newspaper assignment editors

A Comprehensive Guide to News Assignment Editor Careers

• Published: November 26, 2023
• By: Yellowbrick

In the fast-paced world of journalism, news assignment editors play a crucial role in ensuring that stories are covered efficiently and effectively. These professionals are responsible for coordinating and assigning reporters to various news stories, managing deadlines, and ensuring that newsrooms run smoothly. If you have a passion for news and a knack for organization, a career as a news assignment editor may be the perfect fit for you. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the ins and outs of news assignment editor jobs, including the skills required, the responsibilities involved, and the steps you can take to land your dream job in this exciting field.

1. What is a News Assignment Editor?

A news assignment editor is a key player in the newsroom who is responsible for determining which news stories will be covered and assigning reporters to cover them. They work closely with reporters, photographers, and other newsroom staff to ensure that news stories are covered accurately and efficiently. News assignment editors also play a crucial role in managing deadlines and ensuring that news stories are delivered on time.

2. Skills Required for News Assignment Editor Jobs

To excel as a news assignment editor, certain skills are essential. These skills include:

• Strong Organizational Skills: News assignment editors must be highly organized individuals who can juggle multiple tasks and assignments simultaneously. They need to keep track of various news stories, assign reporters to cover them, and ensure that deadlines are met.
• Excellent Communication Skills: Effective communication is key in the news industry. News assignment editors must be able to clearly convey instructions and expectations to reporters and other newsroom staff. They must also be skilled at building relationships and networking with various sources and contacts.
• News Judgment: News assignment editors need to have a keen sense of news judgment and be able to identify which stories are newsworthy. They must be able to assess the importance and impact of different news stories and assign reporters accordingly.
• Problem-Solving Abilities: In a fast-paced news environment, problems and challenges are bound to arise. News assignment editors must be quick thinkers who can come up with solutions on the spot. They need to be able to handle unexpected situations and make decisions under pressure.
• Knowledge of News Industry: A deep understanding of the news industry is crucial for news assignment editors. They must stay up-to-date with current events, news trends, and industry developments. This knowledge helps them make informed decisions and assign reporters to stories that align with the news organization’s goals and values.

3. Responsibilities of a News Assignment Editor

News assignment editors have a wide range of responsibilities that contribute to the smooth functioning of a newsroom. Some of the key responsibilities include:

• Story Assignment: News assignment editors are responsible for determining which news stories will be covered by the news organization. They assess the importance and relevance of different stories and assign reporters accordingly.
• Deadline Management: Meeting deadlines is crucial in the news industry. News assignment editors play a crucial role in ensuring that reporters deliver their stories on time. They must effectively manage deadlines and communicate expectations to reporters.
• Coordination with Reporters: News assignment editors work closely with reporters, providing them with assignments, guidance, and support. They must ensure that reporters have all the necessary information and resources to cover their assigned stories.
• Communication with Other Newsroom Staff: News assignment editors are the bridge between reporters and other newsroom staff. They must effectively communicate with photographers, videographers, editors, and other team members to ensure that all aspects of a news story are covered.
• Newsroom Collaboration: News assignment editors collaborate with other newsroom staff to ensure the smooth functioning of the news organization. They work closely with editors, producers, and news directors to align coverage with the organization’s goals and objectives.
• Breaking News Coverage: In the event of breaking news, news assignment editors must be able to quickly mobilize resources and assign reporters to cover the story. They must be able to make quick decisions and adapt to changing circumstances.

4. How to Become a News Assignment Editor

If you aspire to become a news assignment editor, here are some steps you can take to kickstart your career:

• Pursue a Journalism Degree: While a journalism degree is not always required, it can provide you with a solid foundation in news reporting and journalism ethics. Consider pursuing a degree in journalism, media studies, or a related field.
• Gain Experience: Internships and entry-level positions in news organizations can provide valuable hands-on experience and help you develop the skills necessary for a career as a news assignment editor. Look for opportunities to work in newsrooms and gain exposure to newsroom operations.
• Hone Your Skills: Aspiring news assignment editors should focus on developing the skills required for the role. Work on improving your organizational skills, communication abilities, and news judgment. Seek feedback from mentors and supervisors to identify areas for improvement.
• Network: Networking is crucial in the news industry. Attend industry events, join professional organizations, and connect with journalists and newsroom professionals. Building relationships can open doors to job opportunities and help you stay informed about industry developments.
• Stay Informed: Keep up with current events and news trends. Read newspapers, follow news websites, and engage with news content across various platforms. A deep understanding of the news industry will make you a more effective news assignment editor.
• Further Education: Consider pursuing advanced education or specialized training in journalism or a related field. This can help you stand out from the competition and enhance your knowledge and skills.

Key Takeaways:

• News assignment editors play a crucial role in coordinating and assigning reporters to cover news stories, managing deadlines, and ensuring the smooth functioning of newsrooms.
• Skills required for news assignment editor jobs include strong organizational skills, excellent communication abilities, news judgment, problem-solving abilities, and knowledge of the news industry.
• Responsibilities of news assignment editors include story assignment, deadline management, coordination with reporters and other newsroom staff, newsroom collaboration, and breaking news coverage.
• To become a news assignment editor, consider pursuing a journalism degree, gaining experience through internships and entry-level positions, honing your skills, networking, staying informed about current events and news trends, and considering further education or specialized training.

Consider taking the “NYU | Modern Journalism” online course and certificate program offered by Yellowbrick to further develop your skills and knowledge in the field of journalism. This comprehensive program can provide you with valuable insights and practical experience to excel as a news assignment editor. Take the next step towards your dream career and enroll in the “NYU | Modern Journalism” course today.

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A Look at What Different Editors Do in the Newsroom

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Just as the military has a chain of command, newspapers have a hierarchy of editors responsible for various aspects of the operation.

What Editors Do

Tony Rogers

This graphic shows a typical newsroom hierarchy.

The Publisher

The publisher is the top boss, the person overseeing all aspects of the paper on both the editorial (news) side, as well as the business side. However, depending on the size of the paper, he or she might have little involvement in the day-to-day operations of the newsroom.

The Editor-in-Chief

The editor-in-chief is ultimately responsible for all aspects of the news operation. This includes the content of the paper , the play of stories on the front page, staffing, hiring, and budgets. The editor's involvement with the day-to-day running of the newsroom varies with the size of the paper. On small papers, the editor is very involved; on big papers, slightly less so.

Managing Editor

The managing editor is the one who directly oversees day-to-day operations of the newsroom. More than anyone else, perhaps, the managing editor is the one responsible for getting the paper out every day. The managing editor is also responsible for ensuring the paper's content is the best it can be, and that it meets that paper's standards of journalism. Depending on the size of the paper, the managing editor might have a number of assistant managing editors. These assistants are responsible for specific sections of the paper, such as local news, sports , features, national news, and business, along with the presentation of the articles, which includes copy editing and design.

Assignment Editors

Assignment editors are those directly responsible for the content in a specific section of the paper, such as local, business, sports, features, or national coverage. They are the editors who deal directly with reporters. They assign stories, work with reporters on their coverage, suggest angles and ledes , and do the initial editing of reporters' stories.

Copy Editors

Copy editors typically get reporters' stories after they have been given an initial edit by assignment editors. They edit stories with a focus on the writing, looking at grammar, spelling, flow, transitions, and style. They also make sure the lede is supported by the rest of the story and the angle makes sense.  Copy editors also write headlines, secondary headlines (decks), captions, called cutlines, and takeout quotes. This is collectively called display type. They also work with designers on the presentation of the story, especially on major stories and projects. At larger papers, copy editors often work only in specific sections and develop expertise on that content.

Assignment Editors and Macro Editing

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Assignment editors do what is called macro editing. This means that as they edit, they tend to focus on the "big picture" aspect of the story.

Here is a checklist of things assignment editors look for when they are editing:

• The lede: Does it make sense, is it supported by the rest of the story, is it in the first paragraph or is it buried?
• The story: Is it thorough and complete? Are there any unanswered questions? Is it fair, balanced and objective?
• Libel : Are there any statements that might be considered libelous?
• Writing: Is the story well-written ? Is it clear and understandable?
• Accuracy: Did the reporter double-check all names, titles and places mentioned in this story? Did the reporter properly check all phone numbers or web addresses?
• Quotes: Are the quotes accurate and properly attributed?
• Relevance: Are the story's background and context complete enough to tell readers why the story is relevant?

Copy Editors and Micro Editing

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Copy editors tend to do what is called micro-editing. This means that as they edit, they to focus on more technical writing aspects of stories, such as Associated Press style, grammar, spelling, accuracy, and general readability. They also act as a backup for assignment editors on such things as the quality and support of the lede, libel, and relevance. Assignment editors also might correct such things as AP style errors or grammar. After copy editors do the fine-tuning on a story, they might take questions to the assigning editor or reporter if there is an issue with the content. After the copy editor is satisfied the story meets all standards, the editor writes a headline and any other display type that is required.

Here is a checklist of things copy editors look for when they are editing:

• Does the story follow AP style and any exceptions to that style, called house style?
• Are grammar and punctuation correct?
• Are there any misspelled words?
• Are names spelled correctly?
• Are quotes attributed correctly?
• Is the lede supported?
• Is the story objective, clear, and easy to understand?
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What Does an Assignment Editor Do?

