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Journalist vs sports editor

The differences between journalists 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 a journalist, becoming a sports editor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a journalist has an average salary of $60,828, which is higher than the $50,996 average annual salary of a sports editor.

The top three skills for a journalist include news stories, multimedia and story development. The most important skills for a sports editor are sports coverage, adobe indesign, and news stories.

Journalist vs sports editor overview

JournalistSports Editor
Yearly salary$60,828$50,996
Hourly rate$29.24$24.52
Growth rate-10%-5%
Number of jobs11,4885,845
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 85%
Average age4044
Years of experience24

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 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.

Journalist vs sports editor salary

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

JournalistSports Editor
Average salary$60,828$50,996
Salary rangeBetween $38,000 And $95,000Between $33,000 And $77,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NY-
Highest paying stateNew York-
Best paying companyBloomberg-
Best paying industryFinance-

Differences between journalist and sports editor education

There are a few differences between a journalist and a sports editor in terms of educational background:

JournalistSports Editor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 85%
Most common majorJournalismJournalism
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyNorthwestern University

Journalist vs sports editor demographics

Here are the differences between journalists' and sports editors' demographics:

JournalistSports Editor
Average age4044
Gender ratioMale, 46.6% Female, 53.4%Male, 85.2% Female, 14.8%
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, 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 journalist and sports editor 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

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

Journalist vs sports editor skills

Common journalist skills
  • News Stories, 15%
  • Multimedia, 11%
  • Story Development, 11%
  • Local Community, 7%
  • Edit Video, 5%
  • Local News, 4%
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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