SF magazine editor dies

[TomMazanec]

How do SF magazines handle this, especially if, via Murphy's Law, he/she dies suddenly at the worst possible time in the issue cycle?
How do they avoid a late issue?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

How do SF magazines handle this, especially if, via Murphy's Law, he/she dies suddenly at the worst possible time in the issue cycle?
How do they avoid a late issue?

I suspect it happens pretty rarely and, when it does, readers will be sympathetic to a late issue if the beloved editor has passed on.

 

[alexvss]

It's just an opinion, based on the perception of an outsider, but a big magazine has lots of editors--the editor-in-chief, the managing editor, just editors; and the publisher, who's the boss--so I think someone would still do the job if one those passed away. In a smaller magazine though, conducted by one single person, I don't know what would happen.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Certainly any large magazine would, as alexvss says, have a number of editors—and most likely a "chain of command." As upset as everyone would be by the death of their editor-in-chief I imagine that things would transition smoothly and the issue come out exactly on time. Very small magazines might be more of a problem with one person doing most of the work all by him- or herself—as well as possibly owning the publication, which could mean that the magazine might have to close down—but I think that the mid-size magazines would almost certainly have someone capable of stepping into the main editor's shoes. The transition might not go as smoothly as at a larger magazine, but I think with everyone pulling together and putting in extra time these would still manage to bring out the issue on time.