How To Become A Business Reporter: What It Is and Career Path

What is a business reporter and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Assistant Amy Eisman

A business reporter is a journalist that reports on the economy and business developments. They can work for the business section of local newspapers, for TV news segments, or for famous business newspapers like The Wall Street Journal.

Obviously, a business reporter needs to be a strong writer in order to write stories that both share information and captivate an audience. They also need to know a lot about the world of business in order to track down leads and build contacts that are willing to be sources for the next big story. However, in order to keep up with the changing media landscape, business reporters also need to be familiar with new technologies such as social media and software programs like InDesign to source and create their stories.

While it is possible to become a business reporter with only a high school degree, most employers prefer to hire someone with at least a bachelor's degree in journalism or a similar field. Potential candidates for this position can specialize in business journalism by taking internships on the business beat and working independently to follow financial news. Business reporters earn an average salary of $45,736 a year.

What general advice would you give to a business reporter?

Assistant Amy Eisman

Assistant Professor, American University

One skill is easy: be flexible. The technology is changing at lightning speed. At the moment, it helps to be strong at data journalism and understanding emergent technology, such as AI. Topic areas of interest include climate coverage, health and education. It also helps to be a great team player; the speed of news means you rarely work alone. Overall, make sure you embrace the basics in the field: accuracy, fairness, transparency, independence and accountability. Be a solid writer and an even better editor and producer. No one can predict what is next for technology. Employers therefore will look for people who uphold the values of the past, are enthusiastic about the present and are curious about the future.

ScoreBusiness ReporterUS Average

Salary

3.6

Avg. Salary $45,788

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate -10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.29%

Asian 9.54%

Black or African American 6.25%

Hispanic or Latino 12.31%

Unknown 4.35%

White 67.26%

Gender

female 45.87%

male 54.13%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.1

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.1

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a business reporter

Explore business reporter education requirements

Most common business reporter degrees

Bachelor's

81.4 %

Master's

12.5 %

Associate

3.9 %

Start to develop specific business reporter skills

Skills	Percentages
News Stories	28.10%
Business News	13.75%
Real Estate	8.86%
Facebook	7.74%
Edition	3.74%

Complete relevant business reporter training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New business reporters learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a business reporter based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real business reporter resumes.

Research business reporter duties and responsibilities

Manage the Facebook page for the newspaper.
Launch a social media presence for the section and coordinate Facebook chats.
Publish clips include health care trends in business, executive profiles, and start-up businesses' success stories.
Design overall content format to enhance SEO performance; company owner report dramatic improvement as a result of this change.

Prepare your business reporter resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your business reporter resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a business reporter resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable business reporter resume templates

Build a professional business reporter resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your business reporter resume.

Apply for business reporter jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a business reporter job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do business reporters rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Business reporter reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019

Cons

Physically demanding, low pay and part time positions available to those just starting out, no health insurance, competitive, pressure to be available on call despite terms of contract