Newspaper writer vs staff reporter

The differences between newspaper writers and staff reporters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a newspaper writer and a staff reporter. Additionally, a newspaper writer has an average salary of $53,083, which is higher than the $44,906 average annual salary of a staff reporter.

The top three skills for a newspaper writer include adobe indesign, editorials and conduct interviews. The most important skills for a staff reporter are news stories, event coverage, and feature stories.

Newspaper writer vs staff reporter overview

	Newspaper Writer	Staff Reporter
Yearly salary	$53,083	$44,906
Hourly rate	$25.52	$21.59
Growth rate	-10%	-10%
Number of jobs	10,512	70,415
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 81%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	2	2

Newspaper writer vs staff reporter salary

Newspaper writers and staff reporters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Newspaper Writer	Staff Reporter
Average salary	$53,083	$44,906
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $74,000	Between $26,000 And $76,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	VanEck
Best paying industry	-	Media

Differences between newspaper writer and staff reporter education

There are a few differences between a newspaper writer and a staff reporter in terms of educational background:

	Newspaper Writer	Staff Reporter
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 81%
Most common major	Communication	Journalism
Most common college	Northwestern University	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Newspaper writer vs staff reporter demographics

Here are the differences between newspaper writers' and staff reporters' demographics:

	Newspaper Writer	Staff Reporter
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 43.6% Female, 56.4%	Male, 44.4% Female, 55.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.7% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 9.7% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between newspaper writer and staff reporter duties and responsibilities

Newspaper writer example responsibilities.

Manage the Instagram account, which mean publishing and keeping up to date with the articles.
Proofread all columns before being publish, train new employees, write opinion and news columns.
Create and envision editorials for the publication.
Coordinate and conduct interviews with article subjects, and maintain constant communication with editor-in-chief.
Create story and editorial ideas to give to writers, to help generate interest and ensure circulation of the paper.
Coordinate and conduct interviews with article subjects, and maintain constant communication with editor-in-chief.

Staff reporter example responsibilities.

Report to managing editor as member of editorial staff, contribute to newspaper editorials.
Utilize photography skills and assist editor with operations.
Perform copy editing, publicity and photography as needed.
Create multiple PL/SQL store procedures for generating daily and monthly reports for different medical requirements.
Report from red-carpet events, including: MTV

Newspaper writer vs staff reporter skills

Common newspaper writer skills

Adobe Indesign, 15%
Editorials, 15%
Conduct Interviews, 15%
News Articles, 14%
Adobe Photoshop, 9%
Writing Articles, 9%

Common staff reporter skills

News Stories, 14%
Event Coverage, 12%
Feature Stories, 12%
News Articles, 6%
Conduct Interviews, 3%
Local Government, 3%

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Newspaper Writer
Newspaper Writer vs Staff Reporter

Updated January 8, 2025

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