Sfgate Sports Editor Jobs

SFGATE Sports Editor

Your Impact:

Under the direction of SFGATE’s Deputy Managing Editor, the Sports Editor will be a versatile journalist with a deep understanding of sports in general (bonus points for having an equally deep understanding of Bay Area sports, but not necessarily required) and enough intellectual curiosity to want to tell stories that matter to both the people who aggressively follow Bay Area teams, and the people who only casually do so. The Sports Editor will be able to toggle between fast-paced daily stories and the well-sourced, deep-dive features that remind people there’s more to sports coverage than simply game recaps, box scores and YouTube clips. We want someone who will dig deep to cover teams in incredibly unique ways, and find stories that fans didn’t even know mattered to them.

Why SFGATE?

Launched in 1994, SFGATE.com was one of the first large-market media sites in the world and served as the exclusive digital home of the San Francisco Chronicle for 19 years. In 2019, the Chronicle (which can now be found online at the paywalled sfchronicle.com) and SFGATE officially became two separately run entities with their own editorial staffs and independent newsrooms.

Today, SFGATE is a digital-only publication that reaches more than 28 million readers every month and tells the stories of the people, places and ideas that make San Francisco, and the Bay Area at large, the weird and wonderful place that it is. We help readers navigate their day, whether it’s by keeping them updated on big breaking news, guiding them to interesting local experiences or sharing a part of the Bay they haven’t seen before.

The site is home to seven verticals: Culture, offering a unique mix of the entertainment news you actually need, and the underground stories from hidden corners of the Bay Area you want; Local, the premier destination for everything that life in San Francisco encompasses (from wildly expensive real estate to schools to what it’s like to live above a raucous bar); Sports, covering the intersection of sports and culture; Travel, covering everything from flight deals and travel news, to hotel hacks and under-the-radar day trips; Politics, where we keep you up to speed on all local, state and national politics that have implications on the Bay Area; Food + Drink, where we tell you the backstory of the people behind the bar and in the kitchen; and News, plus has satellite editors covering Lake Tahoe, California Parks, the Central Coast, Hawaii, and Disneyland.

What you’ll do:

• Be consistent — not only is this an idea-heavy job, it’s a writing-heavy job, we want someone who can move the audience with their features, to give them smart, bite-sized sports news items to keep them informed throughout the week, and have the planning foresight to make sure they have something really great lined up for weeks to come.
• Consistently have ideas — you’ll be given a blank canvas to tell stories that matter across a broad range of sports. You need to have a constant stream of ideas to paint this. We are absolutely not looking for someone to write game recaps and sidebars. We don’t do access journalism, don’t want press credentials, don’t want to be in the same locker room huddle with the same five-beat reporters getting the same tired stories. What we are looking for is someone who can apply ambitious creativity to sports journalism, whether that be a definitive profile on the Oakland A’s billionaire owner according to 20 people in his orbit, or a deep-dive into why Klay Thompson has a deal with a Chinese shoe brand you can’t find anywhere in the U.S.
• Be autonomous — this position comes with a lot of trust, to both keep an editorial calendar, meet deadlines, understand analytics and communicate with the copy desk, photo department and illustrators. You have to be able to do all of these things and do them well.
• Find emotional connections — we don’t want a feature story on Kyle Shanahan. Everyone has already written features on Kyle Shanahan. We want a feature on the burger bar near the 49ers old practice facility that gave away free food to players and staff after every win in the ‘80s. We don’t want a statistical breakdown on why George Kittle is the best player in the league. We want you to camp out at the Santa Clara Panda Express that Kittle visits every Monday and see what non-media availability George Kittle is like. We don’t want a story about the Raiders new stadium in Las Vegas, we want one on the groundskeeper who has been responsible for transforming their old one back and forth between the A’s and Raiders for most of his adult life. We want ambitious journalism, not press conference transcriptions.

Who you are:

• You have a deep knowledge of all sports that spans beyond just baseball, or just basketball, and you have an equally deep understanding of the sports landscape and what impacts it — this is where a lot of great stories come from
• You have 3+ years of relevant experience in sports writing and editing at a publication or in a digital media environment
• You have a passion for journalism and telling stories
• You’ve read SFGATE and have an understanding of the brand and voice
• You live in the Bay Area or are willing to relocate

In accordance with applicable law, Hearst is required to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role if hired in California. The reasonable estimate, if hired in San Francisco is between $80,000.00 and $85,000.00 with additional incentive opportunities. Please note this information is specific to those hired in San Francisco. If this role is open to candidates outside of San Francisco, the salary range would be aligned to that specific location. A final decision on the successful candidate’s starting salary will be based on a number of permissible, non-discriminatory factors, including but not limited to skills and experience, training, certifications, and education.

About Us:

The San Francisco Chronicle, SFGATE, and Hearst Bay Area work together as distinct brands to bring the best quality news and stories to Northern California. We are owned by Hearst, a leading global, diversified media, information, and services company with over 360 businesses. Each month, we reach over 30 million unique visitors through different platforms, namely our marquee, award-winning content brands, the San Francisco Chronicle, and SFGATE.