reach and impact of opinion journalism.
- Work across Product, Audience, Brand, and Multimedia to evolve how opinion is presented, distributed, and experienced.
- Use audience insights to sharpen strategy, deepen engagement, drive subscription conversion and retention, and grow loyalty.
- This role has final say on what runs, how it's framed and promoted, and owns the roadmap for opinion products (digital packages, newsletters, podcasts, video franchises, live events, etc.)
Qualifications
- A bias toward action and comfort with change.
- Significant experience leading opinion journalism at a major media organization.
- Exceptional editorial judgment and deep command of ethics, libel, and publishing standards.
- Proven ability to shape a clear editorial voice while managing a wide range of perspectives.
- Strong editing, writing, and coaching skills.
- Deep commitment to sourcing, reporting, and rigor in opinion journalism.
- Ability to lead effectively across a large, distributed newsroom.
- Track record of digital innovation and audience growth in opinion or commentary.
- Experience in both print and digital (newsletters, social, podcasts, video) formats, plus eagerness for using data to inform audience decisions and ongoing experimentation.
What Success Looks Like
- USA TODAY Opinion is trusted, urgent, influential, and essential to the national conversation.
- Audience engagement with opinion grows meaningfully across platforms.
- A dynamic contributor ecosystem reflects the breadth, complexity, and conviction of America.
- USA TODAY and the USA TODAY Network are aligned in raising the standards, reach, and impact of opinion journalism.
Application Instructions
We are eager to learn more about you and how you fit this role. When you apply, don't limit your upload to a resume; show us what you've done. To do so, put together a single document file that includes the following, in this order: 1. Your resume - one to two pages.
2. A cover letter that outlines how you would approach the job.
It is important that these items be assembled into a single document and uploaded in PDF format. Completing these steps will ensure that your application receives the highest consideration. #Newsgnt
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The annualized base salary for this role will range between $138,000 and $215,625. Base compensation is reflective of many factors, including, but not limited to, the market in which one lives/works, individual education level, skills, certifications and experience. Note: variable compensation is not reflected in these figures and based on the role, may be applicable. 