Why SFGATE?
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 pop culture; Travel, covering everything from flight deals and travel news, to hotel hacks and under-the-radar day trips; Commuting, where we keep you up to speed on all things BART, Muni, and Caltrain, on and off the tracks; Food + Drink, where we tell you the backstory of the people behind the bar and in the kitchen; and News.
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Your Impact:
Under the direction of SFGATE's Managing Editor, the Travel Editor will be a versatile journalist with a deep understanding of travel in general (bonus points for having an equally deep understanding of California travel destinations, but no necessarily required) and enough intellectual curiosity to want to tell stories that matter to both the people who travel constantly, and the people who only casually do so. The Travel 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 travel coverage than simply hotel guides and restaurant recommendations. We want someone who will dig deep to cover travel in truly unique ways, whether it be road tripping to a haunted B&B to spend the night, spending an entire day at SFO or solo beach camping in Central California.
What you'll do:
- Consistently have ideas - you'll be given a blank canvas to tell stories that matter across California. You need to have a constant stream of ideas to paint this. We are absolutely not looking for someone to regurgitate travel guides, or go to some hot spring in Iceland, or do a roundup of points of interest. What we are looking for is someone who can apply ambitious creativity to travel journalism.
- 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.
- 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 travel 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.
- Find emotional connections - we don't want a feature story on going to Palm Springs. Everyone has already written a billion stories about going to Palm Springs. We want a feature on the Teppanyaki you can only access via boat, or Robolights -- the single coolest art exhibit in California, or the emergence of night golf. We don't want a story about Paso Robles, a fun alternative to wine country. That story has been done far too many times. We want a story about the saloon near downtown that you can ride a horse into once a year. We don't want you to take the first flight from SFO after everyone has the vaccine, we want you to spend 24hrs in the airport on the first day after everyone has the vaccine to really capture one of the most momentous travel days in history. We want ambitious journalism, not things PR firms are regurgitating.
- You have 3+ years of relevant experience in travel writing and maybe even editing at a publication or in a digital media environment
- You have a deep knowledge of all types of travel -- air, car, boat, transit -- and what affects each industry
- You live in the Bay Area or are able to move here once it's safe to do so
- You have a passion for journalism and telling stories
- You've read SFGATE and have an understanding of the brand and voice