Editor

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(Redirected from Editor-in-chief)

An 'Editor' is a person who prepares text—typically language, but also images and sounds—for publication by correcting, condensing, or otherwise modifying it. In career terms, the word has four major senses:

  • Print media There are various levels of editorial positions in publishing. Typically one finds junior editorial assistants reporting to senior level editorial managers and directors, who themselves report to senior executive editors responsible for project development to final releases.
See related articles at Journalism
  • Visual media Editors in the visual mediums, who may be described as film or video editors, perform a variety of tasks. Assistant editors and production assistants perform preliminary screening and logging of motion picture footage; senior editors are responsible for creative placement of scenes and shots, structural placement of major elements and organization of the entire presentation. Other editors are involved with assembly of the final product and preparation for distribution.
See related articles at film editor, video editor
  • Sound media Motion pictures have many sound editors, this team works with various aspects of the picture or program's sound designers. These editors construct tracks consisting of assembled pre-recorded dialogue, the audio mixing in of sound effects, foley and music to achieve the desired effect for the motion pictures and television programs.
See related articles at sound recording, sound effects, DAW
  • Computer editor is a program used to make changes to files of a particular type. There are computer editing systems for visual and sound mediums as well as still images. Other types of editors are more technical and edit computer code in various ways needed by programmers and technicians.
See related articles at word processor, Avid, electronic journalism

Onto these career categories are mapped the categories in which individual professionals specialize, including language, still images, cinema/video, sound, computer programming code, and music scores. These areas sometimes overlap in individual practitioners; for example, language editors may comment on or make alterations to graphics and photographs embedded in a job that mostly comprises language; sound editors may make alterations in the linguistic text of, for example, a sound interview, to improve the intended meaning or reduce the duration of an item.

'Editing', as applied to language, is sometimes contrasted with terms that imply more restricted functions: 'copyediting' (checking for consistency and accuracy) and 'proofreading' (marking errors). The boundaries between the meanings of these terms are not universally accepted.

Contents

Etymology

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, editor comes from the Latin phrase e ditus which means "to put forward". The editor ludorum in Ancient Rome was the person who put on the games. In French, editeur means "publisher". Also in Italian editore means "publisher". The word came into English from French. The verb to edit is a back formation from editor.

Print media

Human editors in the print publishing industry include people who are responsible for:

  • newspapers and wire services; see below.
  • organizing anthologies and other compilations.
  • organizing and publishing a magazine —. The top editor may be called editor-in-chief.
  • producing a definitive edition of a classic author's works — a scholarly editor.
  • organizing and managing contributions to a multi-author book — symposium editor or volume editor.
  • finding marketable ideas and presenting them to appropriate authors — a sponsoring editor.
  • obtaining copy or recruiting authors — such as the acquisitions editor or commissioning editor for a publishing house.
  • improving an author's writing so that they indeed say what they want to say, in an effective manner — a substantive editor. Depending on the writer's skill, this editing can sometimes turn into ghost writing. Substantive editing is seldom a title. Many types of editors do this type of work, either in-house at a publisher or on an independent basis.
  • correcting spelling, grammar, and matters of house style — a copy editor. But copy editors at newspapers usually also have greater and higher responsibilities, which may include the design of pages and the selection of news stories for inclusion. At U.K. newspapers, the term is "sub-editor."
  • choosing the layout of the publication and communicating with the printer — a production editor. This and similar jobs are also called "layout editor," "design editor," "news designer," or -- more so in the past -- "makeup editor."

The smaller the publication, the more these roles run together. In particular, the substantive editor and copy editor often overlap:

  • Fact-checking can be the responsibility of either.
  • Copy editors who find an inappropriate term or phrase will often suggest or make an improvement.

Executive editor

The top editor sometimes has the title executive editor or editor-in-chief (the former is replacing the latter in the language). This person is generally responsible for the content of the publication. The exception is that newspapers that are large enough usually have a separate editor for the editorials and opinion pages.

The executive editor sets the publication standards for performance, and is responsible for assuring the highest standards of ethical conduct in the process of gathering and presenting information, as well as for motivating and developing the staff. The executive editor is also responsible for developing and maintaining the publication budget. In concert with the publisher and the operating committee, the executive editor is responsible for strategic and operational planning.

Newspapers

Editors at newspapers supervise journalists and improve their work.

Newspaper editing encompasses a variety of titles and functions. These include:

  • copy editors; see above;
  • department editors;
  • managing editors and assistant or deputy managing editors (the managing editor is often second in line after the top editor);
  • news editors, who oversee the news desk;
  • photo or picture editors;
  • section editors and their assistants, such as for business, features, and sports;
  • top editors, who may be called editor in chief or executive editor;
  • readers' editors, sometimes known as the ombudsman, who arbitrate complaints;
  • wire editors, who choose and edit articles from various international wire services, and are usually part of the copy desk;
  • and administrative editors (who actually don't edit but perform duties such as recruiting and directing training).

The term city editor is used differently in North America, where it refers to the editor responsible for the news coverage of a newspaper's local circulation area (also sometimes called metro editor), and in the United Kingdom, where (normally with a capital C) it refers to the editor responsible for coverage of business in the City of London and, by extension, coverage of business and finance in general.

External links

Professional associations:

Online resources:

Articles:

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