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The differences between investigative reporters and sports 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 investigative reporter and a sports reporter. Additionally, a sports reporter has an average salary of $96,119, which is higher than the $65,230 average annual salary of an investigative reporter.
The top three skills for an investigative reporter include investigative journalism, investigative stories and facebook. The most important skills for a sports reporter are twitter, facebook, and feature stories.
| Investigative Reporter | Sports Reporter | |
| Yearly salary | $65,230 | $96,119 |
| Hourly rate | $31.36 | $46.21 |
| Growth rate | -10% | -10% |
| Number of jobs | 10,813 | 4,296 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 87% |
| 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.
Sports Reporters gather appropriate information for writing and sharing sports news. They attend sporting events and interview sports personalities, such as athletes and coaches.
Investigative reporters and sports reporters have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Investigative Reporter | Sports Reporter | |
| Average salary | $65,230 | $96,119 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $104,000 | Between $67,000 And $136,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | - |
| Highest paying state | New York | - |
| Best paying company | HSBC Bank | - |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between an investigative reporter and a sports reporter in terms of educational background:
| Investigative Reporter | Sports Reporter | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 87% |
| Most common major | Journalism | Journalism |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo |
Here are the differences between investigative reporters' and sports reporters' demographics:
| Investigative Reporter | Sports Reporter | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.0% Female, 51.0% | Male, 79.1% Female, 20.9% |
| 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, 6.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 13.3% Asian, 8.5% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |