Sub Editor / Executive Sub Editor, Berita Harian

Overall Purpose of the Job

The Sub Editor plays a critical role in ensuring Berita Harian (BH) produces accurate, authoritative, engaging and highly discoverable journalism for a digital-first newsroom. 

The role combines the core editorial strengths of a traditional sub-editor - strong news judgement, language proficiency, accuracy, fact-checking and attention to detail - with the skills required to optimise journalism for digital audiences. Beyond editing copy, the Sub Editor is responsible for enhancing how stories are presented, structured and discovered online. This includes improving headlines, story structure, visual and multimedia presentation, internal linking, and other elements that encourage readers to engage more deeply and spend more time with BH journalism.

While the role is designed for BH's transition towards a predominantly digital newsroom, the Sub Editor will also support BH's existing print product. This includes print sub-editing, page layout and basic editorial design duties. The role is therefore expected to bridge BH's current print-and-digital operations while developing the capabilities required for a newsroom increasingly centred on digital publishing.

Key Responsibilities

1. Editorial Quality and Copy Editing

• Copy edit BH articles for accuracy, clarity, grammar, language, structure, tone and consistency with BH's editorial and house style.
• Exercise strong editorial judgement to identify factual inconsistencies, unclear attribution, unsupported claims and gaps in reporting.
• Ensure headlines, standfirsts, captions and other editorial elements accurately represent the story while being compelling to digital audiences.
• Work closely with journalists and editors to strengthen stories where necessary.
• Maintain BH's standards of credibility, accuracy and responsible journalism across all digital platforms.
• Be effectively bilingual in Malay and English, with particularly strong command of written Malay.

2. Print Sub-Editing and Production

• Support the production of BH's print edition where required, including copy editing, headline writing, story selection and placement, page layout and basic editorial design.
• Be prepared to undertake both digital and print sub-editing responsibilities as part of BH's current integrated newsroom operations, while recognising that the role will increasingly evolve towards digital publishing as audience and newsroom needs change.

Required Qualifications

• Degree in Journalism, Communications, Malay Language, Media or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
• Preferably at least five years of experience in journalism, editing, digital publishing or a related newsroom role.
• Strong news judgement and understanding of journalistic principles, including accuracy, attribution, fairness and verification.
• Excellent command of Malay and strong working proficiency in English.
• Strong writing, rewriting and copy-editing skills.
• Demonstrated ability to write compelling and accurate digital headlines.
• You should be open to working in shifts including weekends and Public Holidays