Managing Editor - Tulsa Flyer

Tulsa Flyer Managing Editor

Reports to:

Executive Editor

Position Status:

Regular, Full Time, Exempt

Summary:

The Tulsa Flyer seeks an experienced, innovative newsroom leader to oversee and lead our nonprofit newsroom. The broad purpose of the Tulsa Flyer and The Oklahoma Eagle is to provide information, news and connectedness to audiences in Tulsa that makes their lives and Tulsa better. The managing editor of the Tulsa Flyer has to be the leader of that effort and will play a crucial role in working with the executive editor to guide the newsroom in reaching its goals, including realizing a vision for audience-first journalism. They will play a pivotal role in weaving together strong accountability journalism with service reporting, arts and culture, and community engagement for a well-rounded daily news offering in service of Tulsa residents.

This position requires a dynamic leader who can balance strategic thinking with operational execution, who is detail oriented and willing, able, and eager to roll up their sleeves and guide the team to produce impactful, audience driven, high standards journalism in a fast-paced newsroom. Within that, the managing editor must be a leader in audience-first journalism: embedding the audiences’ needs, interests, and problems to be solved across the newsroom. This person must be able to lead even from a position of their own limited understanding and experience to lead the effort with an eye toward social, video, and the best uses of AI.

• The managing editor will oversee a team of editors and reporters covering key topics. They will work closely with the executive editor and deputy editor to set editorial priorities, manage daily news operations, and ensure our journalism serves the Tulsa community.
• They will lead the development of Tulsa Flyer’s long term and enterprise reporting, working with senior editors to forge the vision for the Flyer’s enterprise strategies.
• They will work with the art director to establish the goals for and execution of visuals for the Tulsa Flyer including photography and video coverage.
• They will oversee the Tulsa Flyer’s newsroom budget, working with the COO to ensure that we set budgetary goals and adhere to them.
• They will work with the membership and audience director and the executive editor to ensure that the editorial strategy is aligned with audience growth.
• They will oversee the shared services that support both The Oklahoma Eagle and Tulsa Flyer, including all related work flows, working in partnership with the Eagle Managing Editor
• They will work with The Flyer’s newsroom partners in creating and producing the quarterly joint publication Snapshot.
• They may also work with the Executive Editor to spearhead other collaborative projects with partners.
• They will support other editors in making our newsroom one in which people can learn and grow professionally.

The ideal candidate is an experienced editorial leader with a track record of producing excellent journalism, strong leadership skills, and a passion for reimagining local news to be more responsive and accessible to diverse audiences across multiple platforms. They are actively preparing to step into executive-level leadership, acting as a strategic partner and designated backup for the executive editor, with opportunity for advancement within the organization for the right candidate.

In the First Year

In the first year, we expect the managing editor to allocate their time in these buckets:

40% — Audience & Mission-Driven Editorial Strategy

• Executing high-impact, data-informed editorial strategy that directly responds to the evolving needs of our community while advancing our organizational goals.
• Analyze audience metrics provided by the audience team and community feedback to refine coverage, ensuring our journalism remains deeply relevant, trustworthy, and impactful.

20% — Collaborative Culture

• Alongside the Executive Editor, build a collaborative, mission-driven culture across both of our newsrooms and foster strong, collaborative relationships with our external media and community partners.
• Set a high standard for internal communication and cross-functional teamwork, to foster an inclusive and unified newsroom.

15% — Enterprise Management

• Drive all phases of enterprise, investigative, and long-term projects, functioning as a top editor or direct editor as needed.
• Provide high-level editorial guidance that frees up line editors to focus intensely on daily and weekly story cadences.

10% — Newsroom Leadership & Talent Development

• Coach and mentor editorial staff, building on the newsroom's existing strengths while fostering continuous professional growth and skill development.
• Identify talent gaps and create a culture of feedback and professional growth.

10% — Newsroom Operations

• Create and document newsroom workflows to support a well-run nonprofit newsroom and its team
• Manage the editorial budget responsibly, ensuring resources are aligned with our strategic priorities.

