This is a fantastic opportunity for students to gain professional experience and build their portfolio. If you are interested in applying (or have any questions), please send your resume, cover letter, and three writing samples to biz@excal.on.ca with the subject line: [Position] Application: [Last Name, First Name] by 5 p.m. on May 10, 2024.
Applicants can only apply for a maximum of three positions. Applying for more will result in only the first three being considered.
All positions are paid (an honorarium), the amount is different for each position, and the work can be conducted remotely at the discretion of the editorial board. The contracts will run from September 2024 to April 2025.
If you have any questions, please email editor@excal.on.ca.
Please note: only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
See available positions below.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Qualifications:
– Must be a previous Excalibur editor or staff writer
– Must be familiar with WordPress and/or InDesign, Google Drive, and some Adobe programs
– Must have editing and writing experience, as well as interviewing experience
– Must have previous leadership/managerial experience
– Organized, creative, and practical
– Work well under tight deadlines and pressure
– Time management and communication skills
– Team player, respectful, stern
– Tenacious and ambitious
Responsibilities:
– Fulfilling any tasks failed to have been duly executed by a staff member
– Ensuring a weekly editorial and feature are prepared
– Supervising and managing the editorial board, including ensuring that editors and co-ordinators fulfill their job descriptions
– Scheduling and coordinating weekly Editorial Board pitch meetings
– Ensuring that Excalibur publishes regularly, including preparing articles for publication online
– Developing and posting a schedule outlining editorial deadlines, meetings and other regularly scheduled duties and events
– Being responsible for the Editorial and Opinions Section of the newspaper
– Conducting final edits to ensure that all material published in the newspaper is of a satisfactory standard and does not contravene any federal or provincial laws
– Ensuring that all material to be published in the newspaper is consistent with the ethical standards set out in the BoP by-laws, Staff Policies & Procedures Manual and the editorial policies set by the staf
– Ensuring that Excalibur fulfills its responsibilities with outside organizations
– Attending and providing a brief editorial update/report at all monthly meetings of Excalibur’s Board of Publishers
– Conducting hiring during the school year where needed, including supplement coordinators
– Writing one editorial and one feature per semester
MANAGING EDITOR
Qualifications:
– Must be a previous editor, staff writer, or contributor
– Must be familiar with social media management and Google Drive
– Must be somewhat familiar with WordPress and/or InDesign, and some Adobe programs
– Must have editing and writing experience (interview experience is an asset)
– Must have leadership/managerial experience
– Organized, creative, and practical
– Work well under tight deadlines
– Time management and communication skills
– Team player, respectful, stern
Responsibilities:
– Managing and maintaining Excalibur’s social media platforms
– Creating visuals and images where needed
– Conducting final edits alongside the Editor-in-Chief to ensure that all material published is of a satisfactory standard
– Providing feedback to editors and contributors where needed
– Scheduling and coordinating some of the staff meetings
– Supervising and managing the editorial board alongside the Editor-in-Chief
– Fulfilling the role and responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief should they be unavailable
– Attending monthly Excalibur Board of Publisher meetings to provide a brief editorial update/report with the Editor-in-Chief
– Ensuring ethical journalistic standards are met, including that all material to be published in the newspaper is consistent with the ethical standards set out in the BoP by-laws, Staff Policies & Procedures Manual and the editorial policies set by the staff
– Conducting hirings during the school year alongside the Editor-in-Chief
– Writing one editorial and one feature per semester
COPY EDITOR
Qualifications:
– Previous editing experience, including familiarity with Canadian Press Style
– Well-versed in the constructs of the English language, including: grammar, structure, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, syntax, concision, clarity, and logic
– Passionate about substantive editing
– Fact-checking experience
– Organizational and communication skills
– Time management skills
– Detail-oriented
Responsibilities:
– Fact-checking articles to ensure all material and information are accurate, factual, and up to date — including checking for plagiarism
– Proofreading material for substantive editing, style, readability, and structure
– Providing feedback to editors/writers where applicable
– Recruiting and training editing volunteers
– Ensuring ethical journalistic standards are met
– Writing one editorial and one feature per semester
NEWS EDITOR
Qualifications:
– Passionate about reporting and reading news
– Tenacious and ambitious with a strong writing style
– Writing and editing experience
– Excellent communication skills, as much of the job involves interviewing strangers and working in a team environment
– Excellent time management skills, as the job requires you to work within tight deadlines
– Organized and on top of current issues/events, including York-, student-, and Toronto-related
Responsibilities:
– Editing articles
– Writing articles including when volunteer writers do not sign up for pitches, which means interviewing relevant sources and conducting research
– Pitching a minimum of five stories weekly to the Editor-in-Chief
– Recruiting and communicating with volunteers
– Ensuring ethical journalistic standards are met while remaining objective for the section
– Covering breaking news stories as they arise, whenever required
– Writing one editorial and one feature per semester
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Qualifications:
– Passionate about reporting and reading news
– Tenacious and ambitious with a strong writing style
– Writing experience
– Editing experience is not required, but it is considered an asset
– Excellent communication skills, as much of the job involves interviewing strangers and working in a team environment
– Excellent time management skills, as the job requires you to work within tight deadlines
– Organized and on top of current issues/events
Responsibilities:
– Working alongside the News Editor to edit and write articles, as well as pitch stories to the Editor-in-Chief
– Recruiting and communicating with volunteers
– Ensuring ethical journalistic standards are met while remaining objective for the section
– Writing one editorial and one feature per semester
– Fulfilling the role and responsibilities of the News Editor should they be unavailable
ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
Qualifications:
– Should have a passion for arts and culture; since this includes a myriad of topics, the applicant should have a general interest in the field.
