An editor in chief (also called executive editor) is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies.^[1][2] Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating task to their staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task. The term is generally applied to newspapers, magazines, yearbooks, and television news programs. The term is also applied to academic journals, where the editor in chief ultimately decides whether a submitted manuscript will be published in the journal as an article. This decision is made by the editor in chief after seeking input from reviewers, who are typically chosen by the editor in chief based on their expertise.

Typical responsibilities of editors in chief include:^[3]

• Cross-checking facts, spelling, grammar, writing style, design pages and photos;
• Rejecting writing that appears to be plagiarized, ghost-written by another sub-editor, or previously published elsewhere;
• Editing any content in question;
• Contributing editorial pieces;
• Motivating and developing editorial staff;
• Ensuring final draft is complete and no area is left empty;
• Handling reader complaints and taking responsibility for resulting issues; and
• For books or journals, cross-checking citations and examining references.

References

1. ^ TheFreeDictionary definition
2. ^ "Encarta Dictionary definition". Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. http://www.webcitation.org/5kwpHmNCe. 
3. ^ Patil, Sayali Bedekar. "Editor In Chief Responsibilities". Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/editor-in-chief-responsibilities.html. Retrieved 18 August 2010. 

Further reading

• John La Porte Given (1907). "The Editor-In-Chief". Making a Newspaper. New York: H. Holt and company. pp. 30–35. 
• Nathaniel Clark Fowler (1913). "The Editor-In-Chief". The Handbook of Journalism: All about Newspaper Work. — Facts and Information. New York: Sully and Kleinteich.