Magazine editor to broadcast news editor
A magazine editor already meets 62% of what the broadcast news editor role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
45.7/ 100
1 How much of what a broadcast news editor is expected to do is already part of a magazine 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 broadcast news editor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A broadcast news editor role treats 15 of its required skills as things a magazine editor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply organisational techniques
- check stories
- consult information sources
- copyright legislation
- create editorial board
- develop professional network
What stands in the way is 4 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 23 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A broadcast news editor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a magazine editor background worth leading with.
- already held create editorial board communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held check stories information skills
- already held write headlines communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held follow ethical code of conduct of journalists assisting and caring
- already held participate in editorial meetings communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held editorial standards social sciences, journalism and information
All 23 carried skills, including the 15 the broadcast news editor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 24 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 build contacts to maintain news flow required
- still to learn work closely with news teams required
- optional, not held create online news content optional
- optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
- still to learn multimedia systems required
- optional, not held audiovisual equipment optional
- optional, not held file-based workflow optional
- optional, not held digital compositing optional
- optional, not held intellectual property regime of digital content optional
- optional, not held motion graphics optional
- optional, not held photography optional
- still to learn digital journalism required
- optional, not held newsletter analysis optional
- optional, not held media and information literacy optional
- optional, not held edit recorded sound optional
- optional, not held perform video editing optional
- optional, not held put uncut recordings into computer optional
- optional, not held synchronise sound with images optional
- optional, not held develop digital content optional
- optional, not held use presentation software optional
- optional, not held create rough cut optional
- optional, not held audio editing software optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a broadcast news editor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 build contacts to maintain news flow practise this
- 02 digital journalism study this
- 03 work closely with news teams 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 23 skills that carry over
- already held apply organisational techniques 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 editorial standards knowledge
- already held follow ethical code of conduct of journalists skill
- already held follow the news skill
- already held grammar knowledge
- already held manage staff skill
- already held meet deadlines skill
- already held participate in editorial meetings skill
- already held press law knowledge
- already held spelling knowledge
- already held adapt to changing situations skill
- already held apply grammar and spelling rules skill
- already held check correctness of information skill
- already held graphic design knowledge
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held proofread text skill
- already held write headlines skill
- already held write to a deadline skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held monitor broadcast programming optional
- optional, not held cut raw footage digitally optional
20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held newsletter analysis optional
- optional, not held audiovisual equipment optional
- optional, not held create online news content optional
- optional, not held create rough cut optional
- optional, not held cut raw footage digitally optional
- optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
- optional, not held edit recorded sound optional
- optional, not held file-based workflow optional
- optional, not held media and information literacy optional
- optional, not held monitor broadcast programming optional
- optional, not held perform video editing optional
- optional, not held put uncut recordings into computer optional
- optional, not held synchronise sound with images optional
- optional, not held audio editing software optional
- optional, not held develop digital content optional
- optional, not held digital compositing optional
- optional, not held intellectual property regime of digital content optional
- optional, not held motion graphics optional
- optional, not held photography optional
- optional, not held use presentation software optional
14 held skills the broadcast news editor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt to type of media skill
- not needed by the target role apply desktop publishing techniques skill
- not needed by the target role desktop publishing knowledge
- not needed by the target role edit negatives skill
- not needed by the target role edit photographs skill
- not needed by the target role ensure consistency of published articles skill
- not needed by the target role interview people skill
- not needed by the target role interview techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform image editing skill
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role use specific writing techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use word processing software skill
- not needed by the target role write captions skill
- not needed by the target role writing techniques knowledge
11 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn digital journalism required
- still to learn multimedia systems required
- optional, not held newsletter analysis optional
- optional, not held audiovisual equipment optional
- optional, not held file-based workflow optional
- optional, not held media and information literacy optional
- optional, not held audio editing software optional
- optional, not held digital compositing optional
- optional, not held intellectual property regime of digital content optional
- optional, not held motion graphics optional
- optional, not held photography optional
Common questions about this move
Can a magazine editor become a broadcast news editor?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A magazine editor already covers 62% of what a broadcast news editor is expected to do: 23 skills carry over, 15 of which the broadcast news editor role treats as required.
What skills does a magazine editor need to become a broadcast news editor?
4 required skills are missing, plus 20 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is build contacts to maintain news flow.
How hard is the move from magazine editor to broadcast news editor?
Its learning distance is 45.7 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.