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Journalist vs news reporter

The differences between journalists and news reporters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a journalist and a news reporter. Additionally, a journalist has an average salary of $60,828, which is higher than the $41,481 average annual salary of a news reporter.

The top three skills for a journalist include news stories, multimedia and story development. The most important skills for a news reporter are digital marketing, local community, and facebook.

Journalist vs news reporter overview

JournalistNews Reporter
Yearly salary$60,828$41,481
Hourly rate$29.24$19.94
Growth rate-10%-10%
Number of jobs11,48811,609
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Average age4040
Years of experience22

What does a journalist do?

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.

What does a news reporter do?

News Reporters collect and analyze facts about newsworthy events through interview, investigation, or observation. They carry cameras and take photos and video footage of objects or places of potential significance.

Journalist vs news reporter salary

Journalists and news reporters have different pay scales, as shown below.

JournalistNews Reporter
Average salary$60,828$41,481
Salary rangeBetween $38,000 And $95,000Between $26,000 And $64,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYNew York, NY
Highest paying stateNew YorkNew York
Best paying companyBloombergThe Monitor Group
Best paying industryFinanceMedia

Differences between journalist and news reporter education

There are a few differences between a journalist and a news reporter in terms of educational background:

JournalistNews Reporter
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Most common majorJournalismJournalism
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Journalist vs news reporter demographics

Here are the differences between journalists' and news reporters' demographics:

JournalistNews Reporter
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 46.6% Female, 53.4%Male, 45.0% Female, 55.0%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 9.6% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between journalist and news reporter duties and responsibilities

Journalist example responsibilities.

  • Manage studio operations, ensuring that shows run efficiently by floor directing, prompting and providing scripts.
  • Partner closely with 13WHAM ABC Rochester.
  • Award regional EMMY for spot news.
  • Edit headline packages, kickers, bumps and topicals.
  • Update stories to web page, twitter, and facebook.
  • Used ENG trucks to distribute live news feeds during broadcasts.
  • Show more

News reporter example responsibilities.

  • Report to managing editor as member of editorial staff, contribute to newspaper editorials.
  • Conduct interviews, edit clips and stories, and announce stories/headlines on air.
  • Work with editors to deliver content in the appropriate style with an eye for SEO.
  • Operate digital recording equipment to film b-roll footage, interviews, and on camera reporting.
  • Drive online traffic through social networking, weaving SEO strategy into story copy, and frequent blogging.
  • Work independently gathering news stories, capturing audio sound clips for air, and writing news stories.
  • Show more

Journalist vs news reporter skills

Common journalist skills
  • News Stories, 15%
  • Multimedia, 11%
  • Story Development, 11%
  • Local Community, 7%
  • Edit Video, 5%
  • Local News, 4%
Common news reporter skills
  • Digital Marketing, 13%
  • Local Community, 10%
  • Facebook, 6%
  • Twitter, 6%
  • Develop Story Ideas, 5%
  • Instagram, 4%

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