Learn About the Salary, Required Skills, & More

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• Assignment Editor Duties & Responsibilities

Assignment Editor Salary

• Education, Training, & Certification
• Assignment Editor Skills & Competencies

Job Outlook

Work environment, work schedule, comparing similar jobs.

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An assignment editor works at the assignment desk, which is the nerve center of any newsroom. This is where newsroom staff members monitor multiple sources for breaking news, including police and fire scanners. When possible news arises, the assignment editor works with reporters, photographers, producers, and other staff members to assign and develop story ideas.

Small companies sometimes have one assignment editor who is responsible for organizing the assignment desk to operate around the clock. In larger newsrooms, there may be a team of assignment editors that take turns staffing the desk.

Assignment Editor Duties & Responsibilities

The job generally requires the ability to perform the following duties:

• Monitor multiple sources for possible news stories
• Develop and propose a daily news coverage plan
• Lead newsroom staff meetings to review possible stories and assignments
• Help choose which journalists, photographers, and other staff members are assigned to cover stories
• Stay on top of all stories to ensure they're developing as planned and determine which ones are not coming together
• Be the main point of communication between reporters, production teams, and executive staff on developing stories

It's up to the assignment editor to assign people to investigate and report on news stories. The assignment editor's day is sometimes spent shifting people and equipment around so that as many stories get covered as possible, with an eye out on how to handle breaking news coverage at any moment.

When working in television, an assignment editor may also work with the tv producer to decide which crews will take live trucks or a helicopter to broadcast live during a newscast. Also, a TV news anchor who is reviewing scripts just before airtime will often turn to the assignment editor to confirm facts.

An assignment editor's salary can vary depending on location, experience, and employer. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics offers salary data for the broader editor category, but it doesn't offer separate data on the assignment editor subcategory:

• Median Annual Salary: $59,480 
• Top 10% Annual Salary: $114,460 
• Bottom 10% Annual Salary: $30,830  

Education, Training, & Certification

Most assignment editors have the same types of degrees as other editors and journalists in a newsroom.

• Education: Most employers prefer candidates that have at least a bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, or English. 
• Experience: This is often key to getting this type of job, because experience is key to building a list of contacts and learning how to operate smoothly. Employers usually prefer candidates with a background in the type of media in which they specialize, whether it's television, digital, or print news.
• Training: Most training happens on the job. Aspiring assignment editors may want to find an internship position at a newsroom assignment desk.

Assignment Editor Skills & Competencies

To be successful in this role, you’ll generally need the following skills and qualities: 

• Editorial judgment: Assignment editors need to be able to quickly decide whether a story is newsworthy. And although they aren't usually writing the stories themselves, they need to know all of the components of a good news story to guide reporters on coverage.
• Interpersonal skills: Successful assignment editors form relationships with many contacts that can help bring a story together. For example, someone in this role at a local TV news station may have all the county sheriffs' home telephone numbers on speed-dial and be on a first-name basis with the current and previous mayors.
• Organizational skills: An assignment editor must be able to organize the logistics and track the details of several stories at a time and keep everything on schedule.
• Communication skills: An assignment editor must skillfully communicate with all of the staff involved in making news stories come together, including reporters, photographers, production teams, and executive staff.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment in this field will grow 6 percent through 2026, which is slightly slower than the overall employment growth of 7 percent for all occupations in the country. The BLS it doesn't offer separate data on the assignment editor subcategory.

Most of this job is done in an office working under several tight deadlines at once. Those who thrive on pressure and get an adrenaline rush when something unexpected happens may be best suited for this occupation.

An assignment editor usually arrives in the newsroom earlier than the other managers to get a handle on what's happening that day to brief the newsroom. Most assignment editors work full time, and many work long hours, which include evenings and weekends.

People who are interested in becoming assignment editors may also consider other careers with these median salaries: 

• Writers and authors: $61,820
• Reporters, correspondents, and broadcast news analysts: $40,910
• Desktop publishers: $42,350

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics , 2017

How to Get the Job

Build a Contact List

Making a list of contacts is the best place to start for a budding assignment editor. That involves making personal connections with people so that you can turn to them when you need information.

Join a Professional Association

The American Media Institute offers  a list of professional associations you can join. Which one you choose may depend on your specialty or medium (websites or television, for instance). This will help you build your contact list and stay up to date on the latest tools and techniques in the industry.

Search job sites that specialize in media careers, such as MediaBistro and iHire Broadcasting .

Who does what in the newsroom? A guide to media roles

Pitching to the right person at a media outlet can make the difference between having your company make the front page or helplessly watching it slip through the cracks of someone’s inbox. Even small newsrooms exchange thousands of emails every day, and a fraction of the staff is tasked with screening and collecting stories to go to broadcast, print or online. 

You must stand out and connect with the gatekeepers to enjoy the benefits of media coverage.

Broadcast media

Though online media has been steadily closing in on television as the most preferred news platform over the past several years, TV news remains on top. Even still, local broadcast stations maintain a strong online presence as more people cut their cables, dominating social media feeds for local news. 

Facebook recently announced it would prioritize originally reported news content over click-baity, hyper-partisan articles on news feeds, giving local news outlets even more of a boost compared to national affiliates and 24/7 news networks, which often pick up local stories to spin in a way that’s favorable to their audience.

That’s not to say national news shows don’t hold value—the sheer number of regular viewers makes it worthwhile to pitch to CNN or Fox News. For example, the Reputation Ink team secured an opportunity for Lightfoot Law’s Jack Sharman on MSNBC’s The 11th hour with Brian Williams to talk about the then-ongoing Mueller investigation. The appearance not only gained him national coverage during a historical event, it highlighted his experience as a Whitewater special counsel and special counsel to the Alabama House Judiciary committee in its impeachment investigation of Governor Bentley on a national level.

News director

A broadcast newsroom is guided and governed over by the news director. They guide editorial decisions about what’s covered, how it’s covered and the focus of the broadcast. They’re generally hard to reach on a cold-call basis and usually aren’t the person you should pitch directly.

Assignment editor

The assignment editor is the gatekeeper of the newsroom. Their responsibilities include answering the phone, gathering and filtering stories, vetting sources, and assigning reporters and photographers to events and breaking news. This (often-exhausted) team member is typically the first point of contact and will likely be the first to read a press release and decide if it’s worthy of being forwarded to the rest of the newsroom.

Due to the sheer volume of communication exchanged in the newsroom, calling the station (the assignment editor usually answers the phone) to bring attention to your email greatly increases your chances of being covered.

Reporters are the storytellers of the station, but their job entails a lot more than standing in front of the camera and talking. Off screen, they aggressively chase down leads and sources, write scripts, conduct interviews and are always looking for the next story idea to pitch to their news director. 

Though the news director often makes the ultimate decision of what’s included in a day’s coverage plan, a reporter can have great influence on the story they’re assigned. A story’s value to a reporter depends on its relevance to ongoing events, its exclusivity (will they be the first or only reporter to cover the story?) and its authenticity. 

Smaller news stations employ multimedia journalists, essentially a one-person band who reports, films and edits their own stories. Larger news stations assign photographer-reporter teams, and often have spare photographers known as “stringers” to cover breaking news or smaller events.

An easy way to determine which beats a reporter covers is to search the related issue and news network name together. For example, searching “Criminal justice reform FOX35 Orlando,” will bring up all criminal justice-related articles and videos from FOX35 Orlando on a single page, where it’s easy to see who covers that specific issue.

Many stations provide email addresses on their “Contact Us” page. If the person you want to reach doesn’t have their email listed, follow the format of other station email addresses. For example, News4Jax anchor Kent Justice’s email address is listed as [email protected], so you can safely assume reporter Zachary Lashway’s email address is [email protected].

Reporters use Twitter heavily to break stories and keep up with breaking news, so reaching out through a direct message is another good way to make direct contact. 

Producers are in charge of writing and executing the actual show itself. They write scripts for anchors, decide what stories will be included and in what order, and communicate with reporters and photographers during the show. 

While producers are typically preoccupied with writing and “stacking” their show (compiling and organizing segments), they can act as a second set of eyes for the assignment editor. A producer may see value in a press release that an assignment editor misses and choose to include that story in their coverage plan. In smaller newsrooms, it is common for a producer to also be tasked with an assignment editor’s duties.

Radio and television news stations are largely organized and run in a similar fashion . Their content requirements, however, often differ. A radio reporter will rely heavily on narration, natural/ambient sound and interview audio to break down an issue, where a TV reporter leans more on visuals and video interviews to tell the story.

Daily newspapers

A daily newspaper has a similar structure to a broadcast station, but papers generally have more freedom to dive deeper into issues, unencumbered by the time constraints that force broadcast reporters to keep their stories to under two minutes, for example. Newspapers also have the ability to include niche stories in different sections (Metro, Business, Sports, Community) of the paper that would not make an evening newscast.

Unfortunately, the newspaper industry has been gutted since the onset of the Great Recession, shedding half its employees since 2008 .

