It’s not enough to be home to the most interesting writing and creative work on the Internet: If readers aren’t seeing it and can’t discover it, it might as well not exist. Part of the solution lies in code and math: streams and algorithms that use signals like your friends’ recommendations to surface posts likely to spark your interesting and merit your attention. But we think there’s also a crucial role for human curation — posts organized by skilled and enthusiastic curator-editors who, with energy and judgment, find and present the best of Medium, ranging from perspectives on the news of the day to thematic collections around art and design, poetry and fiction, music, sports, history, travel, identity, and so on. Human curator-editors can do things algorithms can’t, like drive attention to high-quality but little-known writers and champion a diversity of voices and topics.
Medium’s News + Curation team is responsible for identifying and showcasing great stories written by the people, publications, and organizations on the platform, making it easier to explore and encounter a wide range of viewpoints across a host of ever-changing topics.
Overview of the role
We are looking for curator-editors who are obsessed with great writing, possessed of excellent judgment, and savvy about translating both instinct and data into insight and action. The ideal candidate is a news hound and gifted writer who loves the Internet, but other things, too.
What will this role do?
Here’s a run-down of the responsibilities of Medium’s curator-editors:
- Choosing the verticals and stories that will appear in Medium’s curated channels, including homepage collections, staff recommendations, and email digests.
- Developing and expressing Medium’s voice as a platform, through curatorial and editorial decisions and the writing of headlines, taglines, and contextual framing.
- Telling compelling narratives through curation.
- Finding and championing a broad range of writers, achieving real diversity in subject matter, viewpoint, and authorship.
- Digging relentlessly into Medium’s data tools to improve the performance of curated features.
- Contributing as needed to the work of Medium’s wider content team, including functions like onboarding, editing, coaching, and explaining.
- Working flexible hours so that the team as a whole can provide needed coverage across time and subject matter.
Who will do well in this role?
Here are the essential skills and qualifications of a Medium curator-editor:
- Passion for interesting stories and ideas.
- Excellent writing and editing skills.
- Deep love for the Internet in all its chaotic beauty.
- Fearless command of publisher-related data, and an ability to master data tools.
- Inside experience with an Internet publisher.
- Ability to work well with multiple functions in a tech environment.
- Team-iness.
- Excellent communication and organizational skills.
And, of course, this person should love Medium for its unique opportunities for expression and interaction.
