Audience Editor - Digital News Products & Services
CNN
New York (Manhattan), NYThis is a Full Time Job
The Audience Editor is the embedded, desk-specific partner to Audience Strategy & Insights, translating audience signals into clear editorial choices. You will supply the desk with essential performance learnings; shape framing, formats, and distribution to meet audience demand; and collaborate across Search, Social, Home, Newsletters, and Product to maximize reach, habit, and engagement (including among subscribers).
This role sits at the intersection of editorial judgment and evidence-collaborative, rigorous in approach, and focused on measurable outcomes. You will work closely within our Audience Strategy & Insights operating model and in partnership with DART (Data, Analytics, Research & Testing) to turn insights into action and build repeatable practices the desk can rely on.
Your Role Accountabilities …
Performance Insights & Editorial Guidance
• Deliver concise, actionable daily/weekly/monthly insights that guide coverage decisions and follow-ups.
• Suggest stories, angles, and formats grounded in search intent, off-platform behavior, competitive patterns, and audience demand.
• Interpret quantitative and qualitative signals to shape framing and presentation on platform (site/app, home, article packaging, recirculation) and off platform (search, social, alerts, newsletters).
Cross-Platform Strategy & Collaboration
• Partner with Product and platform teams (Search, Social, Home, Newsletters) to identify opportunities in modules, templates, topic hubs, and alerting.
• Drive reach, engagement, and habit by aligning desk plans to audience goals and capturing learnings in structured retros and playbooks.
• Coordinate packaging and distribution across Off-Platform, Distribution, Community, Programming, and Newsletter teams.
Desk Support & Operational Cadence
• Contribute to daily, weekly, and monthly audience updates, synthesizing insights into desk and section reviews.
• Evaluate the desk's presence and strategy across platforms; identify growth opportunities in formats and account strategy.
• Coach the desk on best practices for social, search, and packaging; lead quick tests and document learnings.
• Optimize for discoverability via trend identification, audience demand research, evergreen refinement, and intent matching-partnering with Search on best practices.
• Uphold CNN's journalistic mission by using data to inform editorial decisions.
Qualifications & Experience…
• 3+ years in digital journalism, audience or content strategy, or analytics.
• Strong ability to spot coverage, framing, and format opportunities that drive reach and engagement.
• Skilled at interpreting data and partnering with analytics to shape on- and off-platform presentation .
• Experience working with Search, Social, Home, Community, Notifications, and Newsletter teams.
• Clear, action-oriented communicator who contributes regularly to audience performance updates.
• Ability to write and coach platform-native social copy.
• Committed to journalistic independence and mission-aligned decisions.
• Fluent in search trends, intent shifts, and misinformation dynamics.
• Deep social platform expertise with strong tone and brand stewardship.
• Strong writing/editing instincts for headlines, display, and framing.
• Comfortable with testing, iteration, and directional reads .
• Skilled at bridging editorial, product, analytics, design, and research.
• Strong understanding of competitive landscape and attention patterns.
Salary/Benefits
$77,000 - $143,000 /year USD
Actual salaries will vary based on several factors, including but not limited to external market data, internal equity, location, skill set, experience, and/or performance.
Benefits
• Health insurance coverage
• Employee wellness program
• Life insurance
• Disability insurance
• Retirement savings plan
• Paid holidays and sick time
• Vacation
Additional Information
CNN is a leading news organization that delivers news and information to audiences around the world, known for its commitment to journalistic integrity and providing accurate, timely news coverage.