About the Role & What You'll Do
The Irish Tribune is looking for a journalism-first, ambitious, innovative, and leadership-minded Editor in Chief to lead the next chapter of the Tribune newsroom.
What to know:
We are not looking for someone to simply edit or write stories.
We are looking for an editorial leader and visionary who wants to build an unmatched newsroom to become the symbol of Notre Dame journalism.
As Editor in Chief, you will own The Irish Tribune's entire editorial operation and will be responsible for establishing the vision, standards, culture, structure, strategy, and execution needed to turn our newsroom into a sustainable, respected, and nationally recognized Notre Dame editorial operation.
The Opportunity:
This is a unique leadership opportunity within an established and growing independent sports media company looking to raise its editorial bar and exceed the standard on the Notre Dame beat.
The Tribune has an existing editorial staff of editors, writers, and support staff, a large online audience, including the #1 Notre Dame media outlet on social media, and a second-to-none brand. We are searching for an experienced leader who can bring those pieces together and build a clear path forward on the editorial side of The Irish Tribune.
The right person will have the opportunity to:
Establish and implement the Tribune's long-term editorial vision
Rebuild and restructure the editorial department
Establish clear editorial standards and expectations
Develop and mentor existing writers and editors
Recruit and hire new editorial talent
Create a culture of innovation, creativity, and journalistic excellence
Establish a distinctive editorial identity for The Irish Tribune
Develop coverage strategies across Notre Dame football and varsity sports
Build and strengthen relationships with the University of Notre Dame, sources, fans, readers, and the broader college athletics community
Work with Tribune leadership to develop a sustainable editorial model
Help determine how editorial content can support Tribune+ and other company products.
This is an opportunity for someone who wants to build a newsroom and implement their vision, not simply contribute to one.
Responsibilities:
Editorial Leadership -
Establish, implement, and communicate the overall editorial vision for The Irish Tribune.
Set coverage priorities and determine where the Tribune should invest its resources editorially.
Maintain and continually improve the publication's editorial voice and identity.
Establish standards for accuracy, sourcing, fairness, originality, and professionalism.
Make final editorial decisions regarding coverage, assignments, and priorities.
Develop systems for coverage categories such as breaking news, features, and more.
Identify opportunities for the Tribune to distinguish itself from competing the Notre Dame beat.
Build a culture centered on journalism, accountability, and continuous innovation.
Staff Leadership -
Lead, manage, and evaluate the Tribune's editorial staff.
Assign and edit stories as needed and own editorial content.
Set expectations for frequency, quality, and originality of work.
Conduct editorial meetings.
Provide meaningful feedback and coaching.
Identify strengths and weaknesses within the existing staff.
Determine responsibilities, roles, and personnel.
Scout, recruit, interview, and recommend new editorial hires.
Develop emerging writers and editors into stronger journalists and newsroom leaders.
Build an editorial structure that can scale with the company.
Journalism & Reporting -
Personally contribute to reporting, writing, and editing where appropriate.
Develop relationships with coaches, players, administrators, agents, sources, and other relevant parties.
Lead deeper reporting beyond routine news aggregation.
Establish a strong editorial presence during major Notre Dame news and events.
Ensure coverage extends beyond football when appropriate, including varsity sports and other areas when appropriate.
Editorial Product Development -
Develop editorial franchises and products.
Work with the Tribune's business leadership to identify opportunities for editorial content to drive audience growth and subscriptions.
Develop a long-term strategy for building Tribune+ into a meaningful part of the editorial business.
Use audience data and performance metrics to inform decisions.
Organizational Development -
Build editorial workflows and systems that allow the department to operate efficiently.
Establish an editorial calendar and coverage plan.
Create clear roles and responsibilities across the newsroom.
Establish measurable editorial goals and regularly evaluate performance.
Help create a sustainable financial model for the editorial operation.
Success in This Role:
Establish a clear editorial identity for The Irish Tribune.
Rebuild the editorial structure around that vision.
Establish consistent editorial standards and workflows.
Continue to grow and improve our editorial staff.
Increase the quality and consistency of original journalism.
Establish a sustainable editorial calendar.
Develop new editorial franchises and products.
Build stronger relationships with Notre Dame sources.
Create a clear strategy for Tribune+ editorial content.
Establish measurable goals for editorial growth and performance.
Build a foundation for the Tribune to become a significant independent Notre Dame journalism organization.
Skills, Knowledge & Experience
The ideal candidate will have:
Current or past editorial experience.
Experience managing writers, editors, or a newsroom.
Strong knowledge of college athletics, specifically Notre Dame, or the ability to quickly develop that expertise.
Excellent writing, editing, and reporting skills.
Strong news judgment and general judgment.
A demonstrated ability to develop and work with people.
The confidence to make difficult personnel and editorial decisions.
The ability to establish standards and hold parties accountable.
Experience developing original reporting and stories.
A strong understanding of digital media and modern sports journalism.
A willingness to experiment and build new editorial products.
The ability to balance journalism with the realities of running a sustainable media organization.
Most importantly, we are looking for someone who cares deeply about journalism and wants to build something of their own.
The Person We're Looking For:
The successful candidate may come from a traditional newsroom, publication, sports outlet, digital media company, or another editorial environment.
A previously held title, "Editor in Chief," is not required.
We care most about you demonstrating the ability to lead, build, teach, report, edit, and make decisions.
You should be comfortable walking into an imperfect organization and asking: What should this become? Then building the answer.
You should be willing to make changes to the existing structure, including changing responsibilities, creating new positions, developing our staff, and making judgment calls on editorial staff, structure, and roles.
The bottom line: We are looking for someone with a combination of journalism experience, leadership ability, vision, and entrepreneurial drive.
About The Irish Tribune
The Irish Tribune is an independent sports media company covering Notre Dame athletics with a modern, digital-first approach. We focus on delivering timely news, insider recruiting intel, in-depth analysis, and engaging content across social media and our platform, Tribune+.
Built for today’s sports fan, The Irish Tribune prioritizes speed, accuracy, and storytelling—meeting audiences where they are through platforms like Instagram, Twitter/X, and TikTok. Our team operates in a fast-paced environment, covering breaking news, live games, and the day-to-day pulse of Notre Dame athletics.
As we continue to grow, our mission is to become a leading voice in Notre Dame coverage while building a loyal and engaged community of fans.