Structure of Editorial Department

It is the editor or editor in chief who heads the editorial department. The editor plans and guides the actions of the department. He is assisted in this process by news editors, chief sub-editors, senior sub-editors etc. The editorial department of a newspaper organisation works in shifts. A detailed division of labour is as follows.

• Editor

The editor or the editor in chief is the captain of the ship. He/she heads both the reporting and the editing sections. An editor is responsible for the content of a newspaper including comics, news stories and editorials. He/she is the one who can be sued for libel or any such scurrilous matter published in the newspaper. The editor in chief takes important decisions on publication of news and expression of opinion on significant issues and events.

An editor is not just a person who writes the editorial, but conducts the news operation and opinion of the newspaper. In early times newspapers name were known associated with the names of great editors. But presently the editors are chosen among the proprietors and focuses on the management aspect of newspaper.

Every newspaper is required to publish the name of the editor. He/she wields the entire responsibility of bringing out the newspaper. Other than this an editor shares the responsibility of news rating and circulation. So he/she should face pressure from management, government, advertisers and public for the content published in the newspaper.

• News editor

News editor is the person who oversees the selection and preparation of news items for publication or broadcast. In simple words a news editor plans daily newspaper. A news editor is also responsible for assigning articles to other journalists and overseeing their publication. The duties of a news editor may vary based on the size of the organisation. In larger newspapers they focus on a specified area, like sports, politics, etc. In local newspapers a news editor performs multiple tasks in addition to editing.

News editor can stop printing of a newspaper to add an important breaking news item. It is the responsibility of the news editor to supervise the dummy for the first page. His/her responsibilities also include conducting editorial conferences and assigning duties.

• Sub editor

Sub editor or copy editor plays a crucial role in the editing process. He/she improves the formatting, style, and accuracy of news reports. Sub editor has to assemble important points from the mass of material sent by the news reporters and scrutinize them, giving a shape in a logical and interesting way. He/she has to give suitable headlines and where necessary, revise and condense the material to suit the available space. This is rather a difficult task which requires skill, flair for writing and mastery over the language. Sub editor is primarily answerable for what goes in his/her section of the paper.

Sub editor is responsible for ensuring the correct grammar, spelling, house style and tone of the published work. He/ she make sure that the copy is factually correct and that it suits the target audience. Sub editor also lay out the story on the page, and ensures that the text flows, that it is sensible, fair, and accurate, and that any legal problems have been addressed. If a passage is unclear or an assertion seems questionable, the sub editor may ask the reporter to clarify it.

Sub editors often specialize in a particular field, such as foreign news, sports, films, commerce, etc. and work on national and local newspapers, magazines and online publications.

There are also other members in the editorial department like Photo editors, Magazine editors, proof readers, page designers, etc.