How To Become A Media Relations Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a media relations assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Tom Hallaq

A media relations assistant is responsible for helping create, design, and distribute promotional materials and marketing copies to clients and customers. They also handle a variety of administrative tasks under the media relations department.

To perform well in their job, a media relations assistant should be outgoing and presentable. They may help in assembling press kits, sending out press releases, handling social media accounts, and conducting media research. Keeping calendars and overseeing the timeline of events and campaigns are also some of the tasks handled by a media relations assistant.

A media relations assistant needs a bachelor's degree in communications or public relations plus relevant experience in the media relations industry. They may work in different industries under the advertising, media relations, or marketing department of a company.

To be successful in the industry, a media relations assistant needs core skills such as strong attention to detail, ability to follow current media and marketing trends, technology savvinness, and excellent communication skills.

What's a day at work look like for a media relations assistant?

Dr. Tom Hallaq

Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies, Internship Coordinator, Kansas State University

So many changes have been made on a temporary basis during the pandemic. While there is recognition that some of these alterations will stick, it is too early to tell which ones will and which ones won't. However, I believe that more employees will have options to work remotely, whether that be from their own homes or from communal office spaces away from the company headquarters.

With more remote work comes increased flexibility in work schedules. More employees will likely be able to adjust their workday to fit their personal preferences, leaving increased internal motivation to the individual employee. This new approach will come with its own set of challenges for management but could mean decreased control over subordinates and increased difficulty in employee evaluations - for better or worse.

ScoreMedia Relations AssistantUS Average

Salary

3.6

Avg. Salary $45,450

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.59%

Asian 5.34%

Black or African American 10.30%

Hispanic or Latino 12.17%

Unknown 5.11%

White 66.48%

Gender

female 58.15%

male 41.85%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a media relations assistant

Explore media relations assistant education requirements

Most common media relations assistant degrees

Bachelor's

80.4 %

Master's

8.1 %

Associate

6.9 %

Start to develop specific media relations assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Press Releases	17.19%
Athletics Website	11.65%
Press Conferences	4.40%
Alumni Events	3.91%
NCAA	3.82%

Complete relevant media relations assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New media relations assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a media relations assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real media relations assistant resumes.

Research media relations assistant duties and responsibilities

Manage athletic contest statistics using various programs including Dakstats and other software.
Calculate statistics for basketball, soccer, volleyball and baseball to later be publish online.
Assist in developing PowerPoint presentations, including graphs and charts.
Experience with all Microsoft office products, Photoshop, and accounting software.

Prepare your media relations assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your media relations assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a media relations assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable media relations assistant resume templates

Build a professional media relations assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your media relations assistant resume.