How to hire a news writer

How to hire a news writer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step news writer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a news writer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new news writer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a news writer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The news writer hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect news writer also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of news writers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of News Writer	Description	Hourly rate
   News Writer	Reporters, correspondents, and broadcast news analysts inform the public about news and events happening internationally, nationally, and locally. They report the news for newspapers, magazines, websites, television, and radio.	$14-30
   Journalist	A journalist is responsible for creating written correspondence, covering various subjects as the management requires. This task involves a lot of research investigations, conducting interviews, and gathering reliable sources to verify the authenticity of data before releasing the articles on news portals and other social platforms... Show more	$18-45
   Editing Internship	An editorial intern is responsible for assisting the editorial department of an organization with publishing various media and digital content. Editorial interns shadow tenured editorial staff on researching stories, validating information, writing captivating articles, interviewing target audiences, and screening submitted manuscripts... Show more	$12-21

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • News Articles
   • ABC
   • SEO
   • Edit Video
   • Control Room
   • Twitter
   • Facebook
   • News Coverage
   • Assignment Desk
   • Newsgathering
   • Feature Stories
   • Deadline-Driven Environment
   • News Broadcasts
   • Entertainment News

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage transcription and queuing of b-roll tapes/interviews for live and pre-record broadcasts.
   • Manage the Instagram account, which mean publishing and keeping up to date with the articles.
   • Anchor news updates for top-rate, personality driven FM morning show.
   • Conduct interviews and create professional visuals with upcoming model and entertainers for lifestyle magazine publication.
   • Involve in newsgathering, show development and writing.
   • Used Photoshop and InDesign to adjust photos and paginate the newspaper.

   More news writer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your news writer job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A news writer salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, news writers' average salary in hawaii is 47% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level news writers earn 52% less than senior-level news writers.
   • Certifications. A news writer with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a news writer's salary.

   Average news writer salary

   $45,129yearly

   $21.70 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level news writer salary

   $31,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 28, 2025

   Average news writer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$64,820	$31
   2	New Jersey	$63,105	$30
   3	District of Columbia	$61,753	$30
   4	Washington	$55,572	$27
   5	Massachusetts	$54,974	$26
   6	Pennsylvania	$53,219	$26
   7	California	$49,791	$24
   8	Illinois	$49,604	$24
   9	Ohio	$49,215	$24
   10	Virginia	$48,856	$23
   11	Nevada	$48,018	$23
   12	Oregon	$44,027	$21
   13	Louisiana	$42,804	$21
   14	Arizona	$42,130	$20
   15	Texas	$40,698	$20
   16	Georgia	$40,639	$20
   17	Colorado	$39,949	$19
   18	Kansas	$39,589	$19
   19	Florida	$38,534	$19
   20	South Carolina	$36,583	$18

   Average news writer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	PitchBook Data	$59,055	$28.39
   2	Screen Rant	$54,441	$26.17	2
   3	Townsquare Media	$54,192	$26.05	3
   4	Fox News	$51,076	$24.56
   5	Sinclair Broadcast Group	$48,952	$23.53	153
   6	Dow Jones	$48,173	$23.16	15
   7	Worcester Polytechnic Institute	$47,779	$22.97
   8	Meruelo Media	$47,336	$22.76
   9	Cointelegraph	$46,964	$22.58
   10	WarnerMedia	$46,745	$22.47
   11	iHeartMedia	$46,669	$22.44	24
   12	Paramount	$44,681	$21.48	50
   13	Nexstar Media Group	$43,043	$20.69	183
   14	Audacy	$43,040	$20.69	29
   15	Warner Bros.	$42,475	$20.42	34
   16	BuzzFeed	$41,509	$19.96	2
   17	The New Republic	$41,276	$19.84
   18	The Walt Disney Company	$40,500	$19.47	19
   19	WMSN FOX 47 News, Madison	$39,635	$19.06	80
   20	Miami New Times	$39,230	$18.86	1

4. Writing a news writer job description

   A job description for a news writer role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a news writer job description:

   News writer job description example

   OVERVIEW OF THE COMPANY
   Fox TV Stations
   
   Fox Television Stations is one of the nation's largest owned-and-operated network broadcast groups, comprising 29 stations in 18 markets and covering over 37% of U.S. television homes. This includes seven duopolies in the top 10 markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Houston; as well as duopolies in Minneapolis, Phoenix, Orlando and Seattle.
   
   JOB DESCRIPTION
   MORNING SHOW LINE PRODUCER
   
   Responsible for organization and production of newscasts including show rundown, story selection and execution of show; Act as liaison between on-air talent and production and technical staffs. Familiarity with day-to-day operations of live television broadcast.
   
   Requirements:
   3-5 years live television production experience in this market preferred; Individual must be detail oriented, plugged into current events with an emphasis on health, business, lifestyle and entertainment topics. Research, book and produce individual segments within a newscast and then line produce the segments to air. Pre-interview guests, research topics and write scripts for live and recorded pieces, segments and studio guests. Must have control room booth skills. Individual must be able to work overnight shift along with flexible hours and weekends.
   
   We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with applicable law.
   
   At FOX, we foster a culture and environment where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. We are deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, including attracting, retaining, and promoting diverse talent across our company. We live in a diverse world, with different ideas and different perspectives that come together to spark new ideas and make great things happen. That means reflecting the diversity of the world around us is critical to our company's success. We ensure that our viewers, communities and employees feel heard, represented, and celebrated both on screen and off.Click here to learn more about the diverse communities of people behind our brands.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find news writers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any news writers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level news writers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your news writer job on Zippia to find and recruit news writer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as problogger, media bistro, journalismjobs.com, content writing jobs.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting news writers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new news writer

   Once you have selected a candidate for the news writer position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new news writer. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a news writer?