For any news media firm to thrive, it must have a worthy team of experienced editors making critical decisions. From helping their staff of writers and photographers to designing the layout and writing the content themselves, editors are responsible for what is published for the world to see.

If you want to know why you should become an editor yourself and bask in knowing that all your hard work is worth it, then read more. This post will cover the responsibilities of five types of editors in the media industry.

And if you need your novel professionally edited, you can check out my SERVICES page for more information.

The entire list of every type of editor is too long to cover in this blog post. Here are a few that I think are quite important to the everyday purpose of news media agencies.

Sports Editors

The sports editor is responsible for calling all the shots about the upcoming big games in the area.

If the local college has made the NCAA championships, the sports editor will be the one to send his best sportswriter to the show (usually paid for by the firm) to cover the event. A press pass will likely be arranged beforehand. 

The sportswriter will be responsible for securing interviews with the top scorers of the night, the coach, any other notable members of the team, and even maybe fans in the stands. 

The sports editor will also want good photos of the game. And not just balcony shots of the game from a mile away. Clear, key photos of the players in action as they score a goal is prime for a sports editor. Photos of players simply standing around is no good. 

Video is critical to digital platforms, which your media firm likely has. So prepare. Get yourself in good ranges with your camera to get shots that can last more than 15 seconds. The longer videos the better because it can always be edited later. If you are granted access to the actual field or floor, you should expect to bring a tripod with you for level, steady shots, as well as the specific lenses. 

And if you are not granted access to the floor, the sportswriter is still expected to get as close to the field as humanly possible. If you have to stand all night by a stadium railing to get the best photos, which the sports editor probably expects from you, then you have to do it. Do you want to produce the best work you can or not?

The sports editor will consume all the info the writer has gathered and then will arrange the stories in order of importance. After the writer has written the best he or she can, the editor will look for errors in times, score, incorrectly spelled player names, etc. The sports editor has the critical choice–if the article is written poorly–to rewrite it. Does it bury the lede?

Does the article have anything new to add or does it look like other articles the sportswriter has written in the past? Or does it just rehash a similar article that another reporter has written for a different firm? The point, hopefully, is to get the article to be genuine by being written from a sportswriter with an original voice and talented perspective on sports reporting.

Online Editors

Web writers usually write their content for the news firm. Whether it is from the info gathered throughout the Internet or from other sources, the online writer will likely be on a tight deadline to immediately write. 

If the deadline is tight, the editor will instruct the writer to summarize info already out on the web. 

Typically, quotes are never altered (obviously), but anything else could be paraphrased and changed as much as possible to provide new content for your firm. This is very common throughout online media. For example, when you see multiple websites on your timeline suddenly post about the same topic within minutes, do you think that each site contacted the people used in the quotes? Of course not. The writers for those sites simply copied another site, used the same quotes, but rewrote (paraphrased) everything else. 

In many cases, the writer may be alone during this because time is a factor when publishing about online content. So, the writer may act as an editor and make important decisions, as well. 

If an online editor is involved, the writer will send the piece to him or her for further inspection. The online editor will review any times and dates in the writing. The names will be checked. 

The editor will also check if anything else could be involved in the piece to make it stand out from the dozens of other online sites doing the same thing. Simply rehashing info already out there will never produce any significant results. The editor is faced with always making the piece interesting, by providing new content to attract readers and build upon the prestige of the firm. 

Photo Editors

Usually, several people on the editorial team can alter photos, with the main photo editor taking the majority of the artistic responsibilities.

All images taken by reporters are sent to a photo editor for the reviewing of the images specs. All photos should be taken on a DSLR camera (or mirrorless). Shoot in the RAW setting.

Any photos taken by a smartphone might provide complications for the photo editor because of the format. Photo editors also produce original creation or fixes for newspaper/online advertisements. Advertisers might have an image already for the editor to use but might want the editor to alter the color, size, etc.

