editorinchief

Editor-in-chief, often abbreviated as EIC, is the highest-ranking editorial executive at a news organization, responsible for the publication’s editorial direction, standards, and content strategy. The role centers on upholding journalistic integrity, defining voice and mission, and ensuring consistency across sections and platforms.

Responsibilities typically include setting editorial policy, approving major coverage and headlines, overseeing the editorial calendar, and guiding the newsroom’s reporting and editing practices. The editor-in-chief chairs the editorial leadership team, which may include section editors, editors of features and investigations, and the copy desk. They often represent the publication publicly on issues of ethics and editorial stance and may be involved in communicating with the publisher, owner, or board.

In many organizations, the editor-in-chief supervises hiring and performance in the editorial ranks and may oversee budgets related to content production. In some outlets, a managing editor handles day-to-day operations, while the editor-in-chief concentrates on strategy and standards; in others, the editor-in-chief has broad, hands-on control of operations as well.

Key duties include maintaining editorial guidelines and a code of ethics, ensuring accuracy, fairness, and legal compliance, and managing the publication’s corrections and conflicts of interest disclosures. They also shape the newsroom’s investigative priorities and overall credibility with audiences.

Qualifications commonly include extensive journalism experience, leadership ability, a proven record of quality reporting and editing, and strong knowledge of media law and ethics. The exact scope of authority and duties varies by organization and country, but the editor-in-chief typically holds final responsibility for the publication’s editorial content and direction.