Before thinking about the choices an editor needs to make, it might be fruitful to unpack wjoe the editor is. In the literary field the editor is typically the person who plans, coordinates and revises material prior to publication – be it for a book, collection, magazine, or web page. The editor might be responsible for ensuring clarity of language, consistency of tone and style as well as adherence to ‘[editorial] standards’. The role of the editor may also differ depending on the form of the object being edited – the book editor will differ from the editor working with multiple pieces for a collection of work. This is different from a copy editor who is responsible for standards of language, grammar and ‘house style’. In a sense, the editor is a selector, and the role of selection can have vast consequences on future knowledge in any given field. By choosing what to include, and by default what to exclude, the editor is in an authoritative role to determine what is worth reading, and what isn’t. 

I bring forward the example of the New Yorker – a magazine of cultural and political commentary. I’ve been a subscriber to the New Yorker for many years and one thing that always strikes me is the consistency in style and content that exists across issues and contributors. Through the inclusion of strict editorial standards the New Yorker has managed to create an artifact that plays a huge role in liberal and politically left schools of thought. This is further corroborated by their adherence to a specific tone – it’s easy to read a piece and know automatically that it was borne from the editorial offices of Conde Nast. By maintaining the invisibility of these practices, whilst simultaneously positioning itself as committed to “truth” “accuracy”, and “quality of prose”, the New Yorker establishes itself as a leader in its field, and by association helps to determine what is worthy of reading, and how people should think about different topics. A lot of that work and impact is determined by the editors – in a way they can be seen as the gatekeepers of what it worth thinking about and what isn’t.

https://www.newyorker.com/about/us?verso=true

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