They have an expert level of graphic design skills. Various computer software can be used: Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator), Skylum Luminar, DxO PhotoLab. Photo editors will likely know of video, as well. There is a multitude of programs: Adobe, Final Cut Pro, Filmora.

They will be responsible for securing permission from properties to film or shoot photos. The photo editor will navigate any contractual agreements concerning photo rights.

Along with the photo editor, the other members of management will have the final say about which photos are used and altered for the layout in the magazine, newspaper or website.

Managing Editors

The managing editor (ME) is in a position where he or she rarely edits nor writes copy. The ME is more of a supervisory spot than an actual worker drone, like the aforementioned editors. The ME is usually a person who has many years in the editorial game where they have proven themselves already as master editors and writers. Because of their past achievements, they have a position that delegates any writing and editing tasks to others. However, the ME is now responsible for everything within the firm because they are good decision-makers.

The ME is a top dog, a big dog, a big wig. There are only one or two big dogs above the ME. And if you are in the media business yourself, then you know you rarely ever see them. The ME is typically the main one you will deal with daily. 

Along with delegating orders, the ME operates the layout design of the website or any print media. Deciding which stories should revolve around others and which advertisements belong on which page are all choices the ME must handle.

The ME maintains budgets, schedules staff meetings, controls the hiring/firing of staff, represents the media outlet during conferences and with outside agents, and handles many other responsibilities. The managing editor may appear not to have the same physical duties as other editors in the newsroom. However, the ME’s duties mainly rest in their ability to have their writers and editors who work under them to produce the best copy, the best graphics, and maintain the most continual advertising stream as humanly possible.

Copy Editors

I have written several blog posts about copy editing, one which you can read here. 

These days, the copy editor has more to do with the revisions of the copy than just simple proofreading. Checking for grammar mistakes is part of the job, yes. But, a copy editor’s responsibilities go far into fact-checking names and places, dates and times. If needed, a copy editor will be given the task to rewrite an entire story. 

Sometimes, a freelance writer for the firm might have written a sub-par article that the copy editor thinks could use major rewriting. If a critical element has been left out of the assignment, and incorporating this new info into the article could cause an entirely different slant, then the copy editor might take the task to rewrite it all.

Depending on the number of personnel in the newsroom, a copy editor may have to interview others for an upcoming article. Most times, a phone interview will suffice because a copy editor is needed to stay at the newsroom for editing the copy of the day. However, sometimes a copy editor may act like a news reporter. In these rare cases, the copy editor should have a working knowledge of face-to-face interview skills, a list of interesting questions to ask the interviewees, and decent experience of photography. 

Most times, the copy editor will stay in the newsroom, making decisions related to article style, grammar, structure, and honing his or her writing skills. Copy editors may rewrite headlines, check captions of images, and check for correct jump pages in print media. Also, experience with the current Associated Press Style is paramount, as is of the media outlet’s specific house style—I suggest ALL EDITORS sign up for the AP stylebook site here. 

Sometimes, a copy editor will be in charge of any social media. Posting to the firm’s website by using WordPress is common. A copy editor should know how to upload media (images, videos, audio) to WordPress. Creating hyperlinks is necessary, too. Knowing how to include links within the post can come in handy of the editors who want the reader to visit other similar articles they have on a subject. 

Other social media platforms copy editors may use to spread stories are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Posting to social media is hardly any different than any other site. They have time options when a post will appear. If the copy editor decides the post should appear later that day, the platform usually can schedule the post. 

Conclusion

Well, there you have it.

This is a list of just a few of the editors you will find at various media outlets. Are you interested in becoming an editor? Do you enjoy reading and writing for a living? If yes, then begin by enrolling in journalism, English, and media courses at college. The editing career may look different than it did 20 or 30 years ago because of the advancement of technology and social media platforms. But editing will always be around. 

*And if you have a manuscript that you think might need some editing before sending it out to a literary agent or before you self-publish it, you can check out my SERVICES page to hire me as your editor.

And if you want to amplify the suspense in your short story or your novel, you can purchase my ebook here. 

Get edited.

~M