Image source: Pew Research Center

Beat reporter

Newspapers have beat reporters, who focus on specific issues and cover them over long periods of time, such as:

• School systems
• Legal proceedings and developments
• Government accountability
• Neighborhood issues like crime, poverty and pollution

A beat editor would be in charge of a specific section of the paper. The letters editor filters and edits commentary submissions. Lastly, the editor-in-chief is the news director of the paper. 

Depending on the economic state of a paper, one reporter could cover multiple beats, and editors may double-up as reporters or assignment editors when necessary.

Special interest and community newspapers

Special interest and community newspapers come in all shapes and sizes. Some might employ a dozen or more people to run 50 pages in a magazine-style format, while others are just a few pages long, written and published by a handful of die-hards. 

Generally speaking, larger news markets (think New York City or Seattle) can sustain multiple special interest papers with more people on staff. Mid-sized markets (Jacksonville, Tulsa, Spokane) might have one or two, depending on the economic and political makeup of the area.

Community and special interest papers exist to fill in the gaps left by major media outlets or cater to a specialized audience. They can sometimes skew politically and are made up of more editorial content, which is based on the opinions of authors, compared to their conventional counterparts. 

Special interest papers often cover issues that conventional media outlets avoid. Issues like police brutality and marijuana decriminalization appeared in special interest papers years before major media outlets included them in their coverage schedules.

The editor-in-chief is the captain of the ship for community papers, setting the tone/style of the outfit and guiding the coverage of the publication. In smaller papers, they might fill most of the pages, while editors who have more staff on hand will assign reporters to beats and specific stories.

Trade magazines

Trade magazines are regularly published periodicals or journals that range from subject-specific journals to general interest magazines. Scholarly and trade publications are run by an editor who curates non-advertising content. Assistant editors pitch stories with staff and freelance writers and edit articles before they’re published.  

Trade publications, depending on size and scope, cover major developments, studies, industry advancements and prominent figures that set the pace or buck trends in a given field. While some might pertain to the same trade, they don’t always focus on the same things.

Tip: The trade publication you pitch to depends on who you want to see the story.

For example, the National Law Journal is a major legal trade magazine that focuses on major cases, litigation and national legal developments. The American Law Journal , on the other hand, is more focused on the business of law firms; who law firms are hiring and what moves they are making. Law360 is an online legal trade journal covering a gamut of topics from litigation and settlements to the business of law. Above The Law , another online publication, is more focused on associate-level issues. Above The Law stays on top of issues like law firm layoffs, pay cuts and associate salaries/bonus levels.

Bottom line: Trade publications are extremely valuable for gaining credibility and business-to-business relationships within your specific field.

Business Journals

Business journals cover business-related developments and issues on a local or national level. Companies making headway in a region, major land purchases, political developments with financial implications and important businesspeople are some of the topics that fill the pages of business journals. 

Local business journals like the Jacksonville Business Journal or the Atlanta Business Chronicle are not only an excellent way to keep your finger on the pulse of an area’s economy, they’re also an excellent source of potential business-to-business connections. Placing advertisements and landing coverage in local business journals helps foster these connections and puts your company in front of right sets of eyes. 

2 Responses to “Who does what in the newsroom? A guide to media roles”

I’ve worked in print and broadcast for years… this is a great article. Sharing with my interns!

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The Assignment Editor 2.0: More Collaboration, Newer Tools

Back in the late 1990s and early ’00s, when Cater Lee was a reporter for the likes of KNBC and KCAL in Los Angeles, the assignment desk was centrally located in the newsroom. Its editor likely spent extensive time across their day scrolling through police scanners, reading press releases and fielding tipster calls to identify news stories. From it emerged a dictation of Lee’s day.

Purveyors of the newsroom’s assignment desk today, however, are typically less head coach and more quarterback, fronting colorful offenses filled with audibles, option plays and other collaborative trickery that’s designed to always push the ball forward. In other words, story dispersal in a newsroom has increasingly become a team effort, with reporters and producers having more of a say in what makes it to broadcast. Digital technology has also chipped away at the relevance of many dinosaur-era tools assignment editors used to rely on so heavily.

But as the job changes, assignment editors remain a dedicated folk, dug into the frontlines of journalism’s war with mis- and disinformation, while doing their best to help generate broadcasts with wider-reaching community impact. Always, they’re relegated to behind-the-scenes grunt work, and rarely do they get their due.

Julie Wolfe

The capable assignment editor, she observes, will “know all the information”: facts to support a package’s viability, sources that a reporter can contact to round it out, and whether a story is worth any airtime to begin with.

A presence like that in a newsroom matches the significance of an engine in a car, as one assignment editor puts it. Wolfe says assignment editors are like “orchestral conductors,” while additional metaphors that float through interviews stem from human biology. One editor calls the assignment desk the newsroom’s brain; others liken the role’s import to that of the heart or central nervous system, for it’s the assignment editor who pumps data to the farthest reaches of the newsroom, which of course now stretches well beyond the walls of an office building.

Social’s Key Role

Along with an innate sense of what makes for a quality newscast, to effectively manage the assignment desk, editors need top-flight organizational and communication skills, just as they have for decades. These days, familiarity with the social media universe is of equal consequence.

“Twitter’s huge,” he says. “When it comes to breaking news, often we’ll see it on Twitter now before we hear it on police scanners, which is just incredible.”

Darren Whitehead, digital desk lead at another Tegna NBC affiliate, KUSA Denver, says Colorado police scanners are encrypted, but monitoring Twitter helps him pick up the slack.

“Most of the ways that the police departments and fire departments are communicating with us is they’re putting out [updates] on social media, and usually it’s not immediate, it’s well after something has happened,” Whitehead says. “We get calls from people in the community being, like, ‘What the hell is going on down the block from me?’ Then we have to call [the responsible agency], and then they tweet out to everyone — without calling us back — all the information.”

Assignment editors set up Tweet Deck channels, or Social News Desk dashboards, where they follow various government agencies, other news sources like the Associated Press and additional relevant accounts where prospective stories may pop up. Dataminr alerts help inform assignment editors, too; neighborhood-focused Reddit forums and community-based apps like Nextdoor can sometimes supply story ideas as well.

Then, there are community-related Facebook groups, which one assignment editor says she joins using a public profile associated with their news team position. Another longtime story assigner says she taps younger newsroom colleagues to examine Instagram, Snapchat and other social media platforms they might be more comfortable navigating through.

Scrutiny’s Imperative

Like in the past with press releases — though assignment editors still lift stories from those on occasion — they can’t take what’s written online at face value. The same can be said for what citizen tipsters tell the assignment editor over the phone or in emails, as well as what public information officers say.

“People ask me what the hell I do, and I always tell them, ‘Well, the assignment desk is usually ‘first response,’” Whitehead says. “You gotta sift through the bullshit.”

While they may have always prioritized backing up facts, with sources, data and other means, assignment editors in 2022 say there is an added emphasis on getting story facts unquestionably correct.

Jamila Elder

“There are some stations that report solely off of what they hear on the scanners. We are not that station,” says Jamila Elder, assignment editor at WRAL, Capitol Broadcasting’s NBC affiliate in Raleigh, N.C. “You dig deep, you reach out to your contacts and you wait until you get [your information] confirmed, even though your competition station may be reporting it. As an assignment editor that’s very frustrating because we’re very competitive; you want to get the information and you want to get it first, [but] we would rather wait and get it right, than to report it first and get it wrong.”

Experience Matters

In many cases, as one assignment editor puts it, newsies “fall into” their positions at the assignment desk. The experience they bring with them, often as a reporter or anchor, serves them well in the role.

WXIN-WTTV Indianapolis assignment desk personnel (l-r): Adam Bartels, Ruthanne Gordon, Tim O’Brien and Sabrina Adams. (Greg Wilkerson photo)

Prior to Ruthanne Gordon becoming senior planning manager for Nexstar’s WXIN (Fox)-WTTV (CBS) Indianapolis, she was an assignment editor for 33 years. Before that, she was a reporter and anchor for more than five years, bringing with her to the assignment desk an assortment of connections from her front-of-the-camera days that she continues to call upon. Her phone book has only ballooned bigger throughout her 45 years in news.

“I have quite a Rolodex,” Gordon says, “I think that’s what they wanted when I came to this position as senior planning manager.” Cops she first met doing stand-ups, she says, “are now the commanders here in town, so I’ve kept those cell numbers, and that’s where I have an advantage.”

Working as a journalist before manning the assignment desk also helps cultivate that vital instinct of what makes for a compelling newscast. However, the assignment desk is also a prime location for industry newbies to break in and learn — a lot — on the fly.

“You gotta pay your dues by working the weekends,” Elder says. “That was where I learned the most because you don’t have a lot of managers, so you have to make those on-the-spot decisions. So, I was able to make those mistakes on that weekend shift, but I was also able to learn from those mistakes and learn how to make good news decisions.”

“This is a great way of starting and learning,” Gordon says of the assignment desk gig. Calling it a way to “fast-track” those new to the industry, she adds: “You can jump off of this and go produce a show [or] jump in a truck and go do an interview.”

