“When I was 11 or 12, my dad actually wrote to the editor of Rugby World at the time, Paul Morgan, and was like, my son really wants to be a journalist, [have you] got some good advice?”
Joe Robinson is now the current editor of Rugby World, leading the 66-year-old magazine, but his journey started with work experience.
“Paul Morgan sent an e-mail my dad back and gave him three tips of advice which I still remember to this day: always keep writing, always watch rugby and always be in love with what you’re writing about.”
Day in the life of an editor
More than two decades later, Joe is 31 and remembers Morgan’s advice now sitting in his position, steering the magazine through its production process so each issue is ready on time for the printers.
“I always call it D-Day, which is the one day in the calendar where we have to send the whole magazine to the printers. That’s a non-negotiable day. It has to happen on that day. So are we in a position where we’re continuously getting to that point? Are we getting freelancers? Are they getting their copy into us on time? Have we got enough stories and enough content to fill the gap? Are we developing the cover with our art team?” Joe says.
Social media is also a focus for him, “it’s probably the biggest growth point in the seven or eight years I’ve been in journalism.”
Joe considers numerous questions around content: “How are we creating content that is going out on our social fields? Are we building an an engaged audience that we can transfer into different parts of our business that make more money? Are we creating video that is relevant and interesting? I have to do all that. I even do some of my own editing.”
Joe trusts his instincts when it comes to understanding audiences and what will capture their attention.
“I know that I’m good at understanding what people or audiences like and find interesting. I am able to create engaging and fun ideas around that.”
He believes the media often overcomplicates what makes content work.
“I think one of the biggest travesties in media at the moment is that we’re too quick to act before we think. And we don’t think, why is this interesting? Or would I read this? Would I watch this? Would I want to enjoy this? Too often, we’re following data and algorithms and being told ‘this sort of content does this sort of numbers, so we’ll do loads of content around that.’ And it’s like, no.
‘one of the biggest travesties in media is that we’re too quick to act before we think’
“You consume content on a day-to-day basis. The red thread through all of it is that you found it interesting. It wasn’t because it was this type of content or it was done in this way. You can be expressive and creative in developing content. But every newspaper article you read or every tweet you read or every Instagram post you engage with is because you found it interesting.
“I think people often overlook that for like, ‘what’s the data behind that? What’s the engagement rate? What’s the dwell time?’ It’s like, no, no, no, they found it interesting. That’s why it did well, because it was good content. So I tried to direct that mindset as much as possible.”
Life as an editor, which Joe admits can “have of madness for like three or four days, sometimes the evenings and weekends,” he has learned to savour his downtime — he closes his laptop and switches off.
Joe’s was shortlisted by the British Society of Magazine Editors for New Editor in their 2025 awards, and he says “it was cool to be recognised, gutted to miss out on the actual award, but there is always next time.”
“Everything I do day-to-day is around building the brand and making sure it’s in a healthy place and that everything else is doing well. So then when you get noticed, it’s a nice feeling.”
From work experience to editor
Joe studied history at Queen Mary, University of London between 2013 and 2016, during which he emailed many newspapers and magazines offering to work for free and Cycling Weekly gave him six weeks of work experience while finishing his degree.
After graduating, Joe freelanced while working in retail for a year before landing a digital writer role at Cyclist magazine in 2017.
“I ended up being there for five years and going from junior editor, junior web writer to leaving as digital editor in 2022.”
“But then I got charmed to the dark side and was offered a job in PR, which I went and did for two years,” Joes adds.
“in that time, I learned about the business side of the world. You don’t learn that as a journalist. You don’t think about numbers and money and having to afford stuff. Journalists just want to get the true stories.”
During his stint in PR, Joe heard about an opening at Rugby World: “I got a phone call from one of my old colleagues. He was like ‘I’ve heard that the editor position at Rugby World’s gone up. Fancy putting your name in the hat?'”
“I still remember them to this day: always keep writing, always watch rugby and always be in love with what you’re writing about.”
Joe interviewed for the role and was successful, he adds “I had a really strong sense of editorial and what I wanted the magazine to look like. But I understood the second side of the business, which was how modern journalism and modern content is financed and how we have to ultimately have a strategy that makes money.”
Taking on the role made Joe nervous, but to steady himself, he turned to a trusted contact. “I rang up Pete Newell, who was the editor at Cyclist when I was there. Pete’s been in the industry for probably 30 years now. I said, ‘look, can we go for a beer and can you tell me how to edit a magazine?’ We sat for a couple of hours, and I asked him question after question.”
Unpredictability in the modern media industry
Joe is candid about the unpredictable nature of modern media careers. “I think it’s hard in this industry because of how ever changing it is, particularly in the current climate with things like AI and social media. Our industry, even in the eight years that I’ve been in it, is vastly different to what it was when I joined.
“I think 20 years ago, you could have a kind of an idea in your head of the structure and the direction of travel you wanted to go in. Whereas now, no one knows what’s going to be popular,” Joe says.
He hasn’t forgotten what it’s like to be on the outside looking in and appreciates the advice he received from Paul Morgan.
“It made a big difference to me, so I make the effort if someone reaches out to freelance or pitch a story. I’ll always get back to them because I understand how horrible it can be when you’re hoping and waiting for a response. It only takes two seconds to come back to an e-mail.”