5% — Organizational Leadership

• Transition from leading the newsroom to helping lead the organization.
• Over time, intentionally building connections with our board and donor community and serving as a public voice for our journalistic mission.

About the organization:

Tulsa Local News Initiative, Inc is home to both The Oklahoma Eagle and Tulsa Flyer. TLNI, Inc is a startup nonprofit organization started in 2025 that has raised $14 million so far in service of a vision to give everyone in Tulsa the local news they need to live more informed and more connected lives. The newsroom produces high-quality accountability journalism while working directly with residents to produce and distribute community reporting, employing an innovative model for local journalism that is directly responsive to local information needs. In addition to a team of editors and beat reporters, the Tulsa newsroom values best-in-class community engagement expertise, multimedia production, service journalism and research, and Tulsa Documenters.

At Tulsa Flyer, we value learning, curiosity and diverse perspectives. We are dedicated to equitable hiring and follow best practices to create an inclusive hiring process.

Essential Functions:

• Hire and manage editors and reporters who produce excellent, competitive reporting that earns the trust and loyalty of Tulsans
• Take personal responsibility for initial and ongoing audience growth for a new news organization whose mission is to provide Tulsans with the local news and information they’ve been lacking
• Develop and execute editorial strategy in collaboration with the Executive Editor that combines accountability journalism with service reporting, and arts and culture, across multiple accessible formats
• Manage daily newsroom operations and editorial calendar
• Ensure high journalistic standards and ethics of the daily news product on multiple platforms
• Foster a newsroom culture that prioritizes community information needs and diverse perspectives
• Work across the team, including with the community journalism director and audience and membership director to incorporate community input and audience insights into editorial decision-making
• Identify opportunities for investigative and enterprise reporting projects
• Collaborate with multimedia team to produce compelling visual and audio storytelling
• Guide reporters in developing sources and story ideas across Tulsa communities
• Edit stories for accuracy, clarity, context and adherence to style guidelines
• Coordinate with other newsroom leaders on audience growth and distribution strategies
• Represent the newsroom at community events and with external partners as needed
• Embrace innovation and experimentation in storytelling formats and engagement approaches

Supervision:

• Directly supervise and mentor the deputy editor, art director, and others as the organization shifts and grows
• Conduct regular performance evaluations and provide ongoing feedback
• Identify professional development opportunities for team members

Consider applying if you have some of these skill sets:

• Deep journalism experience, including several years in an editing/leadership role
• Strong news judgment and understanding of journalistic ethics and best practices
• Excellent writing and editing skills across news and feature styles
• Experience setting and managing a budget for a mid-sized news organization
• Experience managing and developing reporting and editing teams
• Track record of producing impactful accountability journalism
• Track record of producing journalism that measurably resonates with audiences on multiple platforms
• Commitment to community-centered journalism and engagement
• Knowledge of Tulsa communities and local issues preferred
• Experience with innovative multi-media and digital storytelling techniques and tools
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to work collaboratively in a startup environment
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines
• Comfort with data analysis and visualization a plus
• Multilingual skills valued

Compensation:

Salary range for this role is $100,000-$120,000 commensurate with experience. In the spirit of transparency, we present our best offer upfront to every selected candidate — no back-and-forth negotiation required.

Benefits:

Full health benefits, including employee’s medical, dental and vision premiums

covered 100% and dependents covered at 50%; paid leave including paid holidays, parental leave, PTO and personal time, and 401K with a 4% match

Training: $2,000 annual reimbursement toward outside training and professional development opportunities

We’re committed to building an inclusive organization that represents the people and

communities we serve. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented

communities to apply, including women, people of color, veterans, LGBTQ+ people and

people with disabilities. Tulsa Local News Initiative, The Oklahoma Eagle and Tulsa Flyer are dedicated to equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees. We encourage people of all races, colors, national origins, ancestries, creeds, religions, genders, ages, disabilities, veteran status, sexual orientations,and marital statuses to apply.

Employment Contingency:

All roles require standard reference checks and identity verification. Based on the role, additional pre-employment screening may be required, which may include checks such as a credit screening, a public social media review, or an editorial review of past work.