News reporters gather and disseminate the news, whether in print or broadcast form and may cover anything, from local to global news and events. News reporters usually begin covering a story by gathering information via interviews and research. Then they write articles or scripts for broadcasts that clearly analyze, interpret and explain the information for the readers or viewers. News reporters must check their work for accuracy and update and make any necessary changes if conditions change or new details arise. A news reporter needs to establish credibility and form positive relationships with experts and contacts in various fields that provide them with information.

Many employers require that reporters have at least a bachelor's degree in journalism and some field experience. Typically, colleges offer 4-year Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degrees in journalism, with concentrations often available. Since experience is such an important component when it comes to hiring a journalist, many schools require that trainees complete one or more internships to gain hands-on experience in their desired specialization. As an intern or entry-level position, one can expect to earn an hourly wage of $11.30.

What Does a News Reporter Do

There are certain skills that many news reporters have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, computer skills and persistence.

Learn more about what a News Reporter does

How To Become a News Reporter

If you're interested in becoming a news reporter, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 82.9% of news reporters have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 5.7% of news reporters have master's degrees. Even though most news reporters have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a News Reporter

News Reporter Career Paths

Average Salary for a News Reporter

News Reporters in America make an average salary of $41,481 per year or $20 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $64,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $26,000 per year.
Average News Reporter Salary
$41,481 Yearly
$19.94 hourly

What Am I Worth?

salary-calculator

Roles and Types of News Reporter

The role of a news reporter includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general news reporter responsibilities:

  • Crafting news stories from press releases, industry studies
  • Develop and maintain contacts and sources in the community to enterprise story ideas identify
  • Creates storytelling that accurately informs, entertains

There are several types of news reporter, including:

Editor

Role:

Not a lot of people enjoy writing. So what's the opposite of writing? Editing. If you don't enjoy writing, maybe you will enjoy editing other people's mistakes. Maybe that red pen will become your best friend.

Essentially editors plan, review and revise content before it is released for publication. While most editors work in an office, there are a lot of remote opportunities for editors so maybe you could make your couch your home office.

  • Average Salary: $52,107
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Technical Writer

Role:

Technical writers have a specific area that they are very knowledgable about. And that means they're desperately sought after by companies. Not only are technical writers knowledgable about a certain subject, but they're able to write clearly about it, too. Talk about being talented.

A lot of the time, you'll review documents that may prove difficult to digest, due to technical terminology. However, with your expertise you should be able to figure it out in no time. And then, of course, write about it in a way that's digestable for the public.

Technical writing is a great job, due to how many jobs there are out there. You could be a technical writer for anything from an auto shop to the medical industry. Plus, the career is growing every day. You should see where technical writing can take you. We'll bet it'll surprise you.

  • Average Salary: $65,329
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Reporter

Role:

It is the reporter's responsibility to put across honest and trustworthy information to the public viewers or listeners as the case may be through different means like print and media. As a reporter, you must make certain that you gather essential and veritable data that is validated by interviews and remarks of those concerned and provides succinct and extensively illuminating materials within a designated time.

You must also effectively collaborate with every worker, remain proficient at all times, and obey the policies and regulations laid by the organization or network. You are also required to modify and review press releases and presentations and check many copies.

As a reporter, you must have good communication, research, problem-solving, and creative skills. You should also possess great attention to detail and digital literacy. Asides from this, you must have a bachelor's degree, although a master's degree can be used as an alternative. A reporter in the United States earns an average yearly salary of $41,720 or $20.06 per hour.

  • Average Salary: $46,667
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most News Reporter Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active news reporter jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where news reporters earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of News Reporter Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California811$46,425
2New York732$54,106
3Texas418$37,180
4Virginia374$42,761
5Florida318$40,093
6Maryland280$48,666
7Massachusetts251$44,327
8Illinois249$38,698
9Pennsylvania202$45,102
10North Carolina190$40,999
11Washington178$44,232
12Georgia170$39,086
13New Jersey160$53,113
14Oregon158$35,669
15Ohio135$44,698
16Missouri131$44,869
17Colorado129$35,292
18Michigan128$46,522
19Minnesota109$38,842
20Wisconsin104$36,610
21Arizona93$39,469
22Tennessee92$41,655
23Iowa76$38,159
24Utah71$34,573
25South Carolina71$34,122
26Indiana70$36,589
27Connecticut65$42,890
28Alabama63$37,591
29Nebraska61$35,478
30Kansas45$36,068
31Oklahoma42$39,715
32Kentucky40$47,187
33Arkansas39$40,414
34Louisiana37$40,816
35Nevada36$40,200
36New Mexico35$41,822
37Idaho32$32,009
38West Virginia30$39,321
39Wyoming28$35,188
40Alaska27$31,561
41New Hampshire24$42,012
42North Dakota22$35,676
43Rhode Island21$43,930
44Montana20$31,487
45Vermont19$47,787
46Hawaii18$36,727
47Mississippi18$36,196
48Delaware16$45,987
49Maine10$47,185
50South Dakota10$33,329

