Duty editor

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A duty editor, or editor of the day, is a senior journalist in radio or TV who handles editorial and management tasks when the news editor isn’t available. They usually make most day-to-day decisions, plan and run scheduled and breaking news, assign reporters, and supervise them. They decide what content is broadcast, how it’s presented, and in what order.

In large media organizations like the BBC, the main editor may be a senior manager who delegates daily decisions to a duty editor. The duty editor is typically the most senior journalist at the news desk, and there can be several on duty with different areas of responsibility—for example, a home duty editor for domestic news and a foreign duty editor for international news.