Editor: A Day in the Life

You're the business editor of a newspaper's website. Today, like most days, you start by clearing out the umpteen E-mails and phone calls that came in overnight: a pitch from a freelancer, a cry for help from a writer who's struggling to meet a deadline, two dozen thumbnail images for you to pick from to illustrate an upcoming story. Your own creative juices are flowing, so you ring a few writers to assign story ideas and discuss the focus of the pieces. Next, you beg your boss for extra money to send a reporter out on assignment: "He's also a good photographer, so I'll get a good story and good pictures." Your next task: polish a good submission. You've learned a little bit of Web programming language, HTML, which makes it easier. Finally, you must tackle the day's toughest task: editing a piece that's sloppily written. You're tempted to rewrite it yourself but decide to give the writer another shot at it. So you muster all the tact you can and pick up the phone. He's defensive at first, but you end up having a productive chat. When you get home, you reward yourself by doing more of what you do during the day. After all, you're an editor—you love to read.