How to become a Newspaper or Magazine Editor
Becoming a newspaper or magazine editor takes work and does not often happen instantly, be prepared to work your way up.
Editors for newspapers and magazines are not often people hired right out of college. Being the editor of your college paper and majoring in journalism are great but many papers and magazines will expect you to put in some work in other departments before you gain the title "editor." That being said majoring in journalism is a great way to start - take all the writing and editing classes you can while in college. Also, try to gain as much experience as possible working for your school paper or magazine. Many local papers will hire a college student as an intern - you may be making copies and answering the phones, but being able to put down work at an actual paper will help to get your foot in the door at a newspaper or magazine once you graduate.
If you are serious about wanting to be an editor you will need to be well-rounded. You must have knowledge about all the departments that contribute to a newspaper or magazine. It is good to take some business classes, or advertising and marketing classes to give you a broad skill set. You will need to know more than just how to write a good article to be an editor.
Take advantage of opportunities to work in other areas of the paper or magazine that may not be your favorite so you can gain experience. As an editor you will need to understand and make decisions not only about an article's quality but layout, advertising etc.
When job hunting don't be discouraged if no one offers you an editorial position right away. Those positions are filled by people who worked their way up. They may have started off as an intern at a paper then became a reporter on a small beat and then eventually were promoted to working on more "important" stories and then maybe they got to oversee a section of the newspaper or the magazine. Everyone's journey to editorship is different but what is similar is that editors have put in a lot of work and hours before they gained their title. Be willing to take a reporter's position or an assistant's position. As you prove your skills you will move up in the ranks.
While working jobs other than your dream job of editor, keep focused on your goal. Continue to learn as much as you can about your publication and show interest in all areas of it. Help out other departments if you can to gain experience and knowledge about how they work. Make yourself as well-rounded as possible. The more you understand how a publication works and how all of it works, not just a segment of it, the more valuable you become and it will increase your chances of being in the running for the title editor.
If you aspire to being an editor, know that it will take a lot of work and some time before you reach your goal but you can get there.
