Job Description:
This role is based in Canberra, Australia.
“Playbook” is POLITICO’s signature franchise. We are seeking a co-author to help build Canberra’s most influential political newsletter from scratch — every morning.
This is different than a traditional reporting job. While you may file stories for POLITICO’s website and app, this a broader role focused on owning and driving the conversation, so that we become required reading across Parliament House, embassies and boardrooms.
You will work with POLITICO’s Australia Launch Editor, Ryan Heath, to decide what matters each day, explain why, and deliver it in a voice that insiders trust and enjoy, across a range of formats. You'll bring your own sources, voice, and reads on what matters.
You will need to be comfortable in a variety of settings, often be away from your desk, and sometimes on-camera, stage and in-studio to amplify your reporting.
You will be part of a global network of more than 550 reporters and your efforts will help define POLITICO’s presence in Australia.
Who You Are:
- A sharp political journalist who is ambitious to achieve more
- Someone competitive — you know that news exists outside of a neat 9-to-6 framework
- Strong Canberra sourcing, and an interest in how Canberra connects to the world
What You'll Do:
- Co-write the Canberra Playbook morning newsletter (weekday early morning)
- Help produce a Playbook PM edition on sitting days
- Contribute to and occasionally host a Canberra Playbook podcast
- Break news when it matters — and just as importantly, frame what others miss
- Build and maintain a deep network across politics, policy, diplomacy and business
- Work at speed, with high editorial judgment and a strong sense of voice
What You'll Need:
- Strong writing instincts: clean, confident, and capable of personality without ego and fluff
- Audio / video confidence is a plus (hosting or contributing to a podcast, and external media appearances)
What makes this job different:
- You are not filing one story a day. Instead, you are setting the agenda for an entire political community, every morning
- You will be part of a rigorous double-editing system — we are not looking for clicks and we do not deliver clickbait
We value our people. Click here for more on what we offer and what it’s like to work for POLITICO.
Let’s keep in touch. You can view our list of open positions here.
About Us.
POLITICO illuminates the forces shaping global power. Since 2007, we have delivered intelligence that anticipates tomorrow's headlines, not reports on yesterday's news. As politics has increasingly become the defining force of our era, our work has never been more vital.
Cabinet secretaries and Ministers start their mornings with our analysis. CEOs shape strategy around our reporting. Advocacy leaders rely on our insights to move policy. We deliver the straightforward facts and clear-eyed analysis they need to navigate the most complex political landscape of our lifetimes.
Our 1,100+ publishing professionals across the world's key democratic capitals—Washington, Brussels, London, Paris, Berlin, Sacramento, and New York—form the world's premier politics and policy newsroom. We tell the story of how power really works by explaining who wields it and how they plan to exercise it, connecting dots others miss and delivering scoops from sources others don't even know exist.
Innovation has always been a core tenet of our story. At launch, we bet that depth would trump scale, that talent would trump traffic, and that politics would become central to modern life. In 2011, we made another bet and launched POLITICO Pro to help decision-makers understand the business of government, transforming both how they shape government action and the business of journalism itself.
These bets have made POLITICO the most successful digital news startup of its generation and the indispensable resource for leaders who shape the future. Today, we are a rarity in media: a growing, profitable, and sustainable news organization.
POLITICO is a subsidiary of Axel Springer SE, a family-owned transatlantic media company headquartered in Berlin and New York. Axel Springer is dedicated to shaping the future of journalism in the free world, believing that a free and informed society is essential to democracy. The company’s guiding principles - first articulated as The Essentials by founder Axel Springer in the aftermath of World War II - remain a cornerstone of the company’s foundation today. Learn more about Axel Springer.
Posting date:
2026-05-29Title:
Canberra Playbook Co-AuthorSkills Required
- Proven experience as a political journalist with strong Canberra sourcing
- Strong writing instincts: clear, confident voice without clickbait
- Ability to work at speed with high editorial judgment
- Capacity to build and maintain networks across politics, policy, diplomacy and business
- Comfort working away from desk and in varied settings (on-camera, stage, in-studio)
- Willingness to contribute to and occasionally host a podcast
- Audio/video confidence (hosting or external media appearances)
POLITICO Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about POLITICO and has not been reviewed or approved by POLITICO.
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Parental & Family Support — Parental leave is set at 24 weeks fully paid for all family expansions in the U.S., codified for newsroom roles in the PEN Guild contract. This is highlighted as unusually generous in the U.S. media context.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Generous PTO and flexible time off, with paid sick days and holidays, are offered. A remote work program is available in some roles.
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Healthcare Strength — Core coverage includes medical, dental, vision and mental-health/EAP support alongside disability and life insurance. Benefit listings indicate a comprehensive lineup across key health areas.
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