Broadcast news editor to editor-in-chief
A broadcast news editor already meets 73% of what the editor-in-chief role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
33.7/ 100
1 How much of what an editor-in-chief is expected to do is already part of a broadcast news editor’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the editor-in-chief role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An editor-in-chief role treats 17 of its required skills as things a broadcast news editor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt to changing situations
- build contacts to maintain news flow
- check stories
- consult information sources
- copyright legislation
- create editorial board
What stands in the way is 3 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 28 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An editor-in-chief role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a broadcast news editor background worth leading with.
- already held create editorial board communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held check stories information skills
- already held work closely with news teams communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held digital journalism social sciences, journalism and information
- already held build contacts to maintain news flow communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held follow ethical code of conduct of journalists assisting and caring
All 28 carried skills, including the 17 the editor-in-chief role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn adapt to type of media required
- still to learn ensure consistency of published articles required
- still to learn implement strategic planning required
- optional, not held interview people optional
- optional, not held use specific writing techniques optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held edit negatives optional
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held perform image editing optional
- optional, not held study relevant writing optional
- optional, not held document interviews optional
- optional, not held writing techniques optional
- optional, not held follow newspaper house style optional
- optional, not held desktop publishing optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an editor-in-chief role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 adapt to type of media practise this
- 02 ensure consistency of published articles practise this
- 03 implement strategic planning practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 28 skills that carry over
- already held adapt to changing situations skill
- already held build contacts to maintain news flow skill
- already held check stories skill
- already held consult information sources skill
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- already held create editorial board skill
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held digital journalism knowledge
- already held editorial standards knowledge
- already held follow ethical code of conduct of journalists skill
- already held follow the news skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held manage staff skill
- already held meet deadlines skill
- already held participate in editorial meetings skill
- already held press law knowledge
- already held work closely with news teams skill
- already held apply grammar and spelling rules skill
- already held check correctness of information skill
- already held create online news content skill
- already held edit digital moving images skill
- already held grammar knowledge
- already held graphic design knowledge
- already held perform video editing skill
- already held photography knowledge
- already held proofread text skill
- already held spelling knowledge
- already held write to a deadline skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held edit negatives optional
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held follow newspaper house style optional
- optional, not held interview people optional
- optional, not held study relevant writing optional
- optional, not held use specific writing techniques optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held desktop publishing optional
- optional, not held document interviews optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held perform image editing optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- optional, not held writing techniques optional
19 held skills the editor-in-chief role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply organisational techniques skill
- not needed by the target role audio editing software knowledge
- not needed by the target role audiovisual equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role create rough cut skill
- not needed by the target role cut raw footage digitally skill
- not needed by the target role develop digital content skill
- not needed by the target role digital compositing knowledge
- not needed by the target role edit recorded sound skill
- not needed by the target role file-based workflow knowledge
- not needed by the target role intellectual property regime of digital content knowledge
- not needed by the target role media and information literacy knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor broadcast programming skill
- not needed by the target role motion graphics knowledge
- not needed by the target role multimedia systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role newsletter analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role put uncut recordings into computer skill
- not needed by the target role synchronise sound with images skill
- not needed by the target role use presentation software skill
- not needed by the target role write headlines skill
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held desktop publishing optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held writing techniques optional
Other moves recorded from broadcast news editor
Common questions about this move
Can a broadcast news editor become an editor-in-chief?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A broadcast news editor already covers 73% of what an editor-in-chief is expected to do: 28 skills carry over, 17 of which the editor-in-chief role treats as required.
What skills does a broadcast news editor need to become an editor-in-chief?
3 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is adapt to type of media.
How hard is the move from broadcast news editor to editor-in-chief?
Its learning distance is 33.7 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.