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

What is a news producer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Johnathan Paul

The news producer's commitments involve creating a newscast by bringing all the material gathered in that day, consulting the news director, and then applying the functionality and order to produce a well-flowing TV broadcast.

Their job duties include checking each story for grammar and accuracy and working closely with the production department. They are also liable for keeping in touch with field crews who collect news and timing various elements during a live broadcast to ensure the program ends at the right time. Some positions require them to write a script for each news anchor, while some news anchors prefer to write their own.

A news producer's career will require a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism, business, communication, or other related fields. This type of work also involves gaining experience in broadcast or a related industry. If you really aspire to become a news producer, you must have a solid understanding of TV production techniques. After you end up in this role, your base salary would range from $39,516 to $53,565, with an average base pay of $45,657.

What general advice would you give to a news producer?

Johnathan Paul

Adjunct Professor, University of North Texas

My number one piece of advice for soon-to-be or recent graduates is never to stop learning. I always strive to tell my students to be as diverse as possible. Don't just know one thing; in today's market, you need to know how to do several things. Diversify your tool palette. This will help you in the long run and may lead you to a career path you didn't realize existed.

ScoreNews ProducerUS Average

Salary

4.3

Avg. Salary $54,608

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.2

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 6.30%

Black or African American 7.76%

Hispanic or Latino 14.27%

Unknown 5.56%

White 65.94%

Gender

female 57.08%

male 42.92%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

9.2

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.5

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a news producer

Explore news producer education requirements

Most common news producer degrees

Bachelor's

90.0 %

Master's

4.8 %

Associate

3.3 %

Start to develop specific news producer skills

Skills	Percentages
Assignment Desk	10.23%
Control Room	8.73%
Story Development	7.93%
Social Media Sites	7.80%
Local News	5.80%

Complete relevant news producer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New news producers 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 producer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real news producer resumes.

Research news producer duties and responsibilities

Manage day-to-day completion activities including project planning and QA testing.
Produce daily local traffic reports for distribution to local radio and TV stations.
Produce TV documentaries that feature issues relate to sociology, psychology, and advertising.
Post news articles and web polls to WRGB s website, and update Facebook page.

Prepare your news producer resume

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

Build a professional news producer 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 producer resume.

Apply for news producer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a news producer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do news producers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

News producer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019

Pros

Every day was different, you meet a lot of new people, the events covered could be very exciting

Cons

Physically demanding, low pay and part time positions available to those just starting out, no health insurance, competitive, pressure to be available on call despite terms of contract