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.
Journalist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real journalist resumes:
- 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.
- Have also publish short fiction in magazines and literary journals.
- Shoot with Sony HD digital camera and JVC HD GY-HM100V.
- Prepare broadcasts for review by senior officers and DOD staff.
- Promote from weekend MMJ to Monday through Friday night side reporter.
- Provide magazine consultation for startup English-language magazines in Cairo, Egypt.
- Capture photos for the articles and also edit the photos in Photoshop.
- Research and utilize strategic keywords for SEO to reach the largest audience possible.
- Create compelling, on topic headlines with an eye toward SEO best practices.
- Run a small freelance business writing biographies and promotional materials for artists, collectives, and labels.
Journalist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Journalists are proficient in News Stories, Multimedia, and Story Development. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Computer skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Journalists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- News Stories, 15%
Covered investigative and community news stories and contributed photographs for publication in the weekly print and online publications.
- Multimedia, 11%
Constructed and edited web-published multimedia pieces that were featured on the university's athletic programs.
- Story Development, 11%
Managed story development including collecting information, conducting interviews, and selecting photos.
- Local Community, 7%
Reported on political and educational issues and human interest stories of local community interest Productivity: 25 front page stories
- Edit Video, 5%
Trained reporters and photojournalists to edit video and use video cameras professionally.
- Local News, 4%
Reported, curated quality content using both traditional, innovative digital applications providing online-only coverage for hyper-local news website.
Common skills that a journalist uses to do their job include "news stories," "multimedia," and "story development." You can find details on the most important journalist responsibilities below.
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a journalist to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what journalists do because "reporters, correspondents, and broadcast news analysts must be able to report the news." Additionally, a journalist resume shows how journalists use communication skills: "provide photographic coverage and create multimedia pieces about the research made by the bankcommunications team in latin america and the caribbean. "
Computer skills. Many journalist duties rely on computer skills. "journalists should be able to use editing equipment and other broadcast-related devices," so a journalist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways journalist responsibilities rely on computer skills: "trained myself on computer graphic and reconnaissance photography. "
The three companies that hire the most journalists are:
- Sinclair Broadcast Group93 journalists jobs
- Gray Television60 journalists jobs
- Nexstar Media Group41 journalists jobs
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Compare different journalists
Journalist vs. Associate editor
The primary role of an Associate Editor is to ensure that subordinates submit high-quality content. They review and edit copies, set deadlines, and supervise the production details of magazines, newspapers, books, or websites.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a journalist are more likely to require skills like "excellent interpersonal," "multimedia," "local community," and "edit video." On the other hand, a job as an associate editor requires skills like "wordpress," "edit content," "proofreading," and "google analytics." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Associate editors tend to make the most money working in the media industry, where they earn an average salary of $53,230. In contrast, journalists make the biggest average salary, $64,488, in the finance industry.associate editors tend to reach similar levels of education than journalists. In fact, associate editors are 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Journalist vs. Content editor
A content editor is an individual who is responsible for proof-reading articles written by content writers and write blog posts to promote the products and services of an organization. Content editors are responsible for producing monthly newsletters and optimize written pieces to increase user engagement. They need to interact with the consumers with the purpose of sourcing feedback on the content's impact actively. Content editors must also conduct business research on current trends to give the company an edge over the competition.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, journalist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "excellent interpersonal," "multimedia," "local community," and "edit video." Meanwhile, a content editor has duties that require skills in areas such as "digital content," "digital marketing," "wordpress," and "video content." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, content editors earn a higher salary than journalists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, content editors earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $67,034. Whereas journalists have higher pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $64,488.content editors earn similar levels of education than journalists in general. They're 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for journalists in the next 3-5 years?
Aaron Moore Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Journalism; Director of Internship Program, Rider University
Journalist vs. News editor
A News Editor reviews and changes the content of a publication provided by writers and other contributors. They generally work for newspapers, magazines, and websites.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, journalists are more likely to have skills like "excellent interpersonal," "multimedia," "local community," and "edit video." But a news editor is more likely to have skills like "news website," "edit stories," "editorial content," and "adobe indesign."
News editors earn the highest salary when working in the professional industry, where they receive an average salary of $63,412. Comparatively, journalists have the highest earning potential in the finance industry, with an average salary of $64,488.When it comes to education, news editors tend to earn similar degree levels compared to journalists. In fact, they're 3.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Journalist vs. Editing internship
An editorial intern is responsible for assisting the editorial department of an organization with publishing various media and digital content. Editorial interns shadow tenured editorial staff on researching stories, validating information, writing captivating articles, interviewing target audiences, and screening submitted manuscripts. They also assist in planning promotional strategies and marketing campaigns, such as monitoring press releases, posting on social media platforms, and developing marketing materials. An editorial intern must have excellent organizational skills, most importantly, a fast-learner to understand complex tasks and perform assigned duties under minimal supervision.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between journalists and editing interns, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a journalist might have more use for skills like "excellent interpersonal," "multimedia," "story development," and "local community." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of editing interns require skills like "video footage," "adobe premiere pro," "video production," and "adobe indesign. "
The average resume of editing interns showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to journalists. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 5.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 1.1%.Types of journalist
Updated January 8, 2025
