Newspaper or magazine editor
Newspaper and magazine editors manage the style and content of online and printed publications.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
As a newspaper or magazine editor, you would:
- contribute to content planning meetings
- commission features, articles and podcasts
- check submitted work meets your company's editorial guidelines
- choose which content to publish and when
- decide on page layouts and formatting
- assess work sent from freelance journalists, photographers and illustrators
- check for legal issues like libel or breach of copyright
Working environment
You could work in an office.
Career path and progression
With experience as a local newspaper or magazine editor, you could move on to regional or national publications.
You could become editor-in-chief of a group of newspapers or magazine publishers, managing an editorial team.
You might move into the wider publishing world, for example working as a commissioning editor for a national or international publishing house.
You may also find opportunities to work freelance in broadcast and digital editorial roles.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- knowledge of English language
- knowledge of media production and communication
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- excellent written communication skills
- excellent verbal communication skills
- the ability to work well with others
- to be flexible and open to change
- the ability to organise your time and workload
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- working towards this role
- training with a professional body
You could do a degree in a subject like:
- English
- journalism
- media studies
- publishing
You can do a postgraduate qualification in publishing or journalism if your first degree is not related to the industry.
If you want to work for a specialist publication, such as a medical or scientific journal, you'll usually need:
- a degree or postgraduate qualification in a relevant subject
- an excellent understanding of the field
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English
- 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
- a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course
More Information
You could start as an editorial assistant, copy editor or journalist with a regional newspaper or magazine and work your way up through training and promotion.
You'll need to get some experience before applying for your first job. To build up your experience you could:
- volunteer to work on student and community newspapers
- keep an online blog
- maintain an online presence on social media channels
- submit articles and reviews to newspapers, magazines or websites
These are good ways to develop industry contacts, as many jobs are not advertised. They are also useful for creating a portfolio of work to show employers what you can do.
You could take an editing or proofreading course to develop your skills, which may help when looking for work.
Courses are offered by:
Career tips
Employers will expect you to have an excellent grasp of English language, grammar, punctuation and proofreading, alongside knowledge of publishing regulations like copyright and licensing.
Professional and industry bodies
You may find it useful to join organisations like the Society of Editors and Professional Publishers Association for industry recognition, training opportunities and to make contacts.
Further information
You can find out more about becoming a newspaper or magazine editor from the National Council for the Training of Journalists.
You can learn more about other editorial and media careers from Discover Creative Careers.
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This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.