Have you ever wondered what an editor does?

There was a time, not so very long ago, when the job of a newspaper editor was reasonably straightforward.

The editor edited the copy written by reporters, and sent that copy to pages for subs to lay out on the page. They took charge at news meetings and were full of ideas and enthusiasm to inspire their (usually) younger charges. They had time to be creative, to liaise with the graphic designers, and photographers and to get their paper in the best possible shape.

Property pages were dealt with by a property editor. Entertainment pages had an entertainment editor. Proofing of pages was done by subs. And there was a web editor responsible for putting stories up online.

How times have changed!

I love my job. But its breadth is far greater than the job I had when I first took on the role.

It’s tricky to write down exactly what my job now entails. But I’m going to give it a go. I may, in the months after this post goes live, come back and add to it as I remember all I have missed!

So.. this is some of what I do.

• I edit reporters’ copy. To make sure it’s safe, meets house style, and has the right angle. I re-write it, hopefully not too much if at all – occasionally wholesale – where necessary. And I make sure if there are questions still to be asked or views still to be sought, that that’s done.
• I write news copy. If we’re short of a story and I’ve cracked the whip all I can, then it’s sometimes easier for me to ‘bash out a lead’ than it is for me to persuade, cajole or push a reporter to write more.
• I shoot video – then embed it into stories like this one about the Cowpie Show
• I take photos – and put galleries of my photos online like this one.
• I read all the copy on news and sports pages and make sure it’s legally safe before we go to press. Subs change things and write headlines. They aren’t always accurate headlines, and key information can be cut to make a story fit onto a page. Sometimes, on a busy deadline day, we’re all reading a lot faster than we’d like. I change headlines and copy generally, on the fly, as we hurtle towards deadline.
• I sign off on pages – sending them to press. After I’ve hit the button, it’s probably too late to get something back. It has to be right.
• I have oversight of the paper’s website and schedule probably around 50 stories a week – making sure they are all Google friendly (hyperlinked, SEO optimised, the right length, large stories are going up at peak viewing time etc) and that they look as appealing as possible (sites like canva.com help there).
• I keep an eye on social media and other news websites to try to ensure that if we ought to be reporting on something, we are.
• I keep a regular watch on our web stats – and try to hit wweb viewing targets with the resources I have while juggling the printed paper’s needs too.
• I hold regular news meetings with the reporters – at the start of the week to review what reporters have planned, and thereafter, to keep us all on track and make sure we all know what everyone is doing. I don’t want anyone writing a story I can’t use, nor two people writing the same thing!
• I run – with significant help – the paper’s social media presence.
• I keep a diary of court hearings and inquests, and scour those lists to make sure we miss as little as possible.
• I deal with complaints from the public, and liaise with IPSO (the press regulator) where necessary.
• I write the words on the billboards you see outside supermarkets, newsagents et al.
• I edit, source images for, and on occasion conduct interviews for and write entertainment copy.
• I source content from contributors
• I arrange payment for contributors – in those rare cases where we have a budget for such things
• I help design front pages, I try to be artistic and have fun – where appropriate, and ensure there’s appropriate gravitas where not. Time, as always, permitting.

A little digression on that final point, and a couple of mentions my paper got, and chats I had with the guys at journalism website HoldTheFrontPage

There was praise for Weekly brings back 70-year-old masthead for special edition.

That’s this:

And within a week of that, there was global reaction to ‘Stuck bottom’ NIB becomes splash after global interest.

That’s this:

And while some of you may be keen to praise the former and knock the latter – which I understand completely – which do you imagine garnered the most readers?