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The differences between copy editors and news editors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a copy editor and a news editor. Additionally, a copy editor has an average salary of $62,599, which is higher than the $53,822 average annual salary of a news editor.
The top three skills for a copy editor include proofreading, house style and digital publishing. The most important skills for a news editor are news stories, news coverage, and instagram.
| Copy Editor | News Editor | |
| Yearly salary | $62,599 | $53,822 |
| Hourly rate | $30.10 | $25.88 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 4,866 | 12,484 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 83% | Bachelor's Degree, 81% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
The primary job of copy editors is to check for misspellings, incorrect punctuation, and consistency in typography, words, and style. They also act as fact-checkers, proofreaders, and project managers, overseeing the workflow and communicating with other departments. A copy editor's other duties and responsibilities include checking content for readability and compliance with editorial policies, rewriting text to improve readability and clarity, and arranging page layouts of articles, photos, and advertisements. Formal training is not required for this role, but copy editors generally have a firm grasp and love for the English language's proper usage.
A News Editor reviews and changes the content of a publication provided by writers and other contributors. They generally work for newspapers, magazines, and websites.
Copy editors and news editors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Copy Editor | News Editor | |
| Average salary | $62,599 | $53,822 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $98,000 | Between $35,000 And $81,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New York |
| Best paying company | PayPal | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Professional |
There are a few differences between a copy editor and a news editor in terms of educational background:
| Copy Editor | News Editor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 83% | Bachelor's Degree, 81% |
| Most common major | English | Journalism |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between copy editors' and news editors' demographics:
| Copy Editor | News Editor | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 39.2% Female, 60.8% | Male, 53.5% Female, 46.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 7.3% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 7.3% White, 76.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |