Master 31 Newspaper Editor interview questions covering editorial judgment, newsroom leadership, and deadline decision-making.
Question 9 of 31
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Ryan Brown created and launched MockQuestions in 2008.
Each person has unique competitive advantages. One editor might be extremely fast at editing for grammar and punctuation, another editor might be very good at research, and yet another might be great at restructuring a piece.
Read 2-3 articles published in this publication/department and look for ways that you can improve both of them. It's best to look for a common theme. For instance, the ending paragraph may be lacking in drama and impact.
In your response, speak on how you'd improve the articles as it relates to a benefit that's important to the publication. For instance, reader engagement is a common concern for publications. In which case, you might talk about how to end an article in such a way that increases reader engagement.
Follow through with an example of how you've done that before and wrap everything up with a summary sentence that brings attention back to the benefit.

Ryan Brown created and launched MockQuestions in 2008.
"Would you say that reader engagement is an important concern for you? [Get confirmation that it is.] I've read several articles in this section and I found several ways to improve reader engagement. For example, when I was at The Madison Post, I told the writers to end the articles with a question instead of a statement. I think that, compared to other editors, I'm very good at getting people to talk and engage with the paper, which does wonders for advertising."

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