Kendra Gilbert, senior assignment editor at KING, had no experience in a TV newsroom before hopping into the assignment desk chair at a station in her home market of Fresno, Calif. Fresh out of college, she struggled to find work in print journalism, her focus of study in school. But that degree still meant she could sniff out a good story and, combining that sense with strong organizational and communication skills, she was confident she could fill the seat just fine.

Kendra Gilbert

She’s held an assignment editor position at one West Coast station or another for nine years running. She says to excel in the role one has to be comfortable working in “a fast-paced environment,” and have the ability to “turn on a dime” and “focus on one thing and switch to another.”

Collaboration Grows

Elder statesman Gordon says of the assignment editor job demands: “It keeps me young.” Both she and the more youthful Gilbert say the position has also become more collaborative in recent years.

“We do sort of have that gatekeeper role,” Gilbert says. Still, she continues, “there’s always this two-way exchange of information between the desk and the reporters.”

Assignment editors consider reporter strengths, areas of interest and experience when deciding in whose hands a story will be entrusted. But they also field pitches from reporters and engage in broad conversations about the day’s items of interest with various members of the team.

“Nobody runs on their own in here; we have a tight-knit group [and] we back each other up,” Gordon says of the group at her Nexstar stations. “If we have spot news … we all jump in, and that’s the key to a really good assignment desk. You give and take, and you have that flexibility that at the end of the day, we’ve covered it, we’ve got it, we’ve got angles that nobody else has thought of.”

Not only does the team effort behind story assignment potentially add layers and depth to an eventual package, but it reinforces the integrity of the news it delivers across an entire broadcast, day in, day out.

In the constant struggle to identify mis- and disinformation, while also presenting stories in appropriate context, “that is where a collective, collaborative culture of a newsroom saves you,” KING’s Wolfe says. “If you are, as a team, having editorial checks, conversations, diverse viewpoints, bringing different people in, then you can catch those things and catch yourself and find the right story.

“That’s why I think having a diverse newsroom is so key, because different people are going to see different things and think about different questions and weigh that story against their own experience …. Whether it’s a big newsroom or a small newsroom, getting people together to talk about stories is just really, really important.” she says.

Decentralized Approach

One would be hard-pressed to find a more profound example of the increasingly collaborative nature the assignment editor’s job has assumed over the past handful of years than the organizational structure at Lee’s Southern California Spectrum News channel.

In an effort to cover the market’s five counties, across a sprawling megalopolis, her channel employs an assignment editor manager and four individual assignment editors, each of whom are primarily stationed in different parts of the region: north, south, east and west. They report to the station’s office in El Segundo once per week on a rotating basis, but otherwise they’re out in the field, working closely with reporters as they scour for stories and continually develop relationships with sources.

Lee says the more decentralized arrangement allows for her newsroom to be less “reactive” — as others have been historically — and more “proactive,” engaging in “enterprise storytelling.”

“Of course, we still react, because there’s breaking news,” Lee says, “but when there is real enterprise storytelling, you’re working in advance, working your sources and your community and really becoming experts on the ground, and it’s been an amazing collaboration.

“That’s what has gotten lost, is the idea that, really, journalists should have their ears on the ground, they should be developing beats and sources, and they should be working with assignment editors — story planners — to figure out the best way to tell those stories together,” she says. “It’s been a really exciting team approach to newsgathering.”

Seeking Deeper Impact

Whether they’ve been part of an experiment in cutting-edge structural invention or traditionally clock into the newsroom and sit at a stationary desk throughout their shift, assignment editors bear the brunt of the responsibility to shuttle broadcasts away from coverage of police blotter-discovered stories, such as shootings, robberies, and fires. Today’s consumers are craving more from their TV news, and stories with farther-reaching impact have to be sought out by those tasked with assigning them to reporters.

“We definitely are trying to be mindful of stories that are affecting more people in our community,” says WRAL’s Elder. “Gone are the days of ‘If it bleeds, it leads.’ That was old school.”

Still, it’s not entirely true that crime and property destruction should completely be dismissed. “When it comes to your family’s safety, the safety of your business, being able to walk down the sidewalk in your city, that is super-relevant to our viewers,” Wolfe says. “The idea that crime is not relevant is the wrong approach. The right approach is: How do we add information and context? How do we stand for truth and hold people accountable? What does the data tell us about that crime? That’s where the impactful stories are.”

Weighing all these factors in choosing stories, maintaining a constantly updated contact database with identifying tags, ensuring that reports are factually concrete and so many other responsibilities, the assignment editor job is certainly not for everybody. But those who do it well can honorably take tremendous pride in their work, which, if nothing else, is undeniably relentless.

“You should never be bored on the assignment desk,” KING’s Gilbert says. “It’s not a place where you can complete one task and then kick back and say, ‘I’ve done it for the day.’ You should always be busy.”

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Corrie Harding says:

March 8, 2022 at 9:11 am

Great write up. I would add one piece of perspective on the ‘parts of the body’ metaphor. In my experience, the Assignment Desk can be the hands reaching out in the dark, or the ears listening for the important ‘sounds’ or the ‘eyes’ looking toward the horizon. All in addition to being part of ‘the brain.’ Ruthanne nailed it. The key is that a video based, broadcast/digital newsroom must have a desk, producers, reporters, and managers that act in a symbiotic relationship. Each must be able to quickly shift based on the news department’s overall vision, and always support each other.

LeCouteur says:

June 13, 2022 at 9:24 am

I never knew how to write beautifully when I needed it, I spent Sleepless nights to write At least a more or less beautiful text, but as a result, I began to turn to similar writing services and my life became much easier and the texts are much better, because on such services the text professionals write, you just have to learn the text

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How to Become a

Newspaper editor, quick degree finder, why we love it.

• $64,910 Potential Avg. Salary
• -5.3% Job Growth Rate
• Creativity Focused Career Attribute
• Fast Paced Career Career Attribute

For the most part, newspaper editors are responsible for the success of a newspaper. They assign stories to reporters, ensure submitted stories are factually accurate and appropriate for publication, and determine which stories appear on the most-viewed pages of the newspaper, such as the front page.

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What is a newspaper editor.

The following job responsibilities are common for individuals in newspaper editor roles:

• Maintain a list of stories for publication, make decisions on pitched story viability, and assign stories to reporters
• Review submitted stories for clarity and factual accuracy and request edits as appropriate
• Make decisions on where stories should appear within the newspaper and on the paper’s website, if applicable
• Make layout decisions, choose which images should accompany stories, and ensure all legal requirements are met for all images and referenced sources

A Day in the Life

A job as a newspaper editor is a busy one. Newspaper editors are responsible for all of the content that appears in a published paper, so a newspaper’s editors are really in charge of the paper’s success. Some part of a newspaper editor’s day will be spent reviewing pitches and local happenings to determine what stories should be covered. After determining a variety of potential topics, newspaper editors assign stories to reporters. They may also be responsible for hiring reporters.

When stories start coming in, editors must review the stories and make sure they’re appropriate for publication. They ensure that the content is appropriate, compelling, and factually accurate. They also choose which images should accompany stories and make sure than all story content and images have received necessary approvals and releases to keep the content compliant with laws and regulations.

Once content is chosen for publication in the printed paper or on the paper’s website, the editor determines layout and placement of included stories. The newspaper editor determines what sections of the paper that articles should appear in and what stories should appear on the front page. The editor may also need to make final cuts of stories when there isn’t enough room in the paper for everything or when breaking news must be included and other stories need to be bumped.

Typical Work Schedule

Because news occurs 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, newspaper editors are usually required to work all shifts, all days of the week. However, shifts worked will generally be consistent—a daytime editor will work first shift, an evening editor will work second shift, and a weekend editor covers weekend shifts.

Newspaper Editor Specializations

For smaller newspapers, editors may need to perform several of the roles described below. However, at larger publications, editor roles are commonly split amount the following positions:

• Assistant editors generally execute all editorial responsibilities but for only one section of a newspaper—such as features or sports—rather than the entire newspaper. Assistant editors may also provide editorial coverage for slower news days and shifts.
• Assignment editors choose what stories will appear in the paper, review and accept or decline story pitches submitted by reporters, and assign story coverage to different staff reporters.
• Managing editors perform all editing responsibilities but may also hire reporters and editors and manage a group of assistant editors. Managing editors may also be responsible for managing a budget.
• Executive editors are responsible for the entire content of the newspaper. They hire all levels of editors and reporters in conjunction with other management staff and are responsible for managing the newspaper’s overall budget.

Career Progression

• Early Career: Reporter, Assistant Editor
• Mid-Career: Assignment Editor, Managing Editor
• Late Career: Executive Editor

Typical Employers

Newspapers with the highest circulation numbers include The Wall Street Journal and USA Today . In addition to these national publications, most cities and towns have local newspapers and hire editors to manage paper and website content. Local papers with large circulation numbers include the New York Times , Los Angeles Times , The Washington Post , and the Chicago Tribune .

How To Become a Newspaper Editor

Most newspaper editors begin their careers as reporters. Most newspapers require reporters to have bachelor’s degrees in journalism, though in some cases other writing degrees are acceptable. Reporters can work for a specific publication or as freelancers for multiple publications. Additionally, reporters may write stories for both physical copies of newspapers and news websites. After getting several years of experience as a reporter, you may be qualified to move into editing roles.

