A Shawnee Mission South graduate who made aliyah to Israel in 2000 now has a big job with the Jerusalem Post. In December, Maayan Hoffman became the news editor and head of online content and strategy for what many describe as the world’s most influential Israeli newspaper.
It’s a job she’s excited to take on.
“The Post is the paper of record and the most widely read English newspaper and website in Israel. It has been around since before the founding of the State of Israel and has a brand and reputation that is known around the world,” she explained in a recent email.
Just how important is Hoffman in her new job? She is listed third on the masthead, so there are only two other people higher in the organization than she is — the editor-in-chief and the managing editor. Hoffman oversees a team of more than a dozen reporters and 15 news desk writers and is responsible for determining the daily news content. That means she has a hand in determining everything you see on the Post’s website, app and social media.
The Post is working on “transitioning more and better into the digital world,” and that is a big part of her job, Hoffman said.
“In the not-too-distant future, you’ll see changes to the website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, as well as to the newsletter and other platforms that we use to share the news with our readers,” she said. “Some small changes have already taken place since I started (on Dec. 12),” she said.
That’s not all on Hoffman’s daily to-do list.
“I also consult with the sales and marketing teams regarding strategic collaborations between editorial and marketing.”
This is not the first time Hoffman, the daughter of Sharon and Stuart Pase, has worked for the Post. She was one of the first breaking-news editors ever at paper when the updates desk was just beginning.
“I was the first editor to do an overnight shift. Now we are 24/7. Back then we had a beeper and a fax machine sending us news from the wire and the radio. Today, we still listen to the radio and watch the TV, but I get Twitter jumps and app pushes and most of my news comes through WhatsApp.” (WhatsApp is an application for smartphones that allows the sending of text messages and voice calls, as well as video calls, images and other media and documents.)
Before rejoining the Post last month, she served as vice president of marketing and brand strategy for Israel365.
“I was a regular freelance writer, and my articles have appeared in B’nai B’rith Magazine, The Forward, JNS, Politico, Roll Call, American Spectator, Fox and many other publications,” she said.
Hoffman has lived in Israel twice. She first moved to the Jewish state in 2000 and lived there until 2005, when she and her then-husband moved to Ithaca, New York, to be emissaries at Cornell University as part of the Jewish Agency’s/Orthodox Union’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus program. From there they moved to Baltimore.
During her time in Baltimore, she worked with the Baltimore Jewish Times and then Baltimore Jewish Times/Washington Jewish Week, ending her tenure there after seven and a half years as editor-in-chief of the Baltimore Jewish Times and director of marketing of both publications. Through some of that time she also served as marketing and communications manager at The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore.
Hoffman returned to her hometown for a couple of years between 2013 and 2015 and served as senior editor and content manager for Netsmart on College Boulevard.
Chronicle readers may remember Hoffman, who was Maayan Pase at the time, as editor of this newspaper for about 18 months in 1999 and 2000, before she moved to Israel the first time. Prior to that she worked for its then-parent company, Sun Publications, starting in 1995.
She returned to Israel in 2015 as a single mother with four children to fulfill her dream of living in Israel and raising her children in Jerusalem.
“Even though I had to return to the States for a decade in between my first move to Israel and my second, I always knew that we would end up there,” she said.
Back in Israel she reunited with her former Jerusalem Post colleague and friend Gil Hoffman, whom she met in 2001. They married in December 2015 and, at the office anyway, she is now his boss.
Her new job is humbling and overwhelming, she said, and yet she feels like she is exactly where she is supposed to be.
“When I was younger, I always knew I would be a writer,” she said. Colleagues and mentors at College Boulevard News and Johnson County Business Times gave her “confidence to enter the field of journalism” and taught her to have “tough skin.”
“And my time at the Jewish Chronicle and then subsequent positions in the Jewish community taught me about the importance of building and strengthening community,” she noted.
It was during her time in Baltimore when Hoffman learned how to manage people and “identify their strengths, help them with their challenges and to bolster them from behind the scenes so that they shine a little brighter.”
In addition to her successes in journalism, Hoffman has a knack for marketing, which the Post is tapping into. She said folks in Baltimore liked to say she “brought the federation into the 21st century,” because she “added video, sophisticated email marketing and a multi-touch marketing into our toolkit.” She has a master’s degree in Jewish thought as well as certifications in eMarketing and social media for business. Last year, she completed a professional certification in digital marketing management at the Technion.
“I like to stay on top of the latest trends, but I am smart about technology — or I like to think so. I am not a big believer in every new technology has to be used. But I like to find the technologies that are best suited to help a company, client or newspaper achieve its goals,” she explained.
Hoffman likes to be busy and loves a challenge. She manages to work, freelance and care for her family because she sleeps only three to four hours a night.
“I am up by 2 a.m. every morning,” she said. “I go to sleep between 10 and 11 p.m. each night. I use the quiet morning hours to freelance write or do work for my private business, Hoffman Communications, which provides content marketing to a variety of clients.” On top of that, she is a member of the executive board of the American Jewish Press Association and chaired its most recent conference.
She also likes to cook for her kids in the morning. She has five biological kids ages 2 to 15 and two stepchildren.
“I usually prep dinner in the morning and leave it in the Crock-Pot or in foil in the fridge in case I don’t make it home by dinner time. And I run every day at 5:30 a.m.,” said Hoffman, who added she’s been a runner ever since she ran track and cross country in high school.
“I am so blessed living in the holy city, running every morning in the footsteps of our ancestors, and now helping share Israel’s stories with millions of people around the world.”
She credits her parents with her strong work ethic.
“My parents have been the most incredible role models for me. Both of them have always worked hard and taught me that it is not just intelligence but hard work and drive that will help you to achieve your goals. My sister, Rachel Sosland, has also always been an inspiration for me. When we were little, my mom purchased for us a book of quotations by women. One of them was by Eleanor Roosevelt. She said, ‘The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.’ It is a quote I try to live by.”
Her grandparents, who owned Epstein’s Kosher Foods for more than 40 years in Kansas City, nurtured her love for Israel.
“My zayde, Sam Epstein, and bubbie, Gertrude Epstein, brought me to Israel for the first time when I was 12. I fell in love with the country then and tried every time I could to go back. I credit my zayde for instilling in me my Zionist values and my love of Judaism. I hope I can give a fraction of that love to my own children,” she explained.
While she is “so happy living in Israel,” she does miss her family in the States, including her parents and siblings Rachel Sosland and Joshua Pase, who live in the Kansas City area, and Adam Pase, who lives in Boston.
“I cannot say life has been without challenges — there have been many — but I have no regrets. And every day when I get up, I try to tell myself, ‘This is going to be the best day of my life.’ ”