Introduction
It can be said that editors function as “gatekeepers”. By deciding which submitted works are rejected and which are passed through for publication, they could be seen as being in a position to shape cultural, political and social thinking, merely by “filtering” the total spectrum of published material from which peoples’ views and opinions are formed.
Given that situation exists, how does an editor deal with it? Are the editor’s responsibilities to the readers, or to his/her employer, to a combination of the two, or to himself/herself? Surely an editor has a responsibility to all of these; the difficulty is to weigh the importance of each in any given situation. Because situations and circumstances vary widely, this essay discusses some of those, to determine some universally valid principles.
Editing Duties and Responsibilities
Whether the editor is commissioned by someone (therefore an employer) or is editing the work on his/her own initiative, the main principles here are the same. In the case of scientific or scholarly works, the overriding requirements for the material being subjected to editing are that the work is determined to be of sufficient scientific or academic quality and that it is accurate. This view is echoed in an article by H R Cowell of the Harvard Medical School entitled “Ethical responsibilities of editors, reviewers, and authors” published in September 2000 on the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)website. Whilst Cowell states that “the editor’s main responsibility is the reader” he also points out that the editor has a dual duty to the author: to ensure that the work is properly reviewed by suitably qualified people who are unbiased, and secondly that the work is of sufficient quality.
In another article entitled “Ethical issues in scientific publication” by Anil J Kain, published in 2010 in the Indian Journal of Orthopaedics, the writer included a section to discuss the “ethical responsibilities of editors and reviewers”. Reminding us that the author of a work has submitted what to him/her is “their most valuable piece of research work”, Kain covers a number of principles that should guide the editor. These include the need to work in a timely manner, to keep the work confidential and to respect the author’s ownership of the copy. Also – and importantly – Kain reminds his audience that editors should declare any form of conflict of interest, whether it be of a personal or any other nature. This is a key principle in this and other fields of editing. An editor should never be influenced, either way, by content that he/she has strong views on. For example, suppose an editor was tasked with editing a paper about the use of animals in testing of tobacco products. It would clearly be quite wrong for the editor to reject that paper because of their own deeply and sincerely held view opposing such testing.
These principles are underlined by Intellect, who declare themselves to be “an independent academic publisher in the fields of creative practice and popular culture, publishing scholarly books and journals that exemplify our mission as publishers of original thinking.” According to their website they currently (2012) publish in excess of 90 journals. Under a main heading “Intellect Journals Ethical Standards” they set out what they call “Editorial Responsibilities”. In addition to stating that all editorial activities must be carried out fairly and responsibly, they expand on those general principles of fairness by stating that there must be no “discrimination on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, ethnic or geographical origin of the author.” The article also specifies that all works submitted must be judged entirely on their academic merit, and that no commercial or other considerations should be permitted to compromise that principle. Here we are seeing the conflict of interest issue once again being given importance. Interestingly, that same article also raises the issue of complaints that might be levelled about an author, and suggests such complaints should be investigated fairly and openly, whilst being sure to keep all documentation applicable to such complaint. Yet another duty/responsibility for the editor.
Hill explains some of the differences between editorial roles in various fields of editing. For example, she highlights timescale differences. Where a newspaper editor may have only minutes or hours available, and a movie editor may have to complete their work in weeks, an editor collaborating with the author of a non-fiction book may be involved for at least a year on the one project.
As regards newspaper and magazine editors, Hill points out that there are various levels of jobs with “editor” in the job title. Each has distinct responsibilities. For example, an Editor-in-chief has responsibility for the overall content and appearance of the publication, whereas a Managing editor will report to the Editor-in-chief, perhaps with specific responsibility for one part of the publication and with responsibility to control editors and writers. Then there are Copy editors who are directly responsible for editing actual articles. Their role will include the traditional editing skills of checking facts, adhering to house styles and even checking for legal aspects of the content. Naturally some of these roles may be merged in the case of smaller organizations.
Another person with editing responsibilities employed by newspapers or magazines is the photo editor. Nancy L Ford, a photojournalist from Utica, New York, published an article on her website in 1998 entitled: “The Role of The Photo Editor”. She described the photo editor’s job as “one of the toughest jobs in the newsroom”. Not only must the photo editor satisfy the newspaper (the employer) with regard to their performance and results, but also has to motivate and direct photo department staff which of course includes the photographers. Ford describes the photo editor’s job as combining numerous roles: “Photographer, editor, lab technician, mentor, mother (or father), friend, diplomat, brainstormer, accountant, inventory clerk, bargain hunter, systems manager, architect, repair person, traffic cop, coach and cheerleader.” So, many and diverse responsibilities it would seem. To summarize the requirements of the job, Ford says that “The secret to being a good photo editor is not to alienate one person when giving to another.”