News Reporter Education

News Reporter Majors

7.7 %

News Reporter Degrees

Bachelors

82.9 %

Associate

6.9 %

Masters

5.7 %

Top Colleges for News Reporters

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,832

Enrollment

4,550

2. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

4. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

5. University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,184

Enrollment

30,845

6. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

7. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,816

Enrollment

21,047

8. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

9. Emory University

Atlanta, GA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,306

Enrollment

6,975

10. University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,610

Enrollment

40,329

Top Skills For a News Reporter

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 12.8% of news reporters listed digital marketing on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and computer skills are important as well.

  • Digital Marketing, 12.8%
  • Local Community, 10.4%
  • Facebook, 6.5%
  • Twitter, 6.1%
  • Develop Story Ideas, 5.0%
  • Other Skills, 59.2%

Choose From 10+ Customizable News Reporter Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use News Reporter templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your News Reporter resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

News Reporter Resume
News Reporter Resume
News Reporter Resume
News Reporter Resume
News Reporter Resume
News Reporter Resume
News Reporter Resume
News Reporter Resume
News Reporter Resume
News Reporter Resume
News Reporter Resume
News Reporter Resume
News Reporter Resume
News Reporter Resume
News Reporter Resume
News Reporter Resume

News Reporter diversity

News Reporter Gender Distribution

Female
Female
55%
Male
Male
45%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among news reporters, 55.0% of them are women, while 45.0% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among news reporters is White, which makes up 67.0% of all news reporters.

  • The most common foreign language among news reporters is Spanish at 47.1%.

Online Courses For News Reporter That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure  

1. Become a Journalist: Report the News!

coursera

This Specialization will develop and enhance your understanding of the global field of journalism. You'll learn best practices and ethical standards for newsgathering processes and compiling a news report through hands-on projects, peer-to-peer feedback, and issue exploration. You will also study journalism's impact on societal issues and trends, plus explore career opportunities in newspapers, magazine, social media, Internet multimedia, television, radio, corporate and community journalism...

2. Learn SSRS SQL Reporting & Business Intelligence Essentials

udemy
4.3
(954)

SQL Reporting using SSRS gives you hands-on knowledge to make great SQL reports with Business Intelligence essentials...

3. Beginners Crystal Reports 2013 & 2011 Tutorial Video

udemy
4.3
(691)

Learn How To Use Crystal Reports Quickly. A Comprehensive Crystal Reports Tutorial for Beginners. Covers 2013 & 2011...

Show More Online Courses For News Reporter
Job type you want
Full Time
Part Time
Internship
Temporary

Best States For a News Reporter

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a news reporter. The best states for people in this position are New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Vermont. News reporters make the most in New York with an average salary of $54,106. Whereas in New Jersey and Maryland, they would average $53,113 and $48,666, respectively. While news reporters would only make an average of $47,787 in Vermont, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. New York

Total News Reporter Jobs: 732
Highest 10% Earn:
$86,000
Location Quotient:
2.45

2. Vermont

Total News Reporter Jobs: 19
Highest 10% Earn:
$72,000
Location Quotient:
1.06

3. Maryland

Total News Reporter Jobs: 280
Highest 10% Earn:
$78,000
Location Quotient:
1.89
Full List Of Best States For News Reporters

How Do News Reporters Rate Their Jobs?

4/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

News Reporter Reviews

4.0
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


Working as a News Reporter? Share your experience anonymously.
Overall Rating*
Career Growth
Work/Life balance
Pay/Salary

Top News Reporter Employers

Most Common Employers For News Reporter

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Boston Magazine$77,134$37.0810
2The Associated Press$69,971$33.6412
3McGraw Hill$64,591$31.0516
4BuzzFeed$61,053$29.358
5The Daily Californian$57,039$27.429
6ViacomCBS$49,366$23.7331
7The State Press$48,019$23.0910
8iHeartMedia$47,632$22.908
9Npr$43,142$20.7410
10The Daily Illini$40,637$19.5413

News Reporter Videos