– Creative, tenacious, and ambitious with strong writing skills.
– Be able to work within tight deadlines, time management skills
– Excellent communication skills, as much of the job involves interviewing artists, strangers, and working in a team environment.
– Editing experience
Responsibilities:
– Pitching a minimum of two arts articles to the Editor-in-Chief weekly, except during reading week
– Researching and writing articles weekly should volunteer writers not sign up, including interviewing relevant sources, artists, creators, and York community members
– Working with staff writers, artists, and volunteers to submit articles
– Editing articles when volunteers submit them for the arts section
– Recruiting volunteers to contribute
– Maintaining a working relationship with York’s art community
– Ensuring ethical journalistic standards are met while maintaining a creative flair for the section
– Keeping up to date with all things arts and culture, including what’s happening in York’s art community
– Writing one editorial and one feature per semester
HEALTH & SCIENCE EDITOR
Qualifications:
– Should have a passion for health, science, and technology
– Practical, tenacious, and ambitious with strong writing skills
– Be able to work within tight deadlines, time management skills
– Excellent communication skills, as much of the job involves interviewing strangers, York faculty, and working in a team environment.
– Editing experience
Responsibilities:
– Pitching a minimum of two health articles to the Editor-in-Chief weekly, except during reading week
– Researching and writing articles weekly should volunteer writers not sign up, including interviewing relevant sources, and York community members
– Working with staff writers and volunteers to submit articles
– Editing articles when volunteers submit them for the health and science section
– Recruiting volunteers to contribute
– Ensuring ethical journalistic standards are met, including factual science-based content
– Keeping up to date with all things health and science, including current issues and studies
– Writing one editorial and one feature per semester
PHOTO/VIDEO EDITOR
Qualifications:
– Applicant should be passionate about photography, videography and/or multimedia production
– Familiarity with Adobe or other design programs, photography, illustrative skills, and multimedia design
– Creative, ambitious, and detail oriented
– Be able to work within tight deadlines, time management skills
– Excellent communication skills, as much of the job involves interacting with editors, writers, and creators to produce visuals while working in a team environment
Responsibilities:
– Working with the editorial board to produce multiple visuals for publication weekly, including photos, videos, and other visuals, but also being in charge of editorials’ featured images
– Editing photos, videos, and graphics for publication when volunteers submit them
– Recruiting volunteers to contribute
– Ensuring ethical standards are met while maintaining a creative flair
– Writing one editorial and contributing one feature per semester, the latter of which may include a multimedia submission
SPORTS EDITOR
Qualifications:
– Applicant should possess a passion for reporting/writing sports or sports-related articles
– excellent communication skills, as much of the job involves interviewing strangers and working in a team environment
– ability to work within tight deadlines
– be tenacious and ambitious with strong writing skills
– previous editing experience is not required, but it is considered an asset
Responsibilities:
– Pitch two sports stories (500 words each) to the Editor-in-Chief weekly for the school year
– Research and write articles weekly, including interviewing relevant sources, York Lions, and York community members; this will require attending games
– Work with staff writers and volunteers to submit articles
– Edit articles weekly (especially volunteers’ submissions for the sports section)
– Write one editorial and one feature
– Ensure ethical journalistic standards are met
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Excalibur will not be hiring a creative director for the 2024–2025 year. Contributors who wish to volunteer creative content may still do so by emailing the Editor-in-Chief.
Excalibur is not affiliated with the work-study program. Excalibur invites all applicants to apply, and does not discriminate against any applicant, including, but not limited to, the following: age, ethnicity, gender identity, disability, national origin, race, or religion.
However, due to reasons pertaining to conflict of interest and editorial integrity, we cannot hire applicants that are simultaneously associated with organizations or clubs that are deemed political in nature, including but not limited to the York Federation of Students (YFS).
