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The differences between executive editors and editorial directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an executive editor and an editorial director. Additionally, an executive editor has an average salary of $110,541, which is higher than the $99,934 average annual salary of an editorial director.
The top three skills for an executive editor include editorial content, editorial calendar and digital content. The most important skills for an editorial director are editorial content, web content, and editorial strategy.
| Executive Editor | Editorial Director | |
| Yearly salary | $110,541 | $99,934 |
| Hourly rate | $53.14 | $48.05 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 75,810 | 11,143 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An executive editor supervises the editorial content of magazines, newspapers, or other publications. In the corporate setting, an executive editor often arranges a book's publishing. In a newspaper setting, an executive editor is the newsroom leader, and in larger newspapers, they coordinate all aspects of the publication's production. They must have the ability to manage subordinates and assistant editors and be experienced with Associated Press style.
An Editorial Director will plan, coordinate, and edit all written content for a publication or a website. As the Editorial Director, they are responsible for planning the company's vision for the publication, including its short- and long-term goals. They are also responsible for supervising other editors and developing the guidelines on the types of manuscripts they should seek. Other duties that Editorial Directors perform include planning the publication's contents, allocating work to editors-in-chief and editorial managers, and coordinating other departments' work as needed.
Executive editors and editorial directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Executive Editor | Editorial Director | |
| Average salary | $110,541 | $99,934 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $278,000 | Between $68,000 And $144,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | New Haven, CT |
| Highest paying state | New York | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | American Media | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | Media | Professional |
There are a few differences between an executive editor and an editorial director in terms of educational background:
| Executive Editor | Editorial Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Most common major | Journalism | English |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between executive editors' and editorial directors' demographics:
| Executive Editor | Editorial Director | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.1% Female, 49.9% | Male, 48.3% Female, 51.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 7.3% White, 76.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 7.2% White, 76.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |