Editor in Chief Job Description, KRAs and Skills

An Editor in Chief heads the editorial team of a newspaper, magazine, TV news channel or digital publication. The role sets editorial policy and standards, decides what the publication covers and how, signs off on sensitive stories, leads senior editors and represents the publication publicly. The editor in chief answers for accuracy, fairness and legal risk in everything published, and a good one protects credibility even when it costs traffic or ratings.

Detail	For this role
Department	Media and Advertising
Level	Senior management
Reports to	Managing Director
Direct reports	News Editor, Content Editor, Content Strategist
Experience	18+ years in journalism, with 6 years as an editor leading a newsroom

Editor in Chief job description template

Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.

Job title: Editor in Chief

Department: Media and Advertising

Reports to: Managing Director

Location: [City], [office, branch or site]

About the role

Key responsibilities

Set the editorial policy, style guide and ethics code for the publication, and update them as platforms change.
Decide coverage priorities, beats and special projects with senior editors.
Chair the daily or weekly editorial meeting and approve lead stories, covers or prime-time rundowns.
Review sensitive stories with legal advisers before publication for defamation, privacy and contempt risk.
Handle corrections, complaints and right-of-reply requests, and publish corrections where facts were wrong.
Recruit and lead senior editors, and build a newsroom structure across print, TV, web and social teams.
Agree editorial budgets with management and keep editorial decisions separate from advertiser pressure.
Set digital strategy for audience growth, subscriptions or ratings without lowering editorial standards.
Represent the publication in public forums, industry bodies and dealings with authorities.
Mentor editors and reporters on accuracy, verification and fair reporting.

Requirements

Graduate or postgraduate in journalism, mass communication or any discipline
A journalism diploma from an institute such as IIMC or ACJ is an advantage
Command of English and at least one Indian language the publication uses
18+ years in journalism, with 6 years as an editor leading a newsroom

KRAs and KPIs for a Editor in Chief

Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.

Key result area	How to measure it
Accuracy	Factual corrections within the yearly threshold, each published promptly
Legal risk	No adverse court order or regulator action arising from published content
Audience	Annual readership, viewership or subscription targets achieved
Editorial independence	Every commercial request touching editorial content reviewed and documented
Senior editor vacancies	Key editor positions filled within 60 days of falling vacant
Audience trust	Trust scores in audience or brand surveys improve each year

Skills and tools

Editorial judgementNews and feature planningMedia law awarenessEthics and standardsNewsroom leadershipDigital audience strategyCrisis handlingPublic speakingIntegrityCalm under pressure

Tools used day to day: Newsroom content management system, Web analytics such as Google Analytics, Social media dashboards, Editorial style guide, Video calls for editorial meetings.

Reporting line and career path

Moves up from: News Editor, Content Editor
Next roles: Editorial Director, Chief Executive Officer

Interview questions for a Editor in Chief

An advertiser asks for a story to be dropped. What do you do?
How do you decide whether to publish an allegation against a named person?
Tell me about a correction you had to publish that embarrassed the publication.
How would you grow digital audiences without clickbait?
How do you manage a star reporter who repeatedly ignores the style guide?
What would you change in your first 100 days running this newsroom?

Managing a Editor in Chief in ZeniaHR

AttendanceNewsrooms run round the clock and the editor in chief is on call beyond any shift. A flexible shift with minimum hours avoids late marks that make no sense for an editor who was on the desk past midnight.LeavePlan leave outside election periods, budget day, major sporting events and annual special issues. A named executive or managing editor should hold sign-off on sensitive stories during the absence.Performance and KRAsAccuracy, legal risk and audience KRAs can be weighted KPI goals in an annual cycle. Editorial independence and team building fit better as competency goals, discussed in a mid-year ad hoc review.

Hire and manage your media and advertising team in one place

Post the role, onboard the new hire, and track attendance, leave and KRAs in ZeniaHR. Free for your first 50 employees.

Book a free demo See pricing

Frequently asked questions

What does an editor in chief do?

An editor in chief leads the editorial side of a publication or channel. They set editorial policy and standards, decide coverage priorities, approve lead stories, review sensitive stories for legal risk, handle corrections and complaints, lead senior editors and represent the publication publicly. They answer for everything published.

What is the difference between an editor in chief and a managing editor?

The editor in chief sets direction, policy and standards and makes the final call on sensitive content. The managing editor runs the newsroom day to day: schedules, staffing, workflow, budgets and deadlines. In many Indian publications the managing editor reports to the editor in chief.

How do you become an editor in chief?

Most editors in chief spend 15 to 20 years in journalism, moving from reporter or sub editor to senior editor, news editor and then an editor leading a desk or edition. A reputation for accuracy and judgement, experience leading teams and handling legal risk, and digital audience experience are what boards look for.