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News assistant vs writer and editor

The differences between news assistants and writer and 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 writer and editor. Additionally, a writer and editor has an average salary of $61,482, 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 writer and editor are web content, blog posts, and press releases.

News assistant vs writer and editor overview

News AssistantWriter And Editor
Yearly salary$45,462$61,482
Hourly rate$21.86$29.56
Growth rate-5%-5%
Number of jobs7,13014,865
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 82%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

What does a news assistant do?

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.

What does a writer and editor do?

Writing is not an easy task, so a Writer and an Editor must work together to deliver quality content. A writer's role is to gather information to create a structured written material that would serve its purpose, whether for recreational or informational. Moreover, it is the Editor's responsibility to oversee and examine what the Writer has produced. From this, the Editor will provide feedback, corrections or suggestions, and guidelines that the Writer can follow to improve the material.

News assistant vs writer and editor salary

News assistants and writer and editors have different pay scales, as shown below.

News AssistantWriter And Editor
Average salary$45,462$61,482
Salary rangeBetween $33,000 And $62,000Between $36,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-Connecticut
Best paying company-Apple
Best paying industry-Internet

Differences between news assistant and writer and editor education

There are a few differences between a news assistant and a writer and editor in terms of educational background:

News AssistantWriter And Editor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 82%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common majorJournalismEnglish
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

News assistant vs writer and editor demographics

Here are the differences between news assistants' and writer and editors' demographics:

News AssistantWriter And Editor
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 41.3% Female, 58.7%Male, 40.0% Female, 60.0%
Race ratioBlack 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, 76.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between news assistant and writer and editor duties and responsibilities

News assistant example 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
  • Report, film, and edit news stories for the KTSW website and YouTube channel.
  • Compose and proofread material for publication.
  • Show more

Writer and editor example responsibilities.

  • Update website daily, manage Facebook/Twitter/ Instagram accounts.
  • Create articles featuring campus faculty and students, as well as lifestyle tips, and opinion editorials.
  • Work closely with magazine's editor-in-chief to hash out design ideas and content.
  • Gain 9k twitter followers in four months, and create a consistent fan base.
  • Assign stories to writers, edit them with SEO in mind, then post to proprietary CMS.
  • Pitch, write, and publish full length book/news relate articles-Edit and format images, SEO, HTML formatting
  • Show more

News assistant vs writer and editor skills

Common news assistant skills
  • Assignment Desk, 8%
  • Video Content, 8%
  • B-Roll, 7%
  • Facebook, 7%
  • Local News, 7%
  • News Coverage, 7%
Common writer and editor skills
  • Web Content, 23%
  • Blog Posts, 8%
  • Press Releases, 8%
  • Writing Articles, 3%
  • Feature Stories, 3%
  • Photography, 3%

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