Editorial interview prep.

Behavioural questions to expect

1. Walk me through your CV.
2. Tell me about a story or a show you are proud of - what made it work?
3. Tell me about a weakness, a failure, or feedback you have received.
4. Why editorial - vs reporting, producing, or moving to a platform / product role?
5. Which kind of outlet appeals - linear broadcaster, streamer, public-service, digital-native?
6. Why the firm?
7. How do you read the firm's current slate / output and where it is going?
8. What is the biggest editorial challenge the firm faces in the next 12-24 months?

Technical concepts to master

• Editorial judgement

  Green-light + kill · Angle + framing · Slate + lineup balance · News peg + why-now

• Standards + accuracy + legal

  Two-source rule · Right of reply · Defamation + the public-interest defence · Impartiality + due weight

• Audience + platform sensibility

  Format metrics that actually matter · Audience contract · Data-informed vs data-led · Windowing + scheduling

• Talent + production craft

  The editorial brief · Notes that improve work · Killing without breaking the team · Defending work upwards

Practical drills

• Pitch me a strand, show, or story you would green-light at the firm right now - in one sentence, then defend it. Then tell me what you would kill from the current slate to fund it.
• It is 90 minutes to transmission / drop. You have these five candidate pieces + this audience picture [interviewer lists]. Build the lineup, justify your top story / lead title, and tell me what you push, what you drop, and what you fact-check first.
• [Interviewer presents a scenario - e.g. a contested claim with one source, a defamation flag from legal, a taste call on graphic footage, a complaint mid-broadcast.] Walk me through the call.

Smart-question anchors

• Editorial direction - what the current head wants the slate / output to look like in 12-24 months
• Standards culture - how legal / standards / editorial actually work together under deadline
• Audience + data culture - which metrics are watched + how much they drive commissioning
• Slate + windowing - balance of returning vs new, in-house vs indie, day-and-date vs windowed
• What good looks like in this seat - the specific pieces or calls that would land well in year one

Sourced from

Ofcom Broadcasting Code + BBC Editorial Guidelines · Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Code of Ethics · Poynter + Nieman Lab editorial + audience research · Hollywood Reporter + Variety + Deadline industry coverage · Indeed + Glassdoor — editor + commissioning editor interview reports · Tech Interview Handbook — behavioral framing