Sr. Editor, Travel Underscored

Job Description

The Job

WarnerMedia seeks a Sr. Editor, Travel Editor to lead coverage of travel and travel-related products and services for CNN Underscored. The editor is tasked with sourcing quality products for travel guides and other roundups, developing editorial around money-saving travel strategies (in many cases involving the smart leveraging of credit card reward programs), researching and testing travel-related products and services, and finding deals on flights, vacation packages, hotels, and other travel-adjacent products. Knowledge of and experience writing about frequent flyer programs and travel rewards is a huge plus.

The Travel Editor works closely with the Lifestyle Editor and Money Editor to build out a strategic editorial calendar based on tentpole events, sales, and relevant trending products and services.

The Daily
• Keep abreast of the travel landscape, identifying key consumer trends and travel and travel-adjacent credit card products that will resonate with the CNN Underscored audience
• Extensively research, write, edit and produce commerce-related content, including news hits on new travel product launches and roundup-style posts
• Assemble and manage a roster of freelance writers to assist with content production on a daily basis.
• Coordinate and assist the Money Editor with travel credit card content, including editing stories that cover the travel-related aspects of credit cards, such as travel rewards, travel benefits and perks, airline and hotel elite status, and transferable bank points.
• Work closely with the Lifestyle and Money Editors and the business development team to identify new coverage opportunities to help further differentiate CNN Underscored's travel vertical
• Help drive product testing in the travel space, working closely with the SEO Manager, Deputy Editors and testing team to identify opportunities and spearhead the testing process through to copy. Everything from testing and researching the best suitcases to determining the most valuable hotel loyalty programs could fall into this space.
• Optimize new and existing content based on market trends and analytical insights specific to the CNN Underscored audience demographics
• Work with the video and social teams to translate coverage to other Underscored platforms. Experience on-camera a big plus.
• Note that the Travel Editor is not expected to travel on a regular basis. Rather, this position will rely more on research and reporting than travel experiences, though there may be occasional travel assignments in a post-pandemic environment.
• Level of Responsibilities/Accountability & Scope
• Deep knowledge of the latest travel trends and products and deep knowledge of the competitive landscape.
• Excels at short-term assignments that often require the application of independent judgment
• Ability to manage freelance personnel and balance assignments to match the needs of the Travel vertical's editorial content calendar.
• Work is subject to supervisory review at regular intervals
• Operates within the context of defined procedures

The Essentials
• College Degree, preferably with Journalism major
• Must have at least 7 years of experience in writing about travel for a major publisher, and a strong interest in ecommerce
• Should have relationships with airlines, hotels, OTAs, consumer travel product companies and credit card issuers
• Passion for travel, with the ability to break down potentially complex topics into an easily digestible format
• Flawless grammar & spelling
• Must be proficient in MS Office Suite, and comfortable using content management systems
• Strong creative and writing skills are required for this position. Must be detail-oriented, organized and have strong communication skills.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-g4y6wy-3-144-31-86-42 in your application.