Characteristics of a good editor

Motivates and shows enthusiasm Reporters see you as a partner in producing great stories, not as a schoolmarm ready to catch their errors. When a story idea or draft is not clicking, you can assist in turning it into something better, rather than being quick to write it off as a flop. When you have to torpedo a bad idea or point out bad writing, reporters know it is coming from foundation of respect Cares about making a story better A good editor knows how to make a story better. That means a lot more than deleting unnecessary sentences or making a story clear. He can read a story, digest it and then decide the scope, goals, tone, voice and character development and then figure out which of those need to be improved. Is honest and candid Interact with reporters and respect the untidy process of developing ideas Editorial Page editor: In every newsroom there is a department that specializes on production issues, like designing the masthead, deciding the positioning of stories as well as the placing of advertisements. Traditionally the editorial duties have been separated from news gathering to distinguish between fact and opinion. Reporters deal with facts, not opinion, although occasionally they may be asked to write analytical articles. Managing Editor: The primary responsibility for news-gathering operations is in the hands of the managing editor. Brook et al (1988) argued that the managing editor is the highest-ranking person who makes frequent appearances in the newsroom. On the other hand, the managing editor makes decisions about placement of major stories in the newspaper. The managing editor does the hiring, prepares the newsroom budget and makes most of the editorial department’s policy decisions in consultation with the editor. News editor: This editor has supervisory control of the copy desk, where final editing of the story is done, pages are designed and headlines are written. Furthermore, assisting the news editor are copy editors, experts who polish the wording of stories. They check verifiable information, including the spelling of names and also write headlines. They also crop and size photographs and other artwork, layout pages and work directly with the composing room to make sure that stories fit the space available The news editor is in charge of enforcing deadlines so that the newspaper comes out on time. Typical Structure of News Room organization