Bone up on English, know proper sentence structure, spelling, etc.
Your job is to correct the mistakes that the writer misses, and believe me, writers miss a lot.
Your other duty as an editor is to make sure the story can fit in the slot. You may have to do a hatchet job to a well written article just to make it fit all while keeping a meaningful flow.
I used to work for a major newspaper in the USA and knew proof readers/editors that were right out of college. While I was not a writer (I was one of the other 97% of the staff), nevertheless, I worked side by side with editors and writers. It seems that most journalists start as proof readers/editors and work their way into a writing job.
Peace
Jim
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