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Desk reporter vs news reporter

The differences between desk reporters and news 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 desk reporter and a news reporter. Additionally, a desk reporter has an average salary of $72,636, which is higher than the $41,481 average annual salary of a news reporter.

The top three skills for a desk reporter include conduct interviews, feature stories and . The most important skills for a news reporter are digital marketing, local community, and facebook.

Desk reporter vs news reporter overview

Desk ReporterNews Reporter
Yearly salary$72,636$41,481
Hourly rate$34.92$19.94
Growth rate-10%-10%
Number of jobs26,37511,609
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Average age4040
Years of experience22

Desk reporter vs news reporter salary

Desk reporters and news reporters have different pay scales, as shown below.

Desk ReporterNews Reporter
Average salary$72,636$41,481
Salary rangeBetween $42,000 And $123,000Between $26,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City-New York, NY
Highest paying state-New York
Best paying company-The Monitor Group
Best paying industry-Media

Differences between desk reporter and news reporter education

There are a few differences between a desk reporter and a news reporter in terms of educational background:

Desk ReporterNews Reporter
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Most common majorJournalismJournalism
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Desk reporter vs news reporter demographics

Here are the differences between desk reporters' and news reporters' demographics:

Desk ReporterNews Reporter
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 48.5% Female, 51.5%Male, 45.0% Female, 55.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 9.5% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 9.6% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between desk reporter and news reporter duties and responsibilities

Desk reporter example responsibilities.

  • Report to managing editor as member of editorial staff, contribute to newspaper editorials.
  • Cooperate with metro reporters, graphic designers, and photojournalist to produce daily-base newspaper.
  • Interview up and coming Latino artists which generate significant increase in readership.

News reporter example responsibilities.

  • Report to managing editor as member of editorial staff, contribute to newspaper editorials.
  • Conduct interviews, edit clips and stories, and announce stories/headlines on air.
  • Work with editors to deliver content in the appropriate style with an eye for SEO.
  • Operate digital recording equipment to film b-roll footage, interviews, and on camera reporting.
  • Drive online traffic through social networking, weaving SEO strategy into story copy, and frequent blogging.
  • Work independently gathering news stories, capturing audio sound clips for air, and writing news stories.
  • Show more

Desk reporter vs news reporter skills

Common desk reporter skills
  • Conduct Interviews, 61%
  • Feature Stories, 39%
Common news reporter skills
  • Digital Marketing, 13%
  • Local Community, 10%
  • Facebook, 6%
  • Twitter, 6%
  • Develop Story Ideas, 5%
  • Instagram, 4%

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