How to hire a field reporter

How to hire a field reporter, step by step

Here's a step-by-step field reporter hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a field reporter job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new field reporter
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your field reporter job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a field reporter for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A field reporter's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, field reporters from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents field reporter salaries for various positions.

   Type of Field Reporter	Description	Hourly rate
   Field Reporter	Reporters, correspondents, and broadcast news analysts inform the public about news and events happening internationally, nationally, and locally. They report the news for newspapers, magazines, websites, television, and radio.	$18-57
   Journalist	A journalist is responsible for creating written correspondence, covering various subjects as the management requires. This task involves a lot of research investigations, conducting interviews, and gathering reliable sources to verify the authenticity of data before releasing the articles on news portals and other social platforms... Show more	$18-45
   Anchor	A news anchor is a journalist who informs the public through reports of events and news stories. News anchors educate the public about the world, local, and national events... Show more	$19-57

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Edit Video
   • Community Events
   • TV
   • News Reports
   • Conduct Interviews
   • Local News Stories
   • News Events
   • Facebook
   • Feature Stories
   • B-Roll
   • Writing Articles
   • Local Events
   • Photoshop
   • Drug Abuse

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Report to managing editor as member of editorial staff, contribute to newspaper editorials.
   • Assist in producing episodes for on campus television show for YouTube.
   • Contribute to the facebook, twitter, and instagram accounts on game days.
   • 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.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your field reporter job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A field reporter can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, field reporters' average salary in florida is 58% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level field reporters 68% less than senior-level field reporters.
   • Certifications. A field reporter with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a field reporter's salary.

   Average field reporter salary

   $67,849yearly

   $32.62 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level field reporter salary

   $38,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 25, 2025

4. Writing a field reporter job description

   A job description for a field reporter role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a field reporter job description:

   Field reporter job description example

   WJAR , Southern New England's News Leader , has an immediate opening for a full-time creative Digital/Social Media Field Reporter ! The candidate will be responsible for creating unique content with high engagement potential. Content will come from the field, armed with a cell phone or small camera, gathering stories not otherwise on broadcast but with high digital value. Content will also be gathered in-house. The successful candidate will identify stories that require added depth. This is a strategic position aimed at getting additional clicks on unique stories. The ideal candidate will have solid news judgment, be a compelling and accurate writer, and must be able to work in a fast-paced and deadline-driven environment.
   
   Requirements and Qualifications:
   
   The candidate must have at least 2 years of content creating experience at a television station or other digital newsgathering outlet. The candidate must also have strong leadership skills, excellent communication skills, and the ability to execute news strategies and daily goals as well as:
   

   • Ability to identify digitally relevant stories in the field and in the newsroom
   • Report on daily events, turning shareable content for NBC 10 digital and social platforms
   • Be adept at capturing content with a mobile phone or digital camera and editing on appropriate platforms
   • Capture search engine attention with headlines, thumb-stopper images, clipped video, and sound bites
   • Execute story formatting with photo galleries, embeds, pull quotes, and contextual links
   • Help plan coverage for big social events, including weather and the major New England sports teams
   • Work with on-air staff to improve their social media output, including training and feedback
   • Monitor social analytics to see where NBC 10 can improve
   • Utilize Avid, A dobe Premiere, and Photoshop to create shareable content
   • Candidate must be proficient with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and other emerging forms of social media
   • Digital photography skills are a must
   • Strong ability to multi-task

   
   When applying, please include a recent web link to your work.
   
   Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and Drug-Free Workplace!
   
   About Us
   
   Make your mark in Media with Sinclair Broadcast Group, a diversified media company dedicated to connecting people with content everywhere! We have consistently led the broadcast industry since our inception, and now Sinclair owns the largest regional sports network business and one of the largest television broadcast portfolios in the country. Also, we have affiliations with all of the major broadcast networks, our own Tennis Channel, and several multicast networks including TBD and Comet. Our content is distributed over-the-air, on multi-video providers, and through our industry-leading digital media platforms. We also recently launched a free TV streaming service called STIRR. Our success is the direct result of our extraordinary employees and management team who believe in our vision and are dedicated to ensuring a great future for our employees. We are advancing the world of Media and want YOU to join our winning team!
   
   About the Team
   
   The life-blood of our organization is our people. We have a compelling story, a goal-oriented culture, and we take really good care of people. How good? Here is a glimpse: great benefits, open-door policy, upward mobility and a strong desire to see you succeed. Ready to be part of a winning team? Let's talk.

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5. Post your job

   To find the right field reporter for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with field reporters they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit field reporters who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your field reporter job on Zippia to find and recruit field reporter candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as problogger, media bistro, journalismjobs.com, content writing jobs.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit field reporters, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new field reporter

   Once you have selected a candidate for the field reporter position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new field reporter first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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