Most newspaper editors start off in assistant editor or copy editor roles. If successful in those roles, you may qualify to move into assignment or managing editor roles. At the mid-level career step, being able to prove that you’ve been successful is critical in securing new positions, so you’ll need to have a record of increased subscriptions, increased newspaper purchases, or increased website views in order to highlight your abilities in choosing stories and garnering interest in the publication.

As an alternative, some people are able to build careers as freelance reporters with no formal education. Requirements for freelance reporters are less stringent, and with a portfolio of powerful pieces written as a freelance reporter, you may be able to work your way up into editor roles without a bachelor’s degree. However, a degree will provide education on legal obligations for reporters and publishers, and having that background knowledge can help avoid legal troubles later in your career.

Newspaper Editor Salary Data

We’ve provided you the following to learn more about this career. The salary and growth data on this page comes from recently published Bureau of Labor Statistics data while the recommendations and editorial content are based on our research.

National Anual Salary

National hourly wage.

How do Newspaper Editor salaries stack up to other jobs across the country? Based on the latest jobs data nationwide, Newspaper Editor's can make an average annual salary of $64,910, or $31 per hour. On the lower end, they can make $39,690 or $19 per hour, perhaps when just starting out or based on the state you live in.

Salary Rankings And Facts

#229 nationally for all careers, above average salary nationally, programs and degrees.

Here are the most common degrees for becoming a Newspaper Editor. a is usually recommended and specifically a degree or coursework that prepares you for the particular field, see below.

Communication

Highest education among newspaper editors.

• 4.7 %   Doctorate
• 19.3 %   Masters
• 59 %   Bachelors
• 4.3 %   Associates
• 9.1 %   College
• 3.1 %   High School
• 0.5 %   Less than High School

Job Growth Projections and Forecast

2014 total jobs, 2024 est. jobs, job growth rate, est. new jobs.

How does Newspaper Editor job growth stack up to other jobs across the country? By 2024, there will be a change of -6,200 jobs for a total of 111,000 people employed in the career nationwide. This is a -5.3% change in growth over the next ten years, giving the career a growth rate nationwide of Above Average.

Growth Rankings And Facts

#703 nationally for all careers, above avg. growth nationally, what companies employ the most newspaper editors, similar careers, immigration lawyer.

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News Assignment Editor Salary

How much does a News Assignment Editor make? The average News Assignment Editor salary is $77,311 as of March 26, 2024, but the salary range typically falls between $68,027 and $88,129 . Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education , certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession. With more online, real-time compensation data than any other website, Salary.com helps you determine your exact pay target. 

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Andrew Higgins Named Moscow Bureau Chief

Andrew Higgins will succeed Neil MacFarquhar, to become the latest in a storied succession of leaders. Read more in this note from Michael Slackman and Jim Yardley.

Our Moscow bureau is legendary.

Just consider some of the correspondents who have plied their trade there: Bill Keller, Serge Schmemann, Hedrick Smith, Cliff Levy, Ellen Barry, Chris Chivers. And consider the Pulitzer Prizes: 1989 , 2011, 2017.

So with Neil MacFarquhar (a recipient of that 2017 Pulitzer) heading on to a new assignment at the end of the summer, we needed someone who could assume a place in that intimidating pantheon of bureau chiefs with grace and ease.

We didn’t have to look very far: Andrew Higgins will be our next Moscow bureau chief.

For those of you who don’t know Andy, he is among the most accomplished correspondents of our time. Fluent in Russian, Mandarin and French, he was part of the team that won the Pulitzer in international reporting for coverage of Vladimir Putin’s covert efforts to spread Russian influence. That was his second Pulitzer for Russia coverage. In 1999 he led a team at The Wall Street Journal that won for its coverage of the chaotic world of Boris Yeltsin.

Andy is a model correspondent: Drop him almost anywhere in the world and he knows the history and the key players, and can put together an authoritative article fast.

“If you set out to build the perfect foreign correspondent, you could hardly do better than to start with Andy Higgins,” said Kyle Crichton, Andy’s editor for many years and one of the finest story editors at The Times. “Elegant writer? Check. Deep and perceptive reporter? Proficiency in several languages? A wry wit to leaven even the deadliest daily? Check all of the above.”

Andy is at once compassionate and skeptical, serious and funny. He took us to Wigan, England , his ancestral home, to better understand “working class of the mind.” He took us to Lviv, Ukraine, to explore identity by introducing us to a bar named after a 19th-century writer, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, whose name and ideas inspired the word “masochism.”

Before joining The Times, Andy was China bureau chief at The Washington Post, from 2010 to 2012, but was based out of Hong Kong because the Chinese government refused to grant him a visa.

He began his career at Reuters, where he worked as a correspondent in East Africa, Central Africa and France. From 1987 to 1991, he was the Beijing bureau chief for The Independent, and then became the publication’s Moscow bureau chief, from 1992 to 1995. From 1995 to 1998, he was the Far East correspondent for The Guardian, based in Hong Kong. He went on to work for The Wall Street Journal, as Moscow bureau chief, from 1998 to 2004, and as a senior correspondent based in Paris, from 2004 to 2009. He co-authored the book “Tiananmen: The Rape of Peking.”

Andy was born in Britain and raised in Chicago. He graduated from Cambridge University with a master’s degree in Oriental studies and also attended Middlebury College, where he studied Russian and Arabic. He completed an advanced studies certificate in classical Chinese literature at Shandong University in Jinan, China. He and his wife, Martha Huang, live in Moscow.

In Moscow, Andy will work closely with our newest correspondent there, Anton Troianovski , who joins us in August; Andrew Kramer (who was also part of the 2017 Pulitzer team); and Ivan Nechepurenko.

Please join us in congratulating him.

Michael and Jim

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Anton troianovski joins the times as moscow correspondent, our next asia editor: adrienne carter, [update] ‘caliphate’ wins 2018 peabody award.

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NPR defends its journalism after senior editor says it has lost the public's trust

David Folkenflik

NPR is defending its journalism and integrity after a senior editor wrote an essay accusing it of losing the public's trust. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

NPR is defending its journalism and integrity after a senior editor wrote an essay accusing it of losing the public's trust.

NPR's top news executive defended its journalism and its commitment to reflecting a diverse array of views on Tuesday after a senior NPR editor wrote a broad critique of how the network has covered some of the most important stories of the age.

"An open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR, and now, predictably, we don't have an audience that reflects America," writes Uri Berliner.

A strategic emphasis on diversity and inclusion on the basis of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation, promoted by NPR's former CEO, John Lansing, has fed "the absence of viewpoint diversity," Berliner writes.

NPR's chief news executive, Edith Chapin, wrote in a memo to staff Tuesday afternoon that she and the news leadership team strongly reject Berliner's assessment.

"We're proud to stand behind the exceptional work that our desks and shows do to cover a wide range of challenging stories," she wrote. "We believe that inclusion — among our staff, with our sourcing, and in our overall coverage — is critical to telling the nuanced stories of this country and our world."

NPR names tech executive Katherine Maher to lead in turbulent era

She added, "None of our work is above scrutiny or critique. We must have vigorous discussions in the newsroom about how we serve the public as a whole."

A spokesperson for NPR said Chapin, who also serves as the network's chief content officer, would have no further comment.

Praised by NPR's critics

Berliner is a senior editor on NPR's Business Desk. (Disclosure: I, too, am part of the Business Desk, and Berliner has edited many of my past stories. He did not see any version of this article or participate in its preparation before it was posted publicly.)

Berliner's essay , titled "I've Been at NPR for 25 years. Here's How We Lost America's Trust," was published by The Free Press, a website that has welcomed journalists who have concluded that mainstream news outlets have become reflexively liberal.

Berliner writes that as a Subaru-driving, Sarah Lawrence College graduate who "was raised by a lesbian peace activist mother ," he fits the mold of a loyal NPR fan.

Yet Berliner says NPR's news coverage has fallen short on some of the most controversial stories of recent years, from the question of whether former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia in the 2016 election, to the origins of the virus that causes COVID-19, to the significance and provenance of emails leaked from a laptop owned by Hunter Biden weeks before the 2020 election. In addition, he blasted NPR's coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

On each of these stories, Berliner asserts, NPR has suffered from groupthink due to too little diversity of viewpoints in the newsroom.

The essay ricocheted Tuesday around conservative media , with some labeling Berliner a whistleblower . Others picked it up on social media, including Elon Musk, who has lambasted NPR for leaving his social media site, X. (Musk emailed another NPR reporter a link to Berliner's article with a gibe that the reporter was a "quisling" — a World War II reference to someone who collaborates with the enemy.)

When asked for further comment late Tuesday, Berliner declined, saying the essay spoke for itself.

The arguments he raises — and counters — have percolated across U.S. newsrooms in recent years. The #MeToo sexual harassment scandals of 2016 and 2017 forced newsrooms to listen to and heed more junior colleagues. The social justice movement prompted by the killing of George Floyd in 2020 inspired a reckoning in many places. Newsroom leaders often appeared to stand on shaky ground.

