Every country has news consumers—and news avoiders—who are media illiterate. OJ-UGANDA’s media literacy section exists to change that. Follow along.

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As a news consumer, you often see the word “editor”. If you have little knowledge of how newsrooms work, you might assume all editors fix grammar, write headlines and check sentences.

The truth is that while news organisations have editorial staff doing this kind of work—they are called copy editors in the US or subeditors in the UK—many editors do not do any editing.

In fact, the higher a journalist climbs the editorial ladder, the less they have to do with editing.

So who really edits and who does not? To answer this question, we need to look at the types of editors (our list is not exhaustive) that news organisations employ.

Audience engagement editors: These editors are responsible for growing audiences. They review audience feedback and web analytics to see what is resonating with the audience. Then they compile reports that inform content strategy. They do not edit news articles.

Copy editors/subeditors: Copy editors do the actual editing. They write headlines, check grammar, punctuation, spelling of people’s names/places, syntax and, crucially, facts. They also ensure the writing conforms to the style guide. 

The news articles you read are edited by copy editors for the most part. However, smaller newsrooms with limited resources do not have copy editors. In small news organisations, the editor-in-chief, who normally would not have anything to do with editing in a large newsroom, can do the copy editor’s work.

Editors-in-chief: Editors-in-chief lead teams of editors and people reporting to those editors. They are the most senior in newsrooms. They provide editorial leadership and strategy and make the final decisions on what gets reported/published. They do not edit content unless they choose to. Occasionally, they review important stories before publication to avoid legal pitfalls or preempt trouble with the authorities—especially in countries where press freedom is nonexistent.

Executive editors: Like editors-in-chief, executive editors, especially in US newsrooms, are the highest ranking. They oversee editorial and newsroom operations. They set editorial policies. They have the final say on what gets covered and/or published. They do not edit anything unless they choose to.

Managing editors: In some newsrooms, depending on the editorial hierachy, managing editors are the most senior. However, in some countries, such as the US, managing editors are second in rank to executive editors. As the name suggests, they manage newsrooms and editorial teams. They set editorial policies and agendas.

News editors: They plan news coverage. They compile news logs, assign, brief and debrief reporters. They do not edit stories unless they are working for small news outlets, which entails juggling many responsibilities.

Section editors: Section editors are senior journalists responsible for separate editorial units of a news organisation. A features editor, for example, heads the features section. Section editors lead teams of journalists working under those sections—and are responsible for what the sections cover.

Subject-matter editors: They are senior journalists who have covered certain subjects and/or regions extensively. A news organisation’s legal affairs editor does not edit stories. The BBC’s health editor or its Middle East editor does not edit stories.

Beyond newsrooms: Publishing houses have editors, as do large organisations such as the World Bank/IMF, the UN, etc. They edit books, documents, reports and suchlike.

These editors’ responsibilities differ and do not overlap. In newsrooms, editorial decisions about how news is covered come from senior journalists with leadership and managerial responsibilities.

Understanding editorial roles matters as it builds media trust and helps readers decode bias, framing and omission.

When readers know who does what, it becomes easier to spot bias, understand priorities and hold news outlets accountable.

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🔴 If you care about truth, credibility and understanding how journalism really works, media literacy is essential. Follow OJ-UGANDA’s media literacy section to sharpen your news sense and separate fact from fiction. Media literacy is your weapon against misinformation, manipulation and media distrust.