All about the profession editor-in-chief

Those who have a literary talent, an excellent baggage of knowledge in this area and in the field of the Russian language, often want to choose a creative profession. In this case, it will be useful to learn everything about the profession of the editor-in-chief.

The editor-in-chief is the person on whom all the work of a newspaper, magazine or publishing house is held. He leads the completely creative process, and it is he who decides:

• what the concept of the print edition will be;
• what the theme of the numbers will include;
• which articles will be the main ones, and which ones will be secondary;
• what illustrations will be present on the pages;
• which of the journalists will cover certain topics.

In order for magazines or newspapers to flourish, the editor, together with the creative team, is looking for ways to raise the rating of the print publication, to attract a multi-age audience in as many numbers as possible.

The editor has a fairly extensive list of responsibilities related to both work in the editorial office and outside it, but always for its benefit:

• he establishes contacts with the administration of the city and region to discuss pressing issues;
• takes part in all meetings, conferences, seminars, where he presents his printed publication in a favorable light;
• the editor-in-chief thinks over the work plan of the entire editorial office and develops measures to improve its work and attract additional profits;
• conducts planning meetings at which work plans of the whole team are discussed for a month, a week, a day;
• monitors the work of correspondents, gives assignments if necessary and checks their execution;
• decides whom to reward from the team for good work, and whom, on the contrary, to deprive of creative reward;
• the editor-in-chief reads the materials at the last stage - before they go to print, he can make his own edits, give the journalist the text for revision or completely refuse to publish if, in his opinion, it does not meet any requirements;
• controls commercial projects that are related to making money for the editorial office - for example, it concerns advertising in a newspaper or magazine.

The editor-in-chief, no matter what industry he works in - newspaper, magazine, publishing house, must have a higher professional education. As a rule, this is the Faculty of Journalism, which is available in almost all universities. First of all, the editor-in-chief must have 100% literacy, be fluent in Russian (foreign - if he runs a publication published, for example, in English).

Literary talent plays a huge role. After all, the editor-in-chief must be able not only to read the text with high quality and correct it stylistically, but also to write any material himself so that it is interesting for the audience. Good editors tend to come from journalists. Before taking up such a position, a person has been working in the media for several years, gaining invaluable experience.

Besides, the editor-in-chief should know well the structure of the editorial office - who is doing what, who is responsible for what. If necessary, he can replace almost any employee, since, as a rule, he has passed the school of journalism, and he becomes a universal specialist.

The editor-in-chief must have a very broad outlook, be an erudite person with knowledge in various fields, necessarily well-read, versed in the intricacies of literary genres. He must have a competent speech. Leadership qualities are essential, since it is necessary to inspire and motivate the whole team for fruitful work. Authority among colleagues is a must. An editor must be able to lead people along - this is how there is a chance to create interesting projects, including a competitive publication.

This leader solves all organizational issues, all conflicts that arise in the team. Therefore, he must also be a little bit of a psychologist, be able to create a friendly creative environment in the team, so that everyone feels like a member of the team that cannot be replaced. This is very important for the creative team. The editor must know about the abilities of everyone in order to be able to praise a person at the right time and inspire them for further achievements, and sometimes point out mistakes, but do it constructively and tactfully.

The editor receives remuneration for his work depending on in which city, in which publication he works. It is difficult in this case to name a specific salary. In many respects, it all depends on how successfully the publication implements commercial projects and makes money by placing advertisements on its pages. In small cities it can be 35-50 thousand rubles, in capitals the level of income can be high - starting from 100 thousand and above.