Leaders at many newsrooms, including top editors at The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times , lost their jobs. Legendary Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron wrote in his memoir that he feared his bonds with the staff were "frayed beyond repair," especially over the degree of self-expression his journalists expected to exert on social media, before he decided to step down in early 2021.

Since then, Baron and others — including leaders of some of these newsrooms — have suggested that the pendulum has swung too far.

Author Interviews

Legendary editor marty baron describes his 'collision of power' with trump and bezos.

New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger warned last year against journalists embracing a stance of what he calls "one-side-ism": "where journalists are demonstrating that they're on the side of the righteous."

"I really think that that can create blind spots and echo chambers," he said.

Internal arguments at The Times over the strength of its reporting on accusations that Hamas engaged in sexual assaults as part of a strategy for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel erupted publicly . The paper conducted an investigation to determine the source of a leak over a planned episode of the paper's podcast The Daily on the subject, which months later has not been released. The newsroom guild accused the paper of "targeted interrogation" of journalists of Middle Eastern descent.

Heated pushback in NPR's newsroom

Given Berliner's account of private conversations, several NPR journalists question whether they can now trust him with unguarded assessments about stories in real time. Others express frustration that he had not sought out comment in advance of publication. Berliner acknowledged to me that for this story, he did not seek NPR's approval to publish the piece, nor did he give the network advance notice.

Some of Berliner's NPR colleagues are responding heatedly. Fernando Alfonso, a senior supervising editor for digital news, wrote that he wholeheartedly rejected Berliner's critique of the coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, for which NPR's journalists, like their peers, periodically put themselves at risk.

Alfonso also took issue with Berliner's concern over the focus on diversity at NPR.

"As a person of color who has often worked in newsrooms with little to no people who look like me, the efforts NPR has made to diversify its workforce and its sources are unique and appropriate given the news industry's long-standing lack of diversity," Alfonso says. "These efforts should be celebrated and not denigrated as Uri has done."

After this story was first published, Berliner contested Alfonso's characterization, saying his criticism of NPR is about the lack of diversity of viewpoints, not its diversity itself.

"I never criticized NPR's priority of achieving a more diverse workforce in terms of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. I have not 'denigrated' NPR's newsroom diversity goals," Berliner said. "That's wrong."

Questions of diversity

Under former CEO John Lansing, NPR made increasing diversity, both of its staff and its audience, its "North Star" mission. Berliner says in the essay that NPR failed to consider broader diversity of viewpoint, noting, "In D.C., where NPR is headquartered and many of us live, I found 87 registered Democrats working in editorial positions and zero Republicans."

Berliner cited audience estimates that suggested a concurrent falloff in listening by Republicans. (The number of people listening to NPR broadcasts and terrestrial radio broadly has declined since the start of the pandemic.)

Former NPR vice president for news and ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin tweeted , "I know Uri. He's not wrong."

Others questioned Berliner's logic. "This probably gets causality somewhat backward," tweeted Semafor Washington editor Jordan Weissmann . "I'd guess that a lot of NPR listeners who voted for [Mitt] Romney have changed how they identify politically."

Similarly, Nieman Lab founder Joshua Benton suggested the rise of Trump alienated many NPR-appreciating Republicans from the GOP.

In recent years, NPR has greatly enhanced the percentage of people of color in its workforce and its executive ranks. Four out of 10 staffers are people of color; nearly half of NPR's leadership team identifies as Black, Asian or Latino.

"The philosophy is: Do you want to serve all of America and make sure it sounds like all of America, or not?" Lansing, who stepped down last month, says in response to Berliner's piece. "I'd welcome the argument against that."

"On radio, we were really lagging in our representation of an audience that makes us look like what America looks like today," Lansing says. The U.S. looks and sounds a lot different than it did in 1971, when NPR's first show was broadcast, Lansing says.

A network spokesperson says new NPR CEO Katherine Maher supports Chapin and her response to Berliner's critique.

The spokesperson says that Maher "believes that it's a healthy thing for a public service newsroom to engage in rigorous consideration of the needs of our audiences, including where we serve our mission well and where we can serve it better."

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Deputy Business Editor Emily Kopp and Managing Editor Gerry Holmes. Under NPR's protocol for reporting on itself, no NPR corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.

Letters to the editor for Saturday, April 13, 2024

Our readers share their opinions on a variety of topics.

Letters to the editor should be 250 words or less. Include your name and city or community of residence. Guest opinions should be 600 words or less and include a brief summary of the author’s credentials relevant to the topic. Guest opinions may include a head shot of the author. For the Fort Myers News-Press, email submissions to [email protected] and for the Naples Daily News to [email protected]

Assault on women’s rights

When women go to the polls  in November, we need to vote to protect our rights.  Included in these rights are reproductive rights — the right to health care and the right over control of our bodies. Think before voting for members of today’s Republican Party who are leading a daily assault on women’s rights.

Fathers and brothers vote to protect your wives and daughters rights in November.  Unfortunately Trump, DeSantis and today’s Republican Party are attacking  women’s rights across the country:  in Florida with an unrealistic six-week abortion bill and in Arizona with a 1864 law which was in place before Arizona was a state and women had the right to vote!

If women's reproductive rights are under attack by Republicans today, what other rights will Trump and DeSantis and Republican congressmen and  senators try to take away tomorrow?   

JoAnn Stehr, Sanibel

Send message to Trump, allies

Excuse me, women of Florida, can I have a minute? I'll be quick. In a few months, you'll be going to the polls, and the decision you make will resonate throughout our state and the nation at large. Let's for the moment set aside traditional discussions of ideology and policy and focus on a simple, basic question: Do you think you and your concerns matter every bit as much as the men of Florida and theirs? Donald Trump does not.Listen to the man. Look at the things he has done. He does not respect you as equivalently relevant human beings.He thinks he matters more than you. It's all on the record; you can look it up. My daughter once gave me a T-shirt that said, "Men of quality don't fear equality." Donald Trump is not a man of quality, and voting to give him nearly unlimited power in November will not change him for the better.In the coming election, you women of Florida will have the opportunity to send a clear message to Trump and others of his ilk: They do not matter more than you because they are male. It's a simple thing − and it matters.

Geremy Spampinato. Naples

Change the legislators

I'm afraid that even if voters approve the abortion amendment the Legislature will connive to prevent its enactment. We really need to change the legislators.

Ro Jones, Isles of Capri

Holocaust relevant now

I applaud the Naples Daily News for prominently publishing the article by Kelly Lawler of USA TODAY that brings an important context to the resurgence of movies and TV shows about the Holocaust. As Lawler writes under the headline “Why Holocaust WWII dramas are more important than ever,” many of the newer offerings show a expanded vantage point – that of displaced Jewish people, not just the perspective of the villains (Nazis and collaborators) and the victims in concentration camps. With the rise in nationalism, isolationism, fundamentalism and antisemitism in the U.S. and worldwide – and the restrictions in our schools on teaching meaningfully about difficult subjects like the Holocaust and slavery – it’s critical to give context to what “Zone of Interest” director Jonathan Glazer said in his Oscar acceptance speech: Don’t just “say ‘Look at what they did then’ but rather “Look at what we do now.’ “

Vicky Bowles, Fort Myers

Trump's election claims

So, after almost four years, the self-proclaimed smartest man in the universe still claims the election was stolen from him, but he can’t figure out how.  All we get from this evil genius is whine, whine, whine, whine!  If he’s so smart, why didn’t he prevent it from happening in the first place?!  His lack of verifiable evidence, to support his claim, along with his storied history of fabrication and conspiracy theories lead me to conclude that there was no stolen election.  Fortunately for him, but unfortunately for the less gullible and naive among us, his fabrications and whining will continue to resonate with the most gullible and naive among us.

So, where do we go from here?  Another election loss to another rigged election?  Or, is this evil genius up to something?  Maybe he has figured out how the election was stolen and is keeping it top secret along with plans to use the same technique to steal it back. Could all those boxes marked “Top Secret” he kept next to the crapper be such plans? 

If he wins the upcoming election, we will have our answer!  Other than his diehard supporters, who else would vote for this repugnant humanoid?  And fortunately, it will take more votes than they can provide to ensure victory − hopefully!

Jay Custa, Estero

Worrisome proposals

As a curious voter, I downloaded Project 2025 and I read several pages every day. The project is a collection ofpolicy proposals. The plan proposes that the (Republican) president of the U.S. should have absolute power over the executive branch and all branches of government should be replaced by conservatives.I do not want to live under a dictator and his loyal subjects in 2025.I want my freedom to vote, to love freely, to publish my opinions, to learn history from books in the library, to collect my earned Social Security, to improve the environment and to have women's health care without government interference,I have read that King George III went mad and still governed after the loss of the American colonies, I am worried that there would be dictator madness in the country and chaos in the government, the courts and here in my neighborhood.I'm worried. Kathleen Callard, RNBS, North Fort Myers

Trump and 'states' rights'

A week before former President Trump lauded “states’ rights” as support of his position that  each state devise  its own abortion laws, our state Supreme Court issued its ruling validating  a six-week ban. A day after he expressed his “states’ rights” view, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the 160-year-old territorial criminal  law forbidding  all abortions, except to save the life of the mother.

