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Investigative reporter vs sports editor

The differences between investigative reporters and sports editors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an investigative reporter, becoming a sports editor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an investigative reporter has an average salary of $65,230, which is higher than the $50,996 average annual salary of a sports editor.

The top three skills for an investigative reporter include investigative journalism, investigative stories and facebook. The most important skills for a sports editor are sports coverage, adobe indesign, and news stories.

Investigative reporter vs sports editor overview

Investigative ReporterSports Editor
Yearly salary$65,230$50,996
Hourly rate$31.36$24.52
Growth rate-10%-5%
Number of jobs10,8135,845
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 85%
Average age4044
Years of experience24

What does an investigative reporter do?

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.

What does a sports editor do?

A Sports Editor is responsible for writing and editing sports and sports accessories. They assist reporters in writing and improving their work.

Investigative reporter vs sports editor salary

Investigative reporters and sports editors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Investigative ReporterSports Editor
Average salary$65,230$50,996
Salary rangeBetween $40,000 And $104,000Between $33,000 And $77,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NY-
Highest paying stateNew York-
Best paying companyHSBC Bank-
Best paying industryFinance-

Differences between investigative reporter and sports editor education

There are a few differences between an investigative reporter and a sports editor in terms of educational background:

Investigative ReporterSports Editor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 85%
Most common majorJournalismJournalism
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Investigative reporter vs sports editor demographics

Here are the differences between investigative reporters' and sports editors' demographics:

Investigative ReporterSports Editor
Average age4044
Gender ratioMale, 49.0% Female, 51.0%Male, 85.2% Female, 14.8%
Race ratioBlack 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, 3.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 6.1% White, 76.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%12%

Differences between investigative reporter and sports editor duties and responsibilities

Investigative reporter example responsibilities.

  • Report to managing editor as member of editorial staff, contribute to newspaper editorials.
  • Produce and edit clips for the newspaper website.
  • Perform employment, educational, mvr, and professional reference/license checks.
  • Edit video tape to create packages, perform on camera and in voiceovers.
  • Produce videos for DeSmogBlog including longer investigative pieces and short Facebook pieces design to be share.
  • Create headlines for print as well as headlines for the web that are search engine optimize (SEO).
  • Show more

Sports editor example responsibilities.

  • Achieve a strong visible social media presence to 9,000 plus followers on affiliate GameTimePA twitter.
  • Achieve worldwide coverage with one particular article criticizing racism in soccer.
  • Proofread and copy-edite all stories in sports section.
  • Use Facebook insights to measure audience engagement and health of posts.
  • Run twitter account during basketball and football games, updating scores periodically.
  • Beat writer for the UK women's basketball team and UK women's volleyball team.
  • Show more

Investigative reporter vs sports editor skills

Common investigative reporter skills
  • Investigative Journalism, 23%
  • Investigative Stories, 14%
  • Facebook, 10%
  • Story Development, 7%
  • News Coverage, 6%
  • Public Service, 6%
Common sports editor skills
  • Sports Coverage, 11%
  • Adobe Indesign, 8%
  • News Stories, 5%
  • Feature Stories, 5%
  • Editorial Content, 5%
  • Twitter, 5%

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