An invisible pen - the role of editors in the news

By Aaron Zhao

In every newspaper, article, and story, there is always the work of an editor, the invisible pen that guides, builds, and chisels the narrative. But what do editors really do? To find out, we interviewed several news editors and writers for the RCHK Truth to discover what they do and what they excel at. That’s exactly what we will be exploring in this article.

In an interview with Ms. Turner from the English department, she said that she's very proud of her role as a news editor.

“The editors are a crucial element of the newsmaking process,” she said, “once you submit an article they proofread, check for accuracy, edit and more.”

In another interview with Mr. Jones, an English teacher, he said that editors are very important.

“Editors are the boss of an article, and if something goes wrong it usually is their responsibility," he said. “So they need to make sure that everyone is doing their job properly.”

Over multiple interviews with other editors and writers they all agree that editors are important, the main role of editors is to refine a story, give suggestions to the writer, and generally they have a major role in deciding the outcome of a piece.

Now that we know what editors do we should ask, what do editors look for when they review an article, what are the steps of reviewing an article, and what’s an editor's advice on how to write a good article?

“I believe that editors look for clarity and engagement,” said Natalie, a Year 9 student writer and editor.

“Editors look at the structure of an article, whether they set the scene properly, have a good hook, contrasting opinions of the event ect…” said Andrea Chow, Editor-in-Chief for the Truth.

Overall, everyone agrees that editors look for a clear focus on the main topic, a good structure and base, and the length of an article, as when writing articles, less is more and the more concise you are, the better.

Editors think that a common flaw in articles is a lack of focus and not having enough views to look from.

“I think the main flaw in middle school articles is often a lack of focus, causing the writing to stray off-topic,” said Natalie.

“The first issue is balance, and the second is not including enough perspectives.” says Mr. Jones.

Finally, here is the collective advice on how to improve your articles. It’s best to keep your writing short and concise, aim for no more than seven or eight hundred words. You should also make sure your article has a strong structure, with the most important information at the start and additional details filled in throughout. Following these tips will help you create a much stronger piece.

Thanks for reading and see you next time!