The ex-president has termed the former, the Florida ban, “a terrible mistake” that  “probably is going to   change.” He agreed with a statement that the latter, the Arizona prohibition, “went too far,”  and he is relying on the governor of that state, a Democrat, for the dilemma to be “straightened out.”

The implosion within a 10-day period  of women’s reproductive rights prompts the question: How’s that states’ rights arrangement going, Mr. ex-President?

Marshall H. Tanick, Naples

No second term for Biden

With the tyrannical government of Iran now threatening retaliation against either Israel, The United States or both, has it occurred to Biden and his band of incompetent government officials that giving Iran 6 billion dollars was a colossal mistake. The thinking was that this money was to be used for humanitarian purposes only. What a laugh. How naïve is Blinken and his semi-aware president? Our country is now at risk of being shot with our own (proverbial) bullet.The rulers of Iran said outright that they would spend the money as they chose not as to how they agreed with Biden’s negotiators. They have already supported the Houthis attacks on U.S. ships and bases and have killed American service members. Whose money paid for the rockets and drones? Biden cannot be allowed a second term. To do so would be the end of the America we know.Where have you gone John Kerry? Hopefully far, far away.

Michael Zubrow, Naples

Biden and Netanyahu

Joe Biden is attempting to tell Benjamin Netanyahu how to conduct the war in Israel. When the border of the United of America is open to  everyone.Does this make sense? Nils Graham, Fort Myers

Not helpful

The most feared words in the English language: We’re from the government and we’re here to help.

John Mallen, Marco Island

We need migrant workers

Dictator Donald Trump ordered the Republican cowards in the House to reject the bipartisan border bill because he didn’t want President Biden to get any credit.  The first Trump administration was heartless, as its policy separated some 5,000 couples from their dear children, about 1,000 were never reunited.

Most were put in cages, with only a blanket.  Trump has just called immigrants at the border animals, criminals and drug dealers.  Trump has no heart or soul.

In my viewing of these people at the border they seem to be mostly young couples with small children, well dressed and nice looking people from several South American countries; 99 percent are none of the things Trump has called them, they are not drug dealers.  Can you see the drug cartels wading across the Rio Grande? Hardly.  U.S. citizens were 86,3 percent of convicted people selling the drug “Fentanyl.”  The real problem seems to be Americans' appetite for drugs. 

Businesses across the country are calling for President Biden to grant a pathway for undocumented essential workers' legal protection.  The National Assoc. of Home Builders state they could not survive without migrant workers. Since 2020, immigrants make up 83 percent of American growth per: “Moody” — the Bureau of Labor statistics.  The “nonpartisan” Congressional Budget office projects the economy growth in the next decade will grow by 7 trillion , because of the influx of migrants. We may need them, more than they need America.  

E.L. “Bud”  Ruff, Naples

How to reduce deficit

Everyone knows that Biden has put our deficit out of sight with his insane spending. Everyone also knows that our borders are wide open under Biden’s open border policy with thousands of illegal immigrants entering our country weekly. 

So I have a plan to help reduce the deficit.  I propose that Biden fires all immigration and customs folk at our international airports and shipping ports, saving tens of millions, and just let everyone arriving in the USA from foreign countries, by plane or ship, just stroll on in.  Just like they do at our open borders.

Michael Adler, Miromar Lakes

Israel and Hamas

The Biden administration is under pressure to conduct a review by the State Department’s legal office as to whether Israel’s actions in Gaza have breached international law which could lead to a ban of U.S. arm shipments to Israel. What about Hamas’ actions on October 7? Was that not a breach of international law? Was that not a crime against all humanity?Now Hamas is saying that they cannot locate all of their Oct. 7 hostages. Have they been forgotten? Where is the international outcry for the victims of Hamas’ hideous attack on innocent concert goers? The Red Cross has not been allowed to see or inspect the hostages. What is the international community doing to help them? And is the international community calling on Hamas to limit their crimes and to stop Iran from supplying them with weaponry? Something's wrong here.

Sheila Zubrow, Naples

Lead by example

Early into my early childhood education career, I would abide by that saying “do as I say,” and that was the way my parents raised me. Well thankfully, as I was attending certification courses and required trainings, I learned that is vital to lead by example and make sure that I am role modeling what is expected from my students and my own children.Throughout my career journey, I have had the pleasure of serving as a kid’s ministry teacher and youth leader in my church, and work in an elementary school. Which, has given me the opportunity to experience firsthand, the ways that matching or not matching our words with actions have an impact in students.We can make or break our students and/or children, if we tend to expect from our students/children something that we as adults or parents are not willing to role model or do, would it be fair to scold them when they don’t do what’s expected from them, when we don’t lead by example? NO − it wouldn’t be, and that is why they begin to lose interest and/or respect in the person we are designed to be when we are with them, whether in the classroom or home setting.It is important to lead our children by role modeling and being that example to follow, making sure that our words and actions meet, it’s like saying “I love you” yet, mistreating a person!

Iris Acosta, Naples

Israel needs us now

Many groups in our country are pro-Palestine and are accusing Israel of genocide. One group even encouraged Death to America. Anyone with a heart feels sorrow for the loss of life in Gaza, but where is the support for Israel, our only ally in the Middle East? Israel is surrounded by countries who want to wipe it off the map. The Palestinians hate Israel and chose Hamas as their leader. Hamas is a terrorist organization and has taken money intended for the people and Gaza infrastructure and used it to build tunnels and purchase weapons for their military. Hamas cares nothing for the Palestinians and hide themselves where the hospitals and people are. They murdered 1,200 Israelis in cold blood and captured 250 more, many of whom are dead, on October 7, and yet no one is calling that genocide or blaming Hamas for starting the war, which is responsible for the deaths of so many Palestinians and the destruction of Gaza. Other countries around Israel are aiding Hamas by sending weapons and bombing parts of Israel themselves. How can we have forgotten the Holocaust where 6 million innocent Jewish people and others were killed? People vowed to never forget the hatred and intolerance that caused so much death, and yet it seems many Americans have. Israel needs us now more than ever.

Susan Meyer, Naples

Christian support for Israel

Under the guise of advocating for Palestinian Christians, Tucker Carlson launched a two-pronged assault on Israel and American political and Christian support for the Jewish State. To provide legitimacy for his campaign, he enlisted the help of Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem and notorious propagandist for the Palestinian anti-Israel narrative. Carlson’s interview with Isaac aired on X April 9, 2024.Munther Isaac has a long history of promoting falsehoods about Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict in his roles as pastor, academic dean of Bethlehem Bible College (a self-identified Evangelical university that promotes a Palestinian Christian theology), and director of Christ at the Checkpoint conferences (the infamous venue where anti-Israel libels are proclaimed in the name of Christian love, justice and peace).

For many years, CAMERA (the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis) has exposed the deceptiveness in Isaac’s teaching, as well as the fallacious theological and historical foundation of the narrative promoted by Bethlehem Bible College and Christ at the Checkpoint. In light of the blatantly anti-Jewish activism of Isaac and these institutions, it is appalling that Carlson would provide a platform for such thinly veiled hatred.Carlson’s conversation with Isaac promoted multiple false claims including the alleged treatment of Christians by Israel, the cause of the significantly diminished Christian population of Bethlehem, and reasons behind the current suffering of Gazan civilians. The obvious agenda behind Carlson’s line of questions and Isaac’s libelous answers was the demonization of Israel and all elected officials and Christians who dare to support the Jewish State.Thanks to Carlson, anti-Israel Christian Palestinians have found a new outlet through which to propagate their deceptive propaganda, rooted in theological, historical and geo-political error. It is irresponsible, and in fact dangerous, for Carlson to facilitate the presentation of blatant lies and antisemitic libels when there is an unprecedented rise in Jew-hatred worldwide and Israel is in the midst of an existential war initiated by terrorists who seek its annihilation.The bottom line is this: Tucker Carlson’s interview with Munther Isaac was, among other things, a manipulative attempt to shame American officials and Christian leaders – Evangelicals in particular – for their support of Israel in the hope of turning that support away from the Jewish State when it is needed now more than ever. Tricia Miller, Ph.D., director of CAMERA's Naples Partnership of Christians and Jews

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‘Civil War’ Is Designed to Disturb You

Here’s why you should watch it anyway..

Produced by John White

Edited by Larissa Anderson

Featuring Melissa Kirsch and Manohla Dargis

Engineered by Carole Sabouraud

On Friday, “Civil War” was released in theaters across the United States and Britain. Written and directed by Alex Garland, the film imagines a future in which America is at war with itself and four journalists must risk their lives to travel to the White House and interview the president.

Melissa Kirsch, deputy editor of Culture & Lifestyle, talks with The Times’s chief film critic, Manohla Dargis, about how Garland created a unique sense of discomfort and why she made “Civil War” a Critic’s Pick.

On today’s episode

Melissa Kirsch , deputy editor of Culture & Lifestyle for The Times and writer of The Morning newsletter on Saturdays.

Manohla Dargis , chief film critic of The Times.

