How To Become A Newspaper Editor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a newspaper editor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Bradley Shreve

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a newspaper editor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.22 an hour? That's $37,894 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -5,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a newspaper editor?

Bradley Shreve

Editor, Tribal College Journal

Be flexible. An undergraduate degree in history offers a solid liberal arts background, but not a skill set that is finely tuned for most jobs. Think outside the box, and understand that the job you land probably won't be in the history profession.

ScoreNewspaper EditorUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $37,894

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.7

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.27%

Asian 7.08%

Black or African American 3.51%

Hispanic or Latino 7.92%

Unknown 4.56%

White 76.67%

Gender

female 56.44%

male 43.56%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.3

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a newspaper editor

Explore newspaper editor education requirements

Most common newspaper editor degrees

Bachelor's

70.3 %

Associate

13.2 %

Master's

7.9 %

Start to develop specific newspaper editor skills

Skills	Percentages
Adobe Indesign	15.45%
News Articles	8.63%
Adobe Photoshop	7.29%
News Stories	6.62%
Editorials	6.43%

Complete relevant newspaper editor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New newspaper editors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a newspaper editor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real newspaper editor resumes.

Research newspaper editor duties and responsibilities

Develop SEO strategies to increase profitability and manage social media to spread brand awareness and bolster readership.
Edit and proofread staff written drafts.
Serve as CCI pagination system trainer, superuser and freelance writer.
Review submitted manuscripts, brainstorm & implement promotional strategies, track community involvement, and plan literary events with the editor-in-chief.

Prepare your newspaper editor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your newspaper editor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a newspaper editor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable newspaper editor resume templates

Build a professional newspaper editor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your newspaper editor resume.