Editorial writer vs staff reporter

The differences between editorial writers and staff reporters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an editorial writer and a staff reporter. Additionally, an editorial writer has an average salary of $54,192, which is higher than the $44,906 average annual salary of a staff reporter.

The top three skills for an editorial writer include editorials, SEO and opinion pieces. The most important skills for a staff reporter are news stories, event coverage, and feature stories.

Editorial writer vs staff reporter overview

	Editorial Writer	Staff Reporter
Yearly salary	$54,192	$44,906
Hourly rate	$26.05	$21.59
Growth rate	6%	-10%
Number of jobs	14,965	70,415
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 80%	Bachelor's Degree, 81%
Average age	46	40
Years of experience	2	2

Editorial writer vs staff reporter salary

Editorial writers and staff reporters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Editorial Writer	Staff Reporter
Average salary	$54,192	$44,906
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $77,000	Between $26,000 And $76,000
Highest paying City	Edison, NJ	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Virginia	New York
Best paying company	Qualcomm	VanEck
Best paying industry	-	Media

Differences between editorial writer and staff reporter education

There are a few differences between an editorial writer and a staff reporter in terms of educational background:

	Editorial Writer	Staff Reporter
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 80%	Bachelor's Degree, 81%
Most common major	English	Journalism
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Editorial writer vs staff reporter demographics

Here are the differences between editorial writers' and staff reporters' demographics:

	Editorial Writer	Staff Reporter
Average age	46	40
Gender ratio	Male, 44.1% Female, 55.9%	Male, 44.4% Female, 55.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 8.6% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 9.7% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	11%	10%

Differences between editorial writer and staff reporter duties and responsibilities

Editorial writer example responsibilities.

Manage website by uploading and scheduling articles, fixing errors, proofreading, optimizing for SEO, and polishing content.
Compose, edit and proofread copy for obituary and life celebration announcements.
Research, pitch ideas and write editorials daily, including a community award-winning editorial and recognition for a four-part editorial series.
Research and identify public-policy issues and craft the paper's editorial opinions.
Write and edit fiction and non-fiction text to accompany products release and distribute internationally.

Staff reporter example responsibilities.

Report to managing editor as member of editorial staff, contribute to newspaper editorials.
Utilize photography skills and assist editor with operations.
Perform copy editing, publicity and photography as needed.
Create multiple PL/SQL store procedures for generating daily and monthly reports for different medical requirements.
Report from red-carpet events, including: MTV

Editorial writer vs staff reporter skills

Common editorial writer skills

Editorials, 36%
SEO, 8%
Opinion Pieces, 7%
Editorial Content, 6%
Blog Posts, 5%
Press Releases, 4%

Common staff reporter skills

News Stories, 14%
Event Coverage, 12%
Feature Stories, 12%
News Articles, 6%
Conduct Interviews, 3%
Local Government, 3%

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Editorial Writer
Editorial Writer vs Staff Reporter

Updated January 8, 2025

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