# Assignment editor > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Assignment_editor > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Assignment_editor.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assignment_editor > Source revision: 1202183743 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Newsroom job in journalism This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Assignment editor" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Journalism News Article (Headline · Byline · Dateline · Report · Special report · Exclusive · Interview · Column · Editorial · Op-ed) Writing style (Five Ws · Inverted pyramid) Index of journalism articles Beats Arts Business Data Entertainment Environment Fashion Local Medicine Music Politics Science Sports Technology Traffic Video games War Weather World Genres Adversarial Advocacy (Interventionism) Analytic Blogging Citizen Civic Collaborative Comics-based Community Database Enterprise Explanatory Feature story Gonzo Human-interest Immersion Infotainment/Soft media Interpretive Investigative Long-form Narrative New Journalism Opinion Peace Sensor Underground Visual Watchdog Ethics and standards Broadcast Chequebook Churnalism Codes of ethics Culture Editing (Copy editing · Corrections · Fact-checking · Spiking) Fake news (Websites) Horse race Journalese Media bias (False balance) News values (Above the fold · Man bites dog) Objectivity Pink-slime Scandals Sensationalism Sources Tabloid (Television) Yellow Journalism school (Student publication) Challenges Decline of newspapers (News desert) Fourth Estate Fifth Estate Editorial independence (Independent · State) Media capture · Media plurality Freedom of information Freedom of the press (Defamation · Safety) Source protection Public relations Media manipulation Media relations News embargo News leak News propaganda (Model) Press conference (Media scrum) Press gallery Press line Press pass Press pool Press release Sound bite Spin Spin room News media Newspapers (Newspaper of record · Middle-market · Newspaper formats · Broadsheet · Tabloid · Online · Extra edition) Magazines Broadcast (TV and radio) Digital Multimedia (Video) Documentary film/television News agencies Alternative media Nonprofit Public service Public broadcasting Newsroom Journalist (Staff writer · Correspondent · Photojournalist · News presenter) Columnist Editors (Editor-in-chief · Managing editor · Political editor · Editorial board · Assignment editor · Duty editor · Public editor · Editor-at-large · Contributing editor) Weather presenter News bureau News director Pundit Stringer Journalism portal Category: Journalism v t e In journalism, an **assignment editor** is an editor—either at a [newspaper](/source/Newspaper) or a [radio](/source/Radio_station) or [television station](/source/Television_station)—who selects, develops, and plans reporting assignments, either news events or feature stories, to be covered by reporters.[1] An assignment editor often fields calls from the public, who give [news tips](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=News_tip&action=edit&redlink=1), or information about a possible story or event to be covered. Sometimes, these calls may: - Alert editors about a disaster – perhaps something as minor as a car accident or as major as a commercial plane crash with mass casualties. - Be someone wishing to make a complaint about corporate or governmental practices, or have information or an opinion about a major decision that a local or state government is making. - Be something as minor as a child building the world's largest sandcastle or a budding [entrepreneur](/source/Entrepreneur) wanting to promote his/her product. Other times, the news tip may come in the form of a [news release](/source/News_release), which may either promote an event, meeting, etc. or alert editors and reporters about an upcoming [news conference](/source/News_conference). Sometimes, assignment editors must sift through hundreds of news releases each day. In many cases, possibly dependent on the [market](/source/Designated_Market_Area), assignment editors use [police scanners](/source/Scanner_(radio)), listening to traffic between 911 dispatchers and police officers in the field. Whatever the case, it is the assignment editor's job to determine what news tips and news releases are the most newsworthy and then decide which reporter to assign a story to. Those assignments are often determined based on the reporter's experience, skills, and his/her beat (e.g., police, courts, schools, city hall, county, etc.). If a major story develops – such as a disaster or economic development – an assignment editor may enlist several reporters (in addition to whoever usually covers that beat) to cover various angles of a story. For instance, if the story is about a plant closing, one reporter may be asked to do the main story about the closing, while other reporters may be asked to do stories on such topics as employee reaction, the reaction from business and community leaders, a history of the plant (and other plant closings, if appropriate), etc. ## Required background An assignment editor often has a minimum of one year of experience working for a particular news organization and a number of years of experience working in journalism, usually as a line or copy editor, or even a staff writer. An assignment editor is expected to be well versed in journalistic standards and ethics and have good knowledge of the community in which he/she works and lives. The position is that of a commissioning editor, and its responsibilities usually entail the day-to-day management of [staff writers](/source/Staff_writer), [beat reporters](/source/Beat_reporting), and [correspondents](/source/Correspondent), procuring original content from freelance writers, and managing the daily "[budget meeting](/source/Newsroom)". Sometimes, it may be a journalist's first job as a senior editor in the newsroom, working with other editorial sections – such as copy, opinion, magazine, managing, and chief editors – alongside the breaking news desk. As more news outlets move to a [digital first](/source/Digital_first) model, the role has changed substantially, with the emphasis shifting from page planning to commissioning time-sensitive pieces that fit a more rapid news cycle. At many smaller daily and weekly newspapers, the role of assignment editor is often combined with an editor's other duties (e.g., an assistant editor who also lays out the pages may also be asked to assign stories to reporters). ## See also - [Broadcast journalism](/source/Broadcast_journalism) - [Newspaper](/source/Newspaper) - [Radio station](/source/Radio_station) - [Television station](/source/Television_station) - [Weekly newspaper](/source/Weekly_newspaper) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Wenger, Debora Halpern; Potter, Deborah (2018-08-17). ["Glossary of Multimedia Journalism Terms"](https://books.google.com/books?id=JzBcDwAAQBAJ&dq=Journalism+glossary+%22assignment+editor%22&pg=PT341). *Advancing the Story: Quality Journalism in a Digital World*. CQ Press. pp. no pag. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-5443-3244-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-5443-3244-4). v t e Journalism roles Editing Editor Copy editor Contributing editor Assignment editor Public editor Duty editor Political editor Managing editor Editor-in-chief Editorial board Staff Journalists (reporters) Columnist Blogger Meteorologist News presenter Pundit / Commentator Fixer Stringer Correspondent Fact checker Food critic Gossip columnist News analyst Staff writer Photographer --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Assignment editor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assignment_editor) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assignment_editor?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.