Motor Sport Magazine
Senior Sub-Editor (Print & Digital)
Greater London
£45k – £50k/yr
Posted about 24 hours ago
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Job Description: Senior Sub-Editor (Print & Digital)
To sub and manage content for Motor Sport magazine, bookazines, web, app, and social media, maintaining and developing the high standards expected of the brand. You will turn copy from staff and contributors into accurate, compelling, house-style stories, write headlines and cover lines that sell, and adapt content for each platform. You are the final line of defence on facts, tone, and legal risk, and a calm, dependable presence on press day and breaking-news days alike.
CORE ATTRIBUTES (Essential)
- At least 5 years' sub-editing experience on a consumer or specialist magazine, with a portfolio covering both print and digital.
- Experience producing bookazines, special editions, or other one-off print products.
- Excellent command of English grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and a sharp eye for detail.
- Strong headline, standfirst, and caption writing across print, web, and social.
- Solid IT skills, including InDesign, InCopy, and Photoshop, and experience with a web CMS such as WordPress.
- Working knowledge of SEO and web analytics, and an understanding of how AI search and answer engines surface and cite content.
- Solid understanding of UK media law, including defamation, copyright, and privacy (NCTJ or equivalent training welcomed).
- A rigorous approach to fact-checking and source verification.
- Proven ability to work fast and accurately under multiple, competing deadlines.
- Proven organizational skills, including managing flatplans and production schedules.
- Practical experience using AI tools and editorial technology to speed up subbing, and the judgement to know when to rely on them.
Desirable
- Deep knowledge of motorsport, from F1, sportscars, and rallying to historic racing, and its people and history.
- Familiarity with motorsport archives and reference sources.
- Experience with app publishing tools, newsletter platforms (e.g., Mailchimp), and social scheduling tools.
- Basic image editing (Photoshop) and understanding of picture research and rights.
- Experience of subscription or paywall-driven publishing.
- Experience with InDesign scripting or GREP, schema markup, or tracking referral traffic from AI platforms.
Personal
- Meticulous and unflappable, especially on press days and race weekends.
- Respectful of writers' voices while improving their copy.
- Adaptable: switches easily between a 5,000-word feature, a news story, and a 20-word social post.
- A team player who communicates clearly with editorial, art, digital, and production colleagues.
- Curious and proactive, keen to spot stories, errors, and better ways of working.
- Willing to work flexibly around key race events and print deadlines.
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MAIN TASKS
Print magazine and bookazines
- Sub-edit features, interviews, race reports, columns, reviews, and archive pieces for accuracy, clarity, flow, length, and house style.
- Write headlines, standfirsts, captions, pull quotes, panels, and cover lines that reflect the Motor Sport voice.
- Cut and fit copy to layout in InDesign/InCopy, working closely with the art team on page design.
- Fact-check drivers, teams, cars, circuits, results, statistics, and historical detail against trusted sources and our archive.
- Proofread pages at every stage, through to final PDFs and printer proofs, and manage corrections.
- Help plan and produce bookazines and special editions: repurposing archive content, commissioning updates, compiling indexes, and keeping to tight production schedules.
Web and app
- Sub-edit and publish news, features, and long reads in the CMS, including breaking news on race weekends.
- Write SEO-friendly headlines, meta descriptions, URLs, and tags without losing the brand's authority and tone.
- Adapt print features for digital, adding links, images, galleries, video embeds, and related content.
- Check formatting, image rights, credits, and captions across desktop, mobile, and app displays.
- Support newsletters and paywalled or subscriber-only content, applying the right calls-to-action.
Social media
- Write and check social copy, captions, and thread text for Instagram, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok.
- Ensure social posts meet the same standards of accuracy and legal safety as the magazine.
- Work with the social team to repackage archive and new content for short-form and platform-native formats.
Production and workflow
- Help the Editor manage overall production across print, bookazines, and digital.
- Give copy a first read to check it meets the brief, and go back to writers when it doesn't.
- Help produce the flatplan and keep it up to date.
- Keep a production flow diary so regular sections (e.g., Showroom) arrive on time.
- Track how efficiently production runs and suggest improvements.
AI search and discoverability
- Understand how AI search and answer engines find, summarise, and cite content. These include Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, ChatGPT search, Perplexity, and Copilot.
- Structure digital copy so AI systems read it clearly and quote it accurately:
- Clear, factual standfirsts and summaries
- Logical headings
- Consistent names for drivers, teams, cars, and circuits
- Accurate dates, bylines, and sourcing
- Work with the digital team on metadata, schema markup, and authorship signals that show Motor Sport's expertise and authority.
- Watch how AI tools present Motor Sport content, and flag errors or misattributions.
- Keep up with changes to search and AI platforms and how they affect traffic, and share what you learn with the team.
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Technology and efficiency
- Use approved AI and automation tools to speed up routine work, and check every output yourself. Uses include:
- First-pass proofing and house-style checks
- Headline and SEO variants
- Interview transcription
- Alt text and captions
- Versioning print copy for web and social
- Build and maintain time-saving tools, such as InDesign/InCopy scripts, GREP styles, find-and-change queries, custom dictionaries, style-checker rules (e.g., PerfectIt), and CMS templates.
- Use shared workflow tools to track copy status, deadlines, and handovers across teams.
- Test new tools, measure how much time they save, and train colleagues on the best ones.
- Follow Motor Sport's AI and data policies, keeping embargoed, confidential, and contributor copy out of unapproved tools.
Standards and team
- Take responsibility for quality, tone, fact-checking, and grammar across all platforms.
- Own and update the house style guide across print and digital, including guidance on AI-assisted work.
- Flag legal risks (defamation, copyright, contempt, privacy) and escalate to the Editor where needed.
- Coach writers and junior subs, giving clear feedback on copy.
- Keep to print, web, and social deadlines, prioritising calmly when schedules collide.
OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES
- Help marketing, publishing, and advertising teams when needed.
- Upload content to digital platforms when needed.
- Cover events in the UK and abroad, and write content when required.
- Represent Motor Sport and its brands well at all times.
- Take on other duties that support Motor Sport's aims.
MEETINGS
Monthly and weekly Motor Sport print content meetings (planning, production, and ideas sessions), chaired by the Editor.
SUCCESS MEASURES
- Magazine and bookazine pages sent to print on schedule, with minimal post-publication corrections.
- Consistent house style and tone across print, web, app, and social.
- Improved search and engagement performance on digital headlines and metadata.
- No legal complaints arising from sub-edited content.
- Measurable time saved in production through new tools and workflows.
- Motor Sport content cited accurately in AI search results, with any errors spotted and flagged.
- Positive feedback from writers, editors, and the wider team.
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Salary range
£45k - £50k (Depending on experience)
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