The Acton Exchange: A free, local, online news source at https://www.actonexchange.org.
We are seeking a detail-oriented, self-directed individual to join our editorial team. Each week, working within a Thursday evening through Saturday afternoon production window, you will be responsible for importing, formatting, and publishing the content that makes up our weekly edition in our WordPress content management system (CMS). You will report to the editor-in-chief and work closely with a weekly editor-on-call and the photo wrangler. You will serve as a last set of eyes before each issue goes live.
Work will be performed remotely with occasional in-person meetings. Preferred candidates will be local to Acton (Massachusetts) or the surrounding MetroWest communities.
Responsibilities
Content Production
- Receive and process two batches of articles per week (averaging 8–10 total), plus a batch of reader letters (usually up to six), within defined deadlines.
- Import article and letter text into WordPress, applying correct heading structure and supplied categories and tags.
- Process images: resize, crop, adjust lighting and straighten as needed; compose alt-text for all images; enter images, captions and alt-text into the multimedia library. The photo wrangler or editors will provide all image captions.
- Create the featured thumbnail image or badge for each article, as directed by the editor in-chief.
- Verify that all hyperlinks function correctly and lead to appropriate destinations; resolve issues where possible or flag for the editor-on-call.
- Insert images into articles at positions specified by writers, editors, and the photo wrangler.
Publishing
- Configure each article’s publication time, featured post status, and page placement (above or below the fold) according to slot assignments from the editor-in-chief.
- Publish all content by 3 pm Saturday.
- Proof the full, published edition carefully for formatting flaws, misplaced captions, mis-sized images, and incorrect slot placement; correct issues where possible.
- Notify the editor-on-call when the edition is ready for review; address any corrections promptly.
- Be available approximately one hour per week for out-of-cycle additions such as corrections, updates, or time-sensitive obituaries.
Qualifications
- Experience working with text, images, and metadata in WordPress or a comparable CMS
- Comfortable with basic image editing (cropping, resizing, exposure adjustments)
- Basic knowledge of HTML
- Strong attention to detail and ability to meet firm deadlines
- Clear written communication skills for coordinating with editors
- Familiarity with writing descriptive alt-text for images
- Familiarity with AP Style a plus
- Ability to work independently within an established workflow
Must supply your own hardware.
To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to president@actonexchange.org. Links to relevant work samples are welcome.
