Bruce VanWyngarden, editor of the Memphis Flyer, has announced that he will be retiring as editor of the paper. VanWyngarden plans to stay with the Flyer and with Contemporary Media, but will be stepping away from what he calls “the editor’s weekly treadmill.” We are therefore conducting a search for the next editor of the paper – someone to guide Memphis’ alternative newsweekly into its next era. 
The editor of the Memphis Flyer is responsible for guiding the paper’s content and quality across its various media, including both print and digital editions. He/she reports to the CEO of Contemporary Media, Inc., parent company of the Flyer. The editor-in-chief will have the responsibility to maintain the paper’s 30-year tradition of progressive, feisty, excellent journalism, while continuing to reimagine what the Flyer can be and do in its next chapters.
The editor will work with the staff of the paper to create editorial calendars, while also staying abreast of developing local news stories and responding to them in a timely manner. The editor will assign stories to the staff and freelancers who are associated presently with the Flyer, while always working to locate and cultivate dynamic new talent.
In collaboration with CMI leadership as a whole as well as the Flyer staff, the editor will chart a course for the paper’s journalism and work to ensure that course is followed with excellence.
The person chosen for this position needs to possess a vision for the publication – a sense not only of how to maintain all that is good about the Flyer, but also how to grow new capacities. This person must also be extremely attentive to detail and skilled in editing others’ work according to AP and the Flyer’s style guidelines. He or she should also be able to manage a steady churn of work.
The ideal candidate should have prior hands-on experience as a publication editor, have a voice and a vision of his or her own, contributing to the paper’s pages on a weekly basis with an editor’s letter and also contributing feature stories when appropriate. He or she needs to be a first-rate writer and thinker.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. People of color, women, LGBTQ candidates, and others from groups underrepresented in the publishing community are strongly encouraged to apply.
To apply, please send a letter of introduction, resume, portfolio, and 2-3 references to hr@contemporary-media.com. No phone calls, please. The deadline to apply is March 15, 2020.
Anna Traverse Fogle | CEO
Contemporary Media, Inc.