Additional reading

Manohla’s review of “ Civil War ”

The New York Times Audio app is home to journalism and storytelling, and provides news, depth and serendipity. If you haven’t already, download it here — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Melissa Kirsch is the deputy editor of Culture and Lifestyle at The Times and writes The Morning newsletter on Saturdays. More about Melissa Kirsch

Manohla Dargis is the chief film critic for The Times. More about Manohla Dargis

Advertisement

NPR editor found registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans 87 to zero in newsroom

A n NPR editor blowing the whistle on the left-leaning outlet's biased coverage says voter registration records showed an astonishing disparity between Democrats and Republicans in the newsroom: 87 to zero.

NPR senior business editor Uri Berliner penned a thorough rebuke of his own outlet for The Free Press published Tuesday, criticizing it for telling listeners and readers how to think through a progressive worldview. He pointed in particular to its flawed coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop, Russiagate and the COVID lab-leak theory , and he also claimed NPR leadership's reaction to the George Floyd killing in 2020 was to declare systemic racism was "a given" and "our mission was to change it."

Berliner said the lack of "viewpoint diversity" had spilled over into how NPR covered such topics as the Israel-Gaza war and avoided terms like "biological sex" in its reporting. He said he looked up voter registrations for the NPR newsroom in 2021 and found that in the city's headquarters of Washington, D.C., there were 87 registered Democrats in NPR editorial positions and "zero Republicans."

"So on May 3, 2021, I presented the findings at an all-hands editorial staff meeting. When I suggested we had a diversity problem with a score of 87 Democrats and zero Republicans, the response wasn’t hostile. It was worse," he wrote in The Free Press . "It was met with profound indifference. I got a few messages from surprised, curious colleagues. But the messages were of the ‘oh wow, that’s weird’ variety, as if the lopsided tally was a random anomaly rather than a critical failure of our diversity North Star."

RONNA MCDANIEL SEEKING $600K BUYOUT FROM NBC, EARNING $500 PER SECOND DURING HER ‘MEET THE PRESS’ APPEARANCE

"In a follow-up email exchange, a top NPR news executive told me that she had been ‘skewered’ for bringing up diversity of thought when she arrived at NPR. So, she said, 'I want to be careful how we discuss this publicly.'"

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Berliner, who's been at NPR for 25 years, "eagerly" voted against Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, but wrote he found NPR's advocacy-style coverage of his presidency wrongheaded. He said he'd had regular conversations with news leaders about the homogeneous political culture, to no avail.

"Throughout these exchanges, no one has ever trashed me. That’s not the NPR way. People are polite. But nothing changes. So I’ve become a visible wrong-thinker at a place I love. It’s uncomfortable, sometimes heartbreaking," he wrote.

Asked for comment about the numbers claimed by Berlinger, an NPR spokesperson told Fox News Digital the organization had nearly 1,200 full-time and temporary employees, and wasn't sure where Berliner had gotten his numbers on the newsroom's voter registration.

Berliner noted that polling showed NPR's audience had become significantly less diverse over the years as well, going from slightly left-leaning overall in 2011 to overwhelmingly so by 2023.

NPR HIT WITH MASSIVE LAYOFFS, CANCELS 4 PODCASTS

"Only 11 percent described themselves as very or somewhat conservative, 21 percent as middle of the road, and 67 percent of listeners said they were very or somewhat liberal," he said of the most recent survey.

"An open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR, and now, predictably, we don’t have an audience that reflects America," he added. "That wouldn’t be a problem for an openly polemical news outlet serving a niche audience. But for NPR, which purports to consider all things, it’s devastating both for its journalism and its business model."

In his essay, Berliner was particularly critical of how NPR embraced the Russiagate conspiracy narrative, saying it frequently used Rep. Adam Schiff , D-Calif., for interviews and followed his lead about the story: "The Schiff talking points became the drumbeat of NPR news reports."

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP  

When the story fizzled after the Robert Mueller investigation found no evidence to prove a conspiracy between the Donald Trump campaign and Russia to fix the 2016 election, Berliner admitted, "NPR's coverage was notably sparse."

Original article source: NPR editor found registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans 87 to zero in newsroom

Letters to the Editor: Politics, from local school boards all the way to the presidency

Politics in school board race replace critical thinking.

I am concerned that the obvious political views of individual school board members have permeated the purpose of the school board. There were groups identified as political action committees that were pushing one slate of three candidates to get votes and another slate of three candidates to get votes. Is this what we have become where we aren’t sending people to think critically through issues together but rather trying to send like-minded people to do what they have been told to do by an interest group or political action committee?

Michael Scriven, Springfield

Presidential candidates leave much to be desired

I have been a conservative all my life because I believe our country works best when enhancing self-sufficiency, giving people a hand up rather than a hand out, the importance of national defense, individual liberty, limited government, and respect for the rule of law.

During his time in office, Donald Trump often disregarded these principles. He presided over an administration that oversaw significant increases in government spending and deficits. He undermined the principles of limited government and separation of powers. In addition, his behavior and divisive language often went against the values of decency, civility, and respect that conservative people like me hold dear.

Two of his actions after losing the 2020 election were particularly abhorrent. While I agree that this election lacked security and integrity (mainly because of the insecurity of mail-in ballots), the election rules that allowed these inadequacies were legally in place at the time of the election. He lost the election. He obstructed the peaceful transition of power and did NOTHING to quell the insurrection on Jan. 6 for about five hours. Could this inaction recur during another attack on our government (either foreign or domestic)?

The other irresponsible action that he took involved his handling of classified  documents important to our national security. Taking those to his home and showing them off to his guests seems incomprehensible. The lack of security surrounding these national secrets and refusal to return them to my government was egregious. I will not vote for him.

On the other hand, Joe Biden does not seem to have the mental acuity to address the concerns of the nation, particularly as we will be facing new challenges and unforeseen crises over the next four years. He has not been able to bring our divided country together. He has mismanaged foreign policy at the southern border and the withdrawal from Afghanistan. There are ethical questions surrounding his support of his son Hunter and his foreign business dealings. I try to avoid thinking of what our country’s leadership will look like if his vice president needs to take over.

I wish there were an alternative.

Ben Lampert, Springfield

Save lives — register to be an organ donor

There are 1,400 people in our region waiting for an organ transplant. Your family member, friend, coworker, or neighbor may be one of them.

At a time when we grow impatient waiting for inconsequential things, like a two-day Amazon delivery, imagine waiting indefinitely for an organ to save your life.

We’re grateful that so many generous donor heroes and families have made a difference by saying yes to donation. Last year, the lives of over 21,000 people were saved or healed by organ and tissue donors in southwest Missouri.

Still, the waitlist grows. Every eight minutes, another person is added nationwide, and 17 people on the list will die today or become too sick for surgery.

How can we reach the day when NO ONE is waiting?

The best way to reduce the waitlist is to reduce the number of people who may one day need a transplant. Staying active, managing your blood pressure, eating healthy, and seeing your doctor can help prevent diseases that could lead to organ failure.

We also bring hope to those waiting for a transplant by registering as organ and tissue donors. April is Donate Life Month, a time to recognize the second chance at life made possible through donation. Giving the gift of life costs us nothing, but means everything to people waiting for a transplant. Please register to be a donor at SayYesGiveLife.org .  

Kevin Lee is president and CEO at Mid-America Transplant, the organ procurement organization serving Springfield and the surrounding region.

Democracy is our system of government

For those readers of this newspaper who do not know what a democracy is! It is a way of governing that is run by the people — for the people. Defining a threat to democracy is not complicated. It is denying the “will of the people.”

Democracy is the opposite of dictatorship. The word democracy is derived from two Greek words that mean “rule by the people.” America’s voting system may be called a representative constitutional republic, but our system of government is based on sound and reasonable expectations of fairness, democracy, and equality. When someone tries to deviate from our system of government and laws, that is a threat to democracy. The media coverage should be balanced, but for centuries no other former president has caused such political division and strife. He uses threats of mob violence like a weapon.

Let’s just pretend there are no political parties. We choose to live in a country that is a democracy. We have laws to protect our rights and laws to hold those accountable who commit unlawful acts. We have checks and balances in our three branches of government. In a democracy there is really no “us or them,” there is just “us.” You are free to vote for the person who you feel best represents you, and your values.

Norma Salchow, Springfield

Solutions for illegal immigration require clear thinking

When it comes to illegal immigrants crossing the border there are many different opinions. I believe it all comes down to safety. 

Instead of recognizing that other countries such as Canada also require citizenship or some form of ID to be able to enter or be a resident within their communities, the U.S. is put in the spotlight and deemed out of line for wanting similar procedures and regulations.

Some argue that illegal immigrants take advantage of public resources. This includes healthcare, education, and social services. The issue is not that they need to utilize these resources. It is that we cannot be aware of how many resources we need if we don't know how many we are supplying for.

Alongside that comes the avoidance of taxes because they are undocumented. I have no problem welcoming more people to America. I believe it should be done safely. With undocumented immigrants comes undocumented weapons. This only brings chaos and danger to the current citizens.

Other issues are job shortages, property shortages, and economic impact. There are solutions to our problems. Addressing the root causes of illegal immigration is one step we can take to help calmly fix this issue.

Ashtin Reeves, Springfield