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Correspondent vs beat reporter

The differences between correspondents and beat reporters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a correspondent and a beat reporter. Additionally, a correspondent has an average salary of $82,217, which is higher than the $65,737 average annual salary of a beat reporter.

The top three skills for a correspondent include news stories, news coverage and feature stories. The most important skills for a beat reporter are feature stories, twitter, and hard news stories.

Correspondent vs beat reporter overview

CorrespondentBeat Reporter
Yearly salary$82,217$65,737
Hourly rate$39.53$31.60
Growth rate-10%-10%
Number of jobs2,8352,133
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 86%
Average age4040
Years of experience22

Correspondent vs beat reporter salary

Correspondents and beat reporters have different pay scales, as shown below.

CorrespondentBeat Reporter
Average salary$82,217$65,737
Salary rangeBetween $50,000 And $134,000Between $36,000 And $117,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DC-
Highest paying stateNew Jersey-
Best paying companyAmerican Broadcasting Company-
Best paying industryMedia-

Differences between correspondent and beat reporter education

There are a few differences between a correspondent and a beat reporter in terms of educational background:

CorrespondentBeat Reporter
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 86%
Most common majorJournalismJournalism
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Correspondent vs beat reporter demographics

Here are the differences between correspondents' and beat reporters' demographics:

CorrespondentBeat Reporter
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 45.0% Female, 55.0%Male, 59.3% Female, 40.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 9.7% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.7% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between correspondent and beat reporter duties and responsibilities

Correspondent example responsibilities.

  • Lead reporting in Mongolia, representing AFP's regional headquarters in Beijing.
  • Manage constituent relations regarding financial services, housing, budget, judiciary, homeland security, and government oversight issues.
  • Develop Facebook strategy, execute launch and manage content.
  • Handle education, foreign affairs, judiciary and natural resources issues; assist with appropriations requests.
  • Process FHA, VA and correspondent disclosures.
  • Gain knowledge of interviewing, photography, and newsworthiness.
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Beat reporter example responsibilities.

  • Develop and write columns and editorials in the sports field as well as managed the blog website.
  • Update newspaper's Facebook account.
  • Cover issues relating back to health, writing print stories, producing broadcast video and photography.
  • Used twitter to monitor trending topics and reach out to points of contact to cover crime and jurisprudence.
  • Interview sources daily; coordinate frequently with editorial and photography departments.
  • Construct and edit web-published multimedia pieces that are featured on the university's athletic programs.
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Correspondent vs beat reporter skills

Common correspondent skills
  • News Stories, 17%
  • News Coverage, 11%
  • Feature Stories, 7%
  • Instagram, 6%
  • Financial Statements, 6%
  • Develop Story Ideas, 4%
Common beat reporter skills
  • Feature Stories, 17%
  • Twitter, 10%
  • Hard News Stories, 8%
  • Facebook, 6%
  • Photography, 6%
  • Press Conferences, 5%

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