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The differences between investigative reporters and journalists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an investigative reporter and a journalist. Additionally, an investigative reporter has an average salary of $65,230, which is higher than the $60,828 average annual salary of a journalist.
The top three skills for an investigative reporter include investigative journalism, investigative stories and facebook. The most important skills for a journalist are news stories, multimedia, and story development.
| Investigative Reporter | Journalist | |
| Yearly salary | $65,230 | $60,828 |
| Hourly rate | $31.36 | $29.24 |
| Growth rate | -10% | -10% |
| Number of jobs | 10,813 | 11,488 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An investigative reporter is a journalist who performs extensive research and analysis to build facts and current events into news stories. To make this possible, they must pursue leads relating to their subject, conduct interviews with witnesses or the people involved, travel to different places to gather pieces of evidence and other source materials, take videos or photographs, and coordinate with experts such as lawyers and doctors when necessary. Moreover, an investigative reporter must keep up with the latest trends in establishing news structures and news writing.
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. Journalists should have excellent communication skills, both written and oral, conveying information to the target audience with high accuracy and efficiency. They analyze opinions and testimonies, create eye-catching headlines, and ensure adherence to deadlines.
Investigative reporters and journalists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Investigative Reporter | Journalist | |
| Average salary | $65,230 | $60,828 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $104,000 | Between $38,000 And $95,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | HSBC Bank | Bloomberg |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between an investigative reporter and a journalist in terms of educational background:
| Investigative Reporter | Journalist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Journalism | Journalism |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between investigative reporters' and journalists' demographics:
| Investigative Reporter | Journalist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.0% Female, 51.0% | Male, 46.6% Female, 53.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 8.6% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.6% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |