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Assistant managing editor vs editorial assistant

The differences between assistant managing editors and editorial assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an assistant managing editor, becoming an editorial assistant takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an assistant managing editor has an average salary of $66,497, which is higher than the $43,141 average annual salary of an editorial assistant.

The top three skills for an assistant managing editor include news stories, website content and news coverage. The most important skills for an editorial assistant are fact check, fiction, and press releases.

Assistant managing editor vs editorial assistant overview

Assistant Managing EditorEditorial Assistant
Yearly salary$66,497$43,141
Hourly rate$31.97$20.74
Growth rate-5%-8%
Number of jobs15,15426,839
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age4450
Years of experience42

What does an assistant managing editor do?

An assistant managing editor assists the managing editor in overseeing an organization's daily publication operations and projects. They participate in setting publication goals and guidelines, establishing timelines and budgets, liaising with internal and external parties, and editing articles to ensure it fits the quality and standards assigned by the organization. They may also delegate responsibilities among staff, write articles, gather and analyze data, and coordinate with various writers. Moreover, as an assistant managing editor, it is essential to lead staff and monitor operations, solving issues and concerns should there be any.

What does an editorial assistant do?

An editorial assistant is primarily responsible for performing support-related tasks for an editor or editing staff. Most of the duties will be clerical such as writing content for print and media, answering calls and correspondence, responding to inquiries, running errands, and following directives from the editor. There are also instances when an editorial assistant must perform fact-checking or proofreading tasks, arrange appointments and travel documents, process paperwork, greet visitors, and even attend meetings and other work-related events.

Assistant managing editor vs editorial assistant salary

Assistant managing editors and editorial assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Assistant Managing EditorEditorial Assistant
Average salary$66,497$43,141
Salary rangeBetween $36,000 And $119,000Between $35,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City-Denver, CO
Highest paying state-Colorado
Best paying company-Columbia University in the City of New York
Best paying industry-Government

Differences between assistant managing editor and editorial assistant education

There are a few differences between an assistant managing editor and an editorial assistant in terms of educational background:

Assistant Managing EditorEditorial Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Most common majorJournalismEnglish
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Assistant managing editor vs editorial assistant demographics

Here are the differences between assistant managing editors' and editorial assistants' demographics:

Assistant Managing EditorEditorial Assistant
Average age4450
Gender ratioMale, 48.6% Female, 51.4%Male, 27.7% Female, 72.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 7.1% White, 76.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage12%6%

Differences between assistant managing editor and editorial assistant duties and responsibilities

Assistant managing editor example responsibilities.

  • Coordinate with editor-in-chief and managing editor to organize overall content of daily college newspaper.
  • Boost usability by managing content migration to iApps, leading maintenance & data/functionality QA.
  • Edit refresh online content to maximize SEO and write metadata for Lamaze.com.
  • Well verse in SEO, getting reporters out of the office and in the field.
  • Review, copy edit, re-wrote, and format to HTML other writers' work.
  • Use CMS platforms WordPress and MODX to post and revise content daily, often using HTML code.
  • Show more

Editorial assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage social media content using Hootsuite.
  • Manage Instagram account and promote content on all social media pages.
  • Manage resources of more than 30 CNN bureaus around the world.
  • Produce content for a locally known lifestyle blog, edit, and manage social media accounts such as Pinterest and Google+.
  • Contribute through blogging, copy editing, participating in weekly editorial meetings, and managing social channels
  • Lead editorial oversight of web and television viewer-submit text, email and online messages according to company and industry guidelines.
  • Show more

Assistant managing editor vs editorial assistant skills

Common assistant managing editor skills
  • News Stories, 11%
  • Website Content, 10%
  • News Coverage, 8%
  • SEO, 6%
  • Editor-In-Chief, 5%
  • Editorial Board, 4%
Common editorial assistant skills
  • Fact Check, 7%
  • Fiction, 6%
  • Press Releases, 6%
  • Web Content, 5%
  • Editor-In-Chief, 5%
  • Twitter, 4%

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