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News director vs producer

The differences between news directors and producers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a news director, becoming a producer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a producer has an average salary of $72,202, which is higher than the $57,534 average annual salary of a news director.

The top three skills for a news director include news content, news coverage and facebook. The most important skills for a producer are work ethic, video production, and client relationships.

News director vs producer overview

News DirectorProducer
Yearly salary$57,534$72,202
Hourly rate$27.66$34.71
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs13,11410,610
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 84%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age4040
Years of experience612

News director vs producer salary

News directors and producers have different pay scales, as shown below.

News DirectorProducer
Average salary$57,534$72,202
Salary rangeBetween $36,000 And $90,000Between $43,000 And $120,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkNevada
Best paying companyThe Washington PostMeta
Best paying industry--

Differences between news director and producer education

There are a few differences between a news director and a producer in terms of educational background:

News DirectorProducer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 84%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common majorCommunicationCommunication
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyHarvard University

News director vs producer demographics

Here are the differences between news directors' and producers' demographics:

News DirectorProducer
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 62.4% Female, 37.6%Male, 58.2% Female, 41.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.4% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.3% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage14%14%

Differences between news director and producer duties and responsibilities

News director example responsibilities.

  • Contribute freelance stories to: NPR, AP, UPI, CBS, NBC, and ABC radio networks.
  • Implement newsroom social media strategy targeting Facebook, twitter and push alerts.
  • Secure merchandise, tickets and trips for on-air giveaways
  • Provide on-line content for the station's website and Facebook page.
  • Direct various film styles from comedy and drama fiction to documen- taries.
  • Skil in following FCC guidelines and protecting station in all other legal aspects.
  • Show more

Producer example responsibilities.

  • Manage and augment existing budget with EP.
  • Manage production of a Sony HD motion graphics internal sales video.
  • Manage all union matters including, IASTE, DGA and AFTRA.
  • Prospect and generate new business through telemarketing leads, referrals, networking and cold leads.
  • Lead the creation of key titles including high profile X360 launch title and new NFL brand IP.
  • Manage and guide guest bloggers through the editing process, copy edit blogs and produce content in HTML.
  • Show more

News director vs producer skills

Common news director skills
  • News Content, 14%
  • News Coverage, 10%
  • Facebook, 6%
  • Twitter, 6%
  • Television Station, 5%
  • News Operation, 4%
Common producer skills
  • Work Ethic, 9%
  • Video Production, 6%
  • Client Relationships, 6%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • Cross-Selling, 6%
  • News Stories, 4%

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