Managing Editor
Managing Editor
Career Overview
A managing editor runs the day-to-day operations of a magazine, newspaper, website, or newsroom. They assign stories, review content before it's published, and make sure everything fits the publication's style and standards. Today's managing editors also oversee content across web, social media, and video, often using AI tools to speed up routine tasks like transcription and proofreading.
Education
Most managing editors have a bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, or English. Hands-on writing and editing experience matters just as much as the degree, and many work their way up from writer or copy editor roles. A strong portfolio of published work is key to landing the job.
Work Environment
Managing editors typically work at a desk in an office, though remote and hybrid schedules are common today. The pace is fast and deadline-driven, especially when breaking news hits. It's a computer-based job that demands staying calm and organized under pressure.
Future Outlook
This career is shifting, not disappearing; print is shrinking, but online news and video content are growing to fill the gap. AI tools now handle a lot of routine editing work, freeing managing editors to focus on big-picture strategy and storytelling. Strong leadership and editorial judgment matter more than ever.
Recommended High School Courses
- Computer Science
- Business
- Communication
- English
- Digital Media
- Media Arts
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Edit written materials.
- Verify accuracy of data.
- Determine presentation subjects or content.
- Coordinate activities of production personnel.
- Write informational material.
- Manage content of broadcasts or presentations.
- Design layouts for print publications.
- Discuss production content and progress with others.
- Manage operations of artistic or entertainment departments or organizations.
- Coordinate reporting or editing activities.
- Obtain copyrights or other legal permissions.
- Audition or interview potential performers or staff members.
- Negotiate for services.
- Select staff, team members, or performers.
Schools
Duke University
Lehigh University
New York University
Northeastern University
Northwestern University-...
University Of North Carol...
University Of Southern Ca...
University Of Texas- Aust...
Washington And Lee Univer...
Washington University- St...
Carleton University
Centennial College
Thompson Rivers Univer...
Trent University- Pete...
University Of Toronto-...
University Of Winnipeg
Wilfred Laurier Univer...
Toronto Metropolitan Univ...
York University- Glendon...
Potential Scholarships
Aqha Region 1 Quarter Hor...
Aqha Arizona Quarter Hors...
Aqha Joan Cain Florida Qu...
Aqha Indiana Quarter Hors...
Aqha Dr. Gerald O'connor...
Aqhf Nebraska Quarter Hor...
- Creditcardgenius 2020 S...
- Haywood | Hunt & Associ...
- Lupus Canada Scholarshi...
Approx Salary Expectation
Low End:
$91,000.00 /yr
Avg/Med:
$119,000.00 /yr
High End:
$156,000.00 /yr
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.