Editorial Job Description
Editorial jobs vary a great deal. For the most part, each individual must be a team player. Supervisors and subordinates play a role in the creation of a publication. The basic requirement to work in an editorial environment is a bachelor's degree, most notably journalism or English. Pay depends on the experience level and employment environment of the individual. For instance, an entry-level staff writer at a small daily earns approximately $25,000 a year, whereas, a book editor with three years of experience is paid $43,000 a year.
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Editorial Managers
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The top individuals in a publication are the leaders who are in charge of making all the editorial decisions. These individuals include editors in chief, managing editors, city or metro editors, copy desk chiefs, photo editors and sports editors. While the editor in chief oversees the entire department, section editors implement policies fitting with the publication's goals and ensure that assignments are covered accurately as they pertain to their sections. Depending on the size of the publication, section editors can perform job evaluations.
Reporter's Work
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Reporters are assigned beats, or areas of specialty to cover. Some of the beats reporters monitor include city government, features and entertainment, business and sports. For some beats, individuals might have a background or degree in an area besides journalism. For instance, a reporter for a law publication might have a doctorate in law. Sports reporting is another specialized area. Along with strong writing skills, writers must understand the terminology used in the games and how they are played.
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Behind the Scenes
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An area within the editorial realm that has seen a drastic change is the photo department. With the advent of digital photography, the days of printing photos for publication are gone. Very few publications use scanners to place photos in the system. However, toning (adjusting elements of the photo such as color, sharpness and brightness) still is a major part of the photo desk. In addition, photojournalists are sometimes called on to perform tasks such as video production.
Night Owls
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Copy and design editors are the last line of defense for a publication, especially newspapers. They are responsible for catching errors before pages are printed. The copy and design desk can be as large as 20 people or as small as one. Paginators and designers use desktop publishing programs such as QuarkXPress or Adobe InDesign to create pages. Most copy editors today are expected to do some pagination and design duties as well as edit and proofread writers' stories for accuracy and readability, especially at smaller papers. They also write headlines and photo captions, called cutlines. Depending on the size of the paper, it may or may not have a separate desk for pagination and design. Those on the copy and design desk usually work nights, from late afternoon to as late as 2 a.m.
Web Content
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In 2009, it is rare to find a newspaper or magazine without a Web site. The newspaper industry has been greatly affected by the Internet. Its greatest challenge is using the Internet to retain readers who may no longer read the paper in physical form. Therefore, larger newspapers have created departments that specialize in the production of the publication's online content. Small newspapers, on the other hand, have either turned the duty over to a supervising editor, a reporter or the copy desk.
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