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

What is a news assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A news assistant performs various tasks to support the activities in a newsroom, helping ensure the efficiency and smooth workflow of the workplace. Usually, they are aspiring news writers who have taken this entry-level position to climb up the ladder with enough time and experience.

The duties of a news assistant vary depending on their employer's needs, but in general, they perform tasks like organizing pieces of information for news production, editing photos and other media for publishing, managing the news outlet's social media sites, arranging interviews, and performing other errands given by their supervisor (which may include "intern" tasks like fetching lunch or preparing coffee).

The ideal background to have for this position is a four-year degree in journalism. However, graduates of communications or marketing degrees may also qualify for this role. Furthermore, an aspiring news assistant must work well under pressure, which is important in a fast-paced environment like a newsroom.

When it comes to salary, news assistants make around $52,000 a year on average. Over time, they may move up the career ladder and earn a higher salary, as well as more company perks.

ScoreNews AssistantUS Average

Salary

3.6

Avg. Salary $45,462

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.7

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.27%

Asian 7.06%

Black or African American 3.50%

Hispanic or Latino 7.89%

Unknown 4.56%

White 76.72%

Gender

female 58.71%

male 41.29%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.3

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a news assistant

Explore news assistant education requirements

Most common news assistant degrees

Bachelor's

82.1 %

Associate

7.8 %

Master's

5.8 %

Start to develop specific news assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Assignment Desk	8.44%
Video Content	8.35%
B-Roll	7.47%
Facebook	7.46%
Local News	7.32%

Complete relevant news assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New news 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 news assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real news assistant resumes.

Research news assistant duties and responsibilities

Manage campaign performance through data analysis and reporting, with actionable takeaways per designate KPI.
Act as a stand-in onset for CNN's anchors and guests.
Shoot and edit video for CNN.
Log and review all clips for newscast

Prepare your news assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your news 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 news 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 news assistant resume templates

Build a professional news 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 news assistant resume.