Responsibilities of a Sub-Editor
Sub-editors have the responsibility of ensuring that the styles, tones, layout etc of a finalized copy matches with the style and requirements of the publication house and tallies with the market copy. Some of the responsibilities of a sub-editor involve copy processing prior to publication, ensuring grammatical correctness, laying out the story, writing the headings and taking care of the page design.
Responsibilities and duties vary on the dependence of production house. As a sub-editor, you have to edit the copies that a reporter or the feature writer has written, correct the grammatical and spelling mistakes, and even re-write the article, if required, to maintain a free flowing style. It is the sole responsibility of a copy editor to ensure that the story befits all the requirements. You also need to write headlines that capture and retain the essence of story. The sub editor is required to be the chief communicator between the journalists, reporters and the story; therefore, it is their duty to clarify all facts and queries.
The other responsibilities of the sub-editor are photo cropping, providing captions and also specifying the place where to fit them, discussing issues with your editors, checking the facts and accuracy of a story, seeing to it that they are within the copyright laws and guidelines, etc. Moreover, the sub-editor engages in the manipulation of copies with software, addition of extra stories etc.
Skills and Knowledge Required
To succeed in the field of sub-editing, candidates must possess complete knowledge about the legalities involved. They should also be able to integrate a story within a set style and speed. It is mandatory that sub-editors have excellent written and communications skills with rational and tactful reasoning. He or she must be able to understand the copies and materials and pin point appropriate samples before the publication process. Finally, a good level of understanding and maturity is required.
Educational Qualifications Required
Possessing a relevant degree is important, preferably a graduate or a post graduate degree, specializing in English, media studies and journalism. If you want to advance to a large publication house then you must also possess analytical and communications skills. Primarily, having a specialization in English is desired as you need to deal with copies of text and manage content.
Sub-editors' salaries start from $32,000 and may go up to $40,000 annually, along with many career opportunities. You can also advance to the position of chief sub-editor, production editor or even an editor but prior to all these you have to make a mark as a sub-editor and climb your way up. This is the best field to be in to understand the basics of journalism.
