Pros
Many people spend a decade or more here and find it fulfilling. Pay is not the highest in the industry but it’s certainly near the top. (New hires fresh out of college seem to start above $65,000.) If you’re passionate about what you do, love teamwork and collaboration, and want multiple opportunities to try something new, then stop yearning for a New York Times job and get yourself here. You don’t need to be a reporter to be valued here. Several managing editors weren’t. Mark is social media guru, and Kat is a design and product goddess, for example.
Cons
Before Sally Buzbee came in, the paper was sued — and is still being sued — by a reporter over top editors’ handling of her past sexual assault. Previously, the paper was run mostly by men, including by Marty Baron, who ironically prized the “institution” over “personalities,” which he saw as an affront to modern journalism’s obsession with balanced reporting. Now it’s run by several women, including Sally, who just gets it, if you know what I mean, and many managing editors didn’t rise up the journalism food chain as reporters, the prototypical way of ascending legacy media. Washington housing is expensive for everyone. So are on-site and nearby lunch options. Reporters are gods, but everyone else, especially if you work on the intersection of journalism and product, can hold their own too.