People just know that there are editors and writers in the newspaper business but when you take a closer look, there’s different types of editors and even writers, so presented here are some of the various careers for print journalism.
Editor in Chief: This is the big boss when it comes to the editorial assignments, because each of the stories which are printed in the paper would go by his desk and get authorized.
That’s why when a paper is being sued for libel cases, the name of the editor in chief is always a part of the defendants for the case, because all pieces would have been read and authorized by the editor in chief.
Managing Editor and Associate Editor: Those are the helpers for the editor in chief - not the ones who bring them their coffee so should not be grouped with the title of a secretary.
Many times, managing editors are the second in command, along with associate editors.
These people are essentially tasked to handle the writers and the contributors for that area.
In smaller news organizations like within schools, they’re also the ones who work with the daily functions like the schedule and the budget.
Section Heads: In any paper, there’s various sections, so one section head for example would work in lifestyle and another with news or with sports.
Those are the people that are in charge of handing out work and coming up with different stories.
For those sections which feature sub sections within them, there’s writers who are tasked to head those chunks and they’re known as sub-section heads.
They’re assigned to take care of their own section along with preparing the materials and closing the page.
Writers: Such are the heart of these papers since they’re the people that gather and get the news to you.
These are the people who go to where the action is and see what they can possibly write on it - normally, writers are sent to various sections.
As an example, one writer might be tasked to report on health issues and another writer writes sports related issues.
Correspondents and contributors: Those are individuals that additionally write for that newspaper but are not directly under the company’s employ.
They can write and submit stories to various papers and they’re paid for each story and not monthly like the regular writers.
Contributors are usually what we refer to as freelance writers and since they are not in the employ of the company, they don’t get the normal benefits, but they also don’t have to report for work.
Editorial assistants: These people are the ones who take care of the daily workings of a single section.
They additionally write if needed but their function is to help smooth the work for the writers and editors.
Copy readers: Those are individuals who check on the article to see if there’s any errors and sometimes poor grammar that might have been missed during the editing phase.
Those individuals basically check the whole article and fix any mistakes in them, normally looking over the surface and nothing deeper like rewriting an entire article.
