Lesson: Becoming a sub-editor

This lesson outline is designed to help teach journalists the essential role sub-editors play as the backbone of the newsroom.

It’s based on the article The sub-editor: roles, skills, and responsibilities by Ruhina Ferdous which focuses on the steps required to bridge the gap between raw reporting and news publication. We suggest trainers read Ruhina’s article before adapting the material below for local conditions and needs.

Training programme timetable

09:00 – 10:30: Introduction to the role of the sub-editor, house policy, and news sense

Trainer presentation

• The trainer will introduce how sub-editors act as the backbone of a newsroom by bridging reporting, writing, editing, design, and publication. This session establishes that sub-editors ensure every story meets the highest standards of accuracy, clarity, and editorial integrity, whether working on breaking news or long-term publications.
• The trainer will present the fundamental responsibilities, including an understanding house policy, which refers to the internal operational rules, procedures, and ethical codes of conduct governing a newsroom.
• Participants will learn that a weak editing desk inevitably leads to a fragile publication, and that every piece of news must align with the editorial stance of the organisation to avoid defamation or legal trouble.
• The trainer will also introduce the concept of news sense, explaining how sub-editors instantly evaluate the news value of updates flooding into the newsroom to determine placement and space, alongside developing a clear mental blueprint for page layout and visual design.

Learning activity

• Trainees will review a short checklist to recap the main points.
• They will then assess a selection of mock raw news drafts.
• Working in pairs, they must evaluate the news value of each update, decide its priority placement on a conceptual news layout, choose how many columns or space it deserves, and flag any potential legal or ethical conflicts that violate house policy.

10:30 – 10:45: Morning break

10:45 – 12:30: Language, editorial rigour, and stylebook compliance

Trainer presentation

• The trainer will focus on grammar, syntax, and vocabulary.
• The presentation will cover condensation, which is the ability to trim long, wordy drafts into tight, concise copy following the specific stylebook of the outlet, and the use of diction that demands neutrality instead of personal or  creative writing styles.
• The trainer will explain the role of house style guides, using the BBC News Style Guide and the Guardian Style Guide as working examples of how major newsrooms approach spelling, punctuation, and usage.
• Furthermore, the session will address the necessity of a sceptical mind and ‘a vulture’s eyes’, reinforcing the golden rule that sub-editors must never blindly trust a reporter’s draft without verifying core facts, names, dates, and individual words to spot hidden opinions, gender or social biases, or one-sided narratives.

Useful resources

Trainers are welcome to use any of the following resources from Media Helping Media.

• Clichés, journalese, and jargon
• Grammar for journalists
• Language and style
• Lateral reading
• News writing for beginners
• The power of words
• Using the right words
• Words that are frequently misused

Learning activity

• Trainees will be given a wordy, poorly structured draft containing hidden opinionated phrasing and factual discrepancies.
• They must individually use their analytical skills to challenge facts, dates, names, and individual words, then edit and condense the text to fit a strict word count while ensuring it adheres entirely to a provided sample stylebook and maintains strict neutrality.

12:30 – 13:30: Lunch break

13:30 – 15:00: Time sensitivity, creative flair, and modern digital skills

Trainer presentation

• The trainer will examine how time is the ultimate currency in journalism, highlighting the differences between print sub-editors who have a few hours to filter, edit, and reconstruct stories before the evening printing deadline and digital sub-editors who must select, edit, and publish stories instantly without compromising accuracy.
• The trainer will demonstrate how sub-editing requires a creative spark to transform dry reports into compelling reads through punchy headlines, engaging sub-heads, and captivating intros.
• Additionally, the presentation will introduce essential modern digital skills, including visual literacy for multimedia elements like feature images, infographics, data charts, or video clips, technical awareness of advanced fact-checking tools like reverse image searches to combat deepfakes, disinformation and misinformation, and the integration of SEO (search engine optimisation), GEO (generative engine optimisation), and AEO (answer engine optimisation) keywords and phrases to ensure articles rank highly while remaining click-worthy rather than clickbait. See: Journalism that AI will trust and promote

Learning activity

• Operating under strict, real-time digital deadlines, trainees will be tasked with transforming a static print-style text into a digital-ready format.
• This requires crafting a search engine optimised headline that is click-worthy but not clickbait, writing a context-rich caption for an accompanying infographic, and performing a quick digital verification exercise on the source materials using advanced fact-checking tools.

15:00 – 15:15: Afternoon break

15:15 – 17:00: Specialised sub-editing roles across the modern newsroom

Trainer presentation

• The trainer will break down the specific environments within a media organisation where sub-editors operate.
• This includes:
  • the fast-paced news desk handling daily reports and breaking news under constant deadlines
  • the features department where the focus shifts to long-form, narrative-driven journalism, logical structure, and preserving the writer’s voice
  • the supplements and special sections that require a highly curated, design-aware approach matching text with visuals
  • annual publications or special editions that require long-term planning, patience, and the management of large volumes of complex material collected over weeks or months.
  • The trainer will conclude the day by summarising why sub-editors remain the final line of defence between a draft and the reader, upholding the famous journalistic maxim: “reporters write the paper but sub-editors make it.”

Learning activity

• Participants will be split into departmental teams representing the news desk, features department, supplements section, and annual publications.
• Each team will receive identical raw copy and must edit, structure, and package the content to match the distinct editorial demands, design considerations, and structural styles of their assigned department, ensuring a unified tone and editorial identity.

Final assignment

To reinforce the learning outcomes of the training day, trainees will complete an independent, comprehensive editing assignment that combines the main elements of print and digital sub-editing.

Task description: Trainees will be handed a raw, unfiltered 800-word field reporter draft containing intentional errors, including passive phrasing, spelling inconsistencies, hidden editorial biases, and outdated structural elements.

Requirements:

• Condense the text by 30% into a tight, neutral news story that complies perfectly with standard house style guidelines.
• Fact-check all names, dates, and figures within the draft, flagging any potential legal or defamatory red flags.
• Craft two distinct headline options: one punchy headline for a print layout and one search engine optimised headline integrated with relevant keywords for a digital news portal.
• Select a suitable multimedia element to accompany the digital version and write a context-rich caption for it.

Assessment criteria: Submissions will be graded on accuracy, adherence to objective diction, speed under the simulated deadline, and mechanical precision.

Conclusion

This training programme highlights that sub-editors are far more than proofreaders. They are the essential guardians of editorial integrity and the final line of defence between a reporter’s draft and the public. Throughout this course, participants have explored how the traditional foundations of sub-editing – such as rigorous fact-checking, applying news sense, enforcing house style, and rewriting copy under intense deadline pressure – intersect with modern digital requirements like search engine optimisation and technical verification.

As newsrooms navigate an environment increasingly complicated by misinformation, disinformation, fake news, and shifting digital formats, the analytical, sceptical, and creative skills of the editing desk remain paramount to protecting media credibility. Ultimately, the survival of a trustworthy publication rests on these exact standards.

Related material

The sub-editor: roles, skills, and responsibilities

Language and style

The power of words