Executive Editor - Fredericksburg Free Lance Star and Culpeper Star-Exponent

Executive editor - Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star and Culpeper Star-Exponent

Lee Enterprises | Fredericksburg, Virginia

Lee Enterprises is seeking an executive editor to lead the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star and Culpeper Star-Exponent. This role is charged with setting coverage priorities and driving audience and subscriber growth. This is an in-person leadership position based in Fredericksburg, with regular engagement in both communities.

What you'll do

• Set the editorial vision for both markets, prioritizing enterprise reporting, accountability journalism and meaningful community storytelling.
• Drive digital transformation in both newsrooms with strong digital-first instincts.
• Ensure use of analytics platforms to guide coverage decisions, assess performance and grow subscriber engagement.
• Partner with Local News Division leadership to meet audience and retention goals.
• Maintain high standards for accuracy, timeliness and presentation across all platforms.
• Foster a collaborative newsroom culture and mentor, coach and grow our team of talented reporters, photographers and editors.
• Build strong relationships with readers, civic leaders and community organizations.

What we're looking for

• Proven experience as a newsroom leader, managing teams and driving impactful journalism.
• Demonstrated success growing digital audiences through innovative storytelling and data-driven decision-making.
• Strong command of digital publishing tools, analytics platforms, SEO, newsletters and CMS workflows.
• Excellent communication skills and a proactive, solutions-oriented leadership style.
• Comfortable engaging publicly and serving as the newsroom's ambassador in the community.
• Ability to work onsite regularly in Fredericksburg; occasional travel to Culpeper required.

Located along the Interstate 95 corridor between Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Fredericksburg and Culpeper blend historic downtowns with rapidly growing suburban and rural communities. The region offers an exceptional quality of life, with the Blue Ridge Mountains just an hour to the west and Virginia's beaches about three hours to the east. These communities are home to engaged readers, active civic life and a deep well of stories spanning growth, government, culture and business.

If you're passionate about leading impactful local journalism and building newsrooms that serve their communities, we want to hear from you.

About Lee Enterprises

Lee Enterprises is a leading provider of local news, information and advertising, with daily newspapers, digital products, marketing services and nearly 350 publications across 72 markets in 25 states. We are committed to high-quality journalism grounded in ethics, accuracy and a reader-first mission.

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