Another branch of editing discussed in Beth Hill’s article is the Publishing house. Again, there are different “editor” jobs. Typically – according to Hill – there will be an Acquisitions editor who will be the principal contact for authors or authors’ agents wanting to get books published. This role may involve competing with other publishing houses to secure a particular author and will generally encompass following a new book through from submission of the manuscript through to printing and publication, influencing edits along the way to suit the particular vision of that publishing house. There is also likely to be one or more Developmental editor(s), whose role is to work with the author through a series of drafts, guiding the author to reach a final version that reflects the ideas of the publishing house for its target readers. Copy/manuscript editors operate at the level of the text within the books, correcting grammar, style, spellings, punctuation, etc. They may in addition check facts and other details, plus might also have an input regarding the perceived needs for the target audience. That type of editor may also be required to do proofreading, or the publishing house may employ separate people in that role.
Hill then addresses the concept of Freelance editors, which she defines as editors who are typically self-employed and are contracted directly by authors to prepare their work for publication. These can also specialize – for example to work as Copy editors or Developmental editors, or perhaps as a Substantive editor. This type of editor has somewhat different and wider responsibilities, that for a work of fiction may include helping the author to improve many aspects of his story such as the plot, the dialogue used and the characterization, vocabulary, etc, etc. In fact to improve any aspect of the book that will make it more likely to get published. This type of editor is most likely to become involved after the manuscript is already well developed. Hill also mentions Ghost writers – people who actually share with the author the process of drafting the manuscript, even taking a leading role in the research, the writing and the editing.
In June 2006, Kevin Marsh published an article entitled “What does an editor do?” on the BBC News website. Marsh described how the BBC News editors work in the broadcasting industry and notes that there are output editors who are generally responsible for the content of just one edition of a programme, whereas the person called “the Editor” is more senior and is responsible for the series of programmes and the team producing them. The Editor has to determine not just the content of a programme but all aspects of it, including the appointment of staff and handling the influential programme presenters. Output editors have responsibility for just about everything occurring on the specific programme. That might include choosing the top story and the way it and other items are presented, deciding on the running order in the programme, selecting guests, holding meetings to brief presenters and reporters and finally to provide feedback following the programme’s transmission. Marsh concludes by stating that the final responsibility of the Editor is to be accountable. He/she has to explain decisions made and to justify them to higher management.
In an article on the “Crazy Engineers” website an article entitled “Job: Role & Responsibilities of an Editor (Online)” published online in May 2012 under the by-line AbraKaDabra, describes the writer’s view of the ten most important responsibilities of an editor. Most of them are points that have been covered by others, including the authors of the articles cited earlier in this essay. However, the tenth and last one in his list to me seems not only important and obvious, but is a consideration that I have not seen stated specifically elsewhere. He makes the point that if editing a technical work, it is important for the editor to possess the necessary depth of technical knowledge in that field. I would go further. In the field of technical writing, an oft-quoted statement made in the course of training technical writers is that to write a good technical description, it necessary to possess technical knowledge of the subject one level deeper than the description being written for the target audience. So, when editing technical copy, the editor has a responsibility to the author, the reader, and to himself or herself to ensure that the editing is based on a sound technical knowledge of that technical field. If that is not the case, the editing could well be flawed as a consequence.
The final type of editor included in this essay is the content editor, the person who is employed to contribute content to a website. This is yet another specialized editorial role and has its own specific responsibilities. The American Library Association (ALA Tech Resources) website published an article entitled: “Responsibilities of all content editors” (n.d.). The article opens by reminding us that the content editor’s principal responsibility is to “adopt the mindset of the site visitor” instead of considering tasks from their own viewpoint. Content editors have to consider at all times the accessibility of information provided on the website. For example, not only should you use document formats that all can use and open (e.g. PDF using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader), but to give consideration to user groups having special needs, such as users who are blind or have impaired vision (including those who are colorblind), or people who are disabled or those who are not comfortable with advanced technology.
Conclusions
Works Cited:
AbraKaDabra . Job: Role & Responsibilities of an Editor (Online). (May 2012). Crazy Engineers. Web. 26 July 2012.
Cowell, H. R. Ethical responsibilities of editors, reviewers, and authors. (September 2000). National Center for Biotechnology Information. Web. 25 July 2012.
Ford, Nancy L. The Role of The Photo Editor. (1998). Web. 26 July 2012.
Hill, Beth. Duties of an Editor & How Editors Help Writers. (February 2011). Editor’s Blog. Web. 26 July 2012.
Intellect Journals Ethical Standards. (2010). Intellect. Web. 25 July 2012.
Kain, Anil, J. Ethical issues in scientific publication. (2010). The Indian Journal of Orthopaedics. Web. 25 July 2012.
Marsh, Kevin. What does an editor do? (June 2006). BBC News. Web. 26 July 2012.
Responsibilities of all content editors. (n.d.).The American Library Association (ALA Tech Resources). Web. 26 July 2012.
