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The differences between news assistants and copy editors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a news assistant and a copy editor. Additionally, a copy editor has an average salary of $62,599, which is higher than the $45,462 average annual salary of a news assistant.
The top three skills for a news assistant include assignment desk, video content and b-roll. The most important skills for a copy editor are proofreading, house style, and digital publishing.
| News Assistant | Copy Editor | |
| Yearly salary | $45,462 | $62,599 |
| Hourly rate | $21.86 | $30.10 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 7,130 | 4,866 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 82% | Bachelor's Degree, 83% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
News assistants are professionals who are responsible for assisting editorial personnel in a broadcasting newsroom by compiling, dispensing, and filing news stories. These assistants must call people who are involved in news events to obtain more information or arrange for on-air interviews. They must assist in recording, editing, and playing back tapes of news stories using splicing machines and equipment to help columnists or commentators. News assistants must also work in control rooms to direct the presentation of news during the live broadcast.
The primary job of copy editors is to check for misspellings, incorrect punctuation, and consistency in typography, words, and style. They also act as fact-checkers, proofreaders, and project managers, overseeing the workflow and communicating with other departments. A copy editor's other duties and responsibilities include checking content for readability and compliance with editorial policies, rewriting text to improve readability and clarity, and arranging page layouts of articles, photos, and advertisements. Formal training is not required for this role, but copy editors generally have a firm grasp and love for the English language's proper usage.
News assistants and copy editors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| News Assistant | Copy Editor | |
| Average salary | $45,462 | $62,599 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $62,000 | Between $39,000 And $98,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | PayPal |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a news assistant and a copy editor in terms of educational background:
| News Assistant | Copy Editor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 82% | Bachelor's Degree, 83% |
| Most common major | Journalism | English |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between news assistants' and copy editors' demographics:
| News Assistant | Copy Editor | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.3% Female, 58.7% | Male, 39.2% Female, 60.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.1% White, 76.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 7.3% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |