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Job outlook for newspaper writers in the United States
Are newspaper writer jobs in demand?
Newspaper writer job and salary trends over time
Newspaper writer jobs over time
Newspaper writer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 96 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 102 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 108 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 96 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 100 | 0.00% |
Average newspaper writer salary over time
Newspaper writer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $53,083 | $25.52 | +3.5% |
| 2024 | $51,282 | $24.66 | +3.0% |
| 2023 | $49,811 | $23.95 | +4.8% |
| 2022 | $47,529 | $22.85 | +4.1% |
| 2021 | $45,658 | $21.95 | +4.0% |
Newspaper writer jobs by state
Most common states for newspaper writers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 137 | 20% |
| 2 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 245 | 4% |
| 3 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 24 | 4% |
| 4 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 271 | 3% |
| 5 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 223 | 3% |
| 6 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 136 | 3% |
| 7 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 82 | 3% |
| 8 | Delaware | 961,939 | 25 | 3% |
| 9 | Alaska | 739,795 | 21 | 3% |
| 10 | Vermont | 623,657 | 19 | 3% |
| 11 | California | 39,536,653 | 778 | 2% |
| 12 | New York | 19,849,399 | 308 | 2% |
| 13 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 215 | 2% |
| 14 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 167 | 2% |
| 15 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 161 | 2% |
| 16 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 147 | 2% |
| 17 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 103 | 2% |
| 18 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 55 | 2% |
| 19 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 21 | 2% |
| 20 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 20 | 2% |
Newspaper Writer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of newspaper writer experts
University of San Francisco
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Molloy College
University of Richmond
Ursinus College
Saint Anselm College
Grand Valley State University
Indiana University Kokomo
California State University - Fullerton
York College of Pennsylvania
Metropolitan State University
University of Baltimore
Ohio Wesleyan University
Pepperdine University
What Newspaper Writer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Nicole Walker: AI is the current threat to creative careers, but I believe that English majors will be highly sought after to write and communicate in distinct voices. English majors learn tone, nuance, metaphor, subtly. Hone those skills because those are things AI cannot just algorithmically recreate.
What will help Newspaper Writers increase their earning potential?
Nicole Walker: English majors make it clear what's going on in other disciplines, in other sectors, in other businesses, and in government and politics. We are the great connectors between people and between ideas.
What will help Newspaper Writers increase their earning potential?
Dean Rader: There is an interesting study I saw recently that shows how humanities majors tend to start out with a lower beginning salary than most other fields. However, in five years, their salaries and their job satisfaction are higher than those from many other disciplines. English majors who can do another thing, who minor in marketing or who can do coding or Web design often have an easier time landing that first job. But, I also often recommend a graduate degree. That may sound counterintuitive given the reports out there about how college and graduate school admissions are plummeting; however, if fewer people are going to graduate school--especially in the humanities--there could very well be a deficit of people in the workforce with advanced training. If you can get an MBA or a JD or a master's without going into too much debt, research shows it pays off down the road.
Liam Callanan
professor, EnglishUniversity of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
English Language And Literature
What general advice would you give to a Newspaper Writer?
Liam Callanan: Be the best writer on the team. And avoid multiple exclamation points!!! Better yet, avoid them altogether. Better to be your own singular exclamation point.
What will help Newspaper Writers increase their earning potential?
Liam Callanan: Read. Read everything, including, especially, things on paper—books, magazines, newspapers. Paper-based reading exercises your focus muscles and broadens your mind.
What general advice would you give to a Newspaper Writer?
Katherine Kim Ph.D: -Again, it depends on the field, as jobs that center on skills you learn by being an English major vary widely. If it is jobs in teaching and studying English language and literature, then being open to interdisciplinary work and the digital humanities/new media will continue to be important. Studying English already requires a certain level of interdisciplinary work, and technology keeps adding to the ways people interact and circulate ideas. In addition, learning how to communicate clearly and understand/interpret what others communicate will always be vital. Given the divisiveness that exists in this world, understanding different perspectives and being able to communicate well with those who hold those perspectives will continue to be important in the field and beyond it.
What Newspaper Writer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Katherine Kim Ph.D: -You should have your application documents polished and organized. In addition, students can take advantage of opportunities to highlight themselves while still in school. For instance, getting published in a school literary magazine, heading a school-sponsored literature club or author event, or working for a school (or outside) publication can show your skills and interests before you even apply for full-time positions. Also, part of the situation deals with striking a balance between how you want to be desired by the person doing the hiring and how you want to show desire for the position. While you want to cast a wide net sometimes when looking for jobs, you also want to put in that extra effort with the applications for jobs that would be really great fits. If the hiring person and you both see how well you would fit in the position, that can help make the case for trying to secure you for the job!
What will help Newspaper Writers increase their earning potential?
Katherine Kim Ph.D: -I think it depends on what field you are discussing, as 'English' doesn't necessarily need to be seen as a field (unless you are speaking of teaching or studying English language or literature). However, I can say that the great thing about an English degree is that it can be beneficial for people to have in a variety of fields. In fact, for quite a few years now, people in fields like business have been wanting new hires with better communication, writing, interpersonal interaction, and close analysis skills, as well as mental flexibility, than they have been seeing. These are all skills that can be practiced and honed through being an English major! Sometimes people think of English degrees as useful only if someone is going to teach English, but that is definitely not the case!
Justin Wigard
Postdoctoral Research FellowUniversity of Richmond
Rhetoric And Composition/Writing Studies
What will help Newspaper Writers increase their earning potential?
Justin Wigard: Writing graduates are primed to quickly, innately, analyze many forms of communication. Learning the fundamentals of writing and rhetoric gives you the capacity to work in any written genre and context. My advice would be to read deeply and widely! Read poetry and nonfiction, study business memos and film scripts, annotate law briefs and scholarly monographs. The more you read, the more styles and approaches to writing you’ll be familiar with. Likewise, I would recommend writing constantly, and getting as much feedback from your peers, faculty members, and writing center consultants as you can. That way, you’ll get used to editing, revising, and publishing. Most of your courses will require writing of some kind. Use each class as an opportunity to practice your writing experiences. Follow up with your professors afterward to continue honing those skills. Lastly, think about how you can extend those writing skills beyond the classroom. Explore opportunities contribute your writing skills with faculty mentors, student organizations, local newspapers or publications, and even community groups.
Jay Shelat
Ursinus College
English Language And Literature
What Newspaper Writer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jay Shelat: The skills that will be important in the next three to five years are literacy, writing, and analysis. These are helpful skills for whichever job you might have.
Dr. Joshua Potter
Assistant Professor of PracticeSaint Anselm College
English Language And Literature
What general advice would you give to a Newspaper Writer?
Dr. Joshua Potter: The best way to maximize your potential growth, both in terms of salary and long-term fulfillment, is to find a line of work that meets your interests and inspirations. This will catalyze creativity, unlock new skills and unforeseen directions through the broader economy. We are living in times of incredible change and transition; the path that is currently visible may be gone tomorrow; being prepared to make orthogonal moves when opportunities open and close is imperative for any line of work. English majors, however, are especially well prepared to do this.
What Newspaper Writer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Joshua Potter: This may sound counterintuitive, given the way that AI is currently being heralded as a paradigm-shifting technology, but writing is a foundational skill that will remain the bedrock of human communication, storytelling, news reporting, public relations, multimedia production, cultural interpretation, advocacy, and countless other domains of human life and labor. Rather than obsolesce writing, automation technologies are going to demand a sharper, more incisive, form of reading and a more expansive, creative form of writing to reassert the irreducible value of human thought.
What will help Newspaper Writers increase their earning potential?
Dr. Joshua Potter: Follow your passion, use your intuition, and be creative. A humanistic education, especially within the discipline of English, prepares you to be a clear communicator, critical thinker, empathic builder of relationships, and creative wayfinder through shifting cultural landscapes. It is imperative to stay nimble, assert oneself into social institutions and fields of work that stoke one’s inspiration, and be prepared to help build fields and institutions that don’t yet exist.
Laurence José PhD
Associate Professor of Writing and Director of the Digital Studies MinorGrand Valley State University
Rhetoric And Composition/Writing Studies
What general advice would you give to a Newspaper Writer?
Laurence José PhD: The easy answer here is writers write. But admittingly this can mean different things since writing takes different forms and involves different tasks. At the minimum, writing requires reading, brainstorming, drafting, and editing. But it can also require tasks such as conducting field research, analyzing data and documents, providing and receiving feedback, conducting interviews, tailoring content to different media, etc. In other words, what a writer does on a day-to-day basis is highly dependent on the genre(s) in which they write and the context in which they work. Whether one identifies as a creative writer, business writer, or technical writer, a writer creates and shapes meanings that must appeal to a specific audience in a specific context.
What Newspaper Writer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Laurence José PhD: Writing enables us to understand and act on the world around us. In this way, Writer has always been an important profession. But today, the information overload that comes with the digital age amplifies the need for people with skills to make content relevant and accessible for different audiences. This includes writing for social media contexts, crafting stories for a blog or news website, translating a text-based document into an infographic, writing a podcast script, designing slides for a presentation, or synthesizing research findings via a report for decision makers. These skills are relevant in different job sectors. In many ways, the rise of generative AI and the spread of misinformation makes the need for writers and information literacy skills even more prominent.
What general advice would you give to a Newspaper Writer?
Jim Coby: I think that there's a tendency for recent graduates, regardless of their major, to undervalue their skillsets and abilities. Be confident! You weren't simply given a degree; you earned your degree, and you did so by developing and employing a number of significant skills. In the case of English majors, you're a creative thinker who works well with others, can perform research and assess the validity of sources; you can connect disparate ideas by seeking out common grounds, and you can craft thoughtful and robust arguments by synthesizing large amounts of information. On top of all of that, you've become skilled in presenting your ideas in accessible, cogent arguments. If you had an internship or worked during your time in college, you can absolutely leverage those experiences on your resume. But even if you didn't, your classroom experience provided you with invaluable skills. Think back on those formative classroom experiences and be prepared to use them to buttress your answers in an interviewing setting. The more evidence you can provide of your expertise, the stronger a chance you have at securing a lucrative and fulfilling job.
What will help Newspaper Writers increase their earning potential?
Jim Coby: A degree in English does not necessarily provide you with a 1 to 1 employment opportunity. Unlike, say, engineering students, who will most likely move into engineering as an occupation, English majors do not necessarily end up English teachers. Many do, but most don't. Instead, it's useful to think of your employment search more broadly. If you've taken a number of classes in literary studies, then you're likely skilled in locating several points of evidence and making strong arguments with that evidence. You're going to be taking those skills in order to make a case for yourself. Think on the skills you've gained over the years, how you developed those skills, examples of time when you employed those skills, and ways you can improve those skills. Considering yourself as a fully fleshed out "round" character (akin to those you've read so much about) in your own storyline may well help you to conceive of novel and interesting employment opportunities.
What general advice would you give to a Newspaper Writer?
Irena Praitis: There’s a major concern that AI will be replacing people in a number of areas. People working with people—as leaders, collaborators, communicators, planners—those educated in the humanities, might possibly be in increasing demand. There are few areas of life more complicated than understanding and working with people. That’s what a degree in English begins to prepare someone for—that complication at the heart of human nature and how to begin to understand it and work with it.
What general advice would you give to a Newspaper Writer?
Dr. Gabriel Cutrufello: *Recent college graduates entering the writing field should be open to experiences and positions outside their comfort zone and welcome challenges. There are so many types of writing jobs that someone entering the field should be open to various positions and organizations to find the one where they can be most successful and develop their skill set.*
What will help Newspaper Writers increase their earning potential?
Dr. Gabriel Cutrufello: *Recent college graduates looking to enter the writing field can maximize their early career salary potential by demonstrating the hard and soft skills they have developed during their degree work. Portfolios that show what one can already do on the job successfully help make the argument for a higher starting salary. Early career writers should also look for ways to develop their skill sets and take advantage of further education opportunities like micro-credentials and workshops. Furthermore, they should continue looking for new challenges with their employer to help them develop and showcase these skills.*
What general advice would you give to a Newspaper Writer?
Gabriel Aguilar PhD: For graduates entering a tenure-track position, the best advice I can give is to write. My mentors taught me the rule of three: have on piece in peer review, have another that you're working on, and have an idea of what you want to write about next. I find that the best way to sustain this rule is to write, every day, little by little. My routine is to sit down for one hour each day and write something. Sometimes that's three sentences. Other times, it's three pages. But whatever the production, you will find yourself with an article or book chapter sooner rather than later. And publications are the name of the game.
What will help Newspaper Writers increase their earning potential?
Gabriel Aguilar PhD: Department chairs will be the first to tell you in a job interview that salary compression is a real thing when making new hires. The starting salary for an Assistant Professor might eclipse the current salary of tenured Associate Professors, but that's just how the market is. I would recommend that candidates to have multiple offers before negotiating a contract. You may be able to bump the salary up a bit which is great because raises and retirement contributions are calculated from percentages from base salary. If a candidate can't and doesn't have multiple offers, then I recommend looking at other non-salary negotiations such as startup funds, course releases, and moving funds.
Dr. Belo Cipriani
Metropolitan State University
Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
What general advice would you give to a Newspaper Writer?
Dr. Belo Cipriani: When employers are looking to hire a writer or content creator they review work samples. As a result, I encourage my students to try to secure more than one internship while in our program. Likewise, I recommend that they consider doing volunteer work with a local nonprofit, as this will help them grow their portfolio of writing credits. I’ve been teaching for 15 years and I have seen many students cut their job search in half and receive higher starting pay by dedicating time to build long lists of projects they can show to potential employers.
What Newspaper Writer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Belo Cipriani: Creative writing has many applications and I have former students who work for newspapers, video game companies, film studios, as writing teachers in the K-12 system, and as content creators for politicians. Thus, the primary skill I encourage my students to focus on as they enter the workforce is adaptability. Whether it’s the tools that one is using, or how an industry needs to shift to meet a need, the workplace is always changing and one needs to not just be open to change, but embrace it.
What will help Newspaper Writers increase their earning potential?
Dr. Belo Cipriani: Students who take my courses graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing. Many of them dream of working for large media companies and publications. I encourage them to in addition to applying to jobs with the big players, to also look at jobs with smaller organizations, as this will help them cast a wider net. I explain to them that by being open to working at a smaller business they will be shortening their job search. Moreover, I relate that many writers at major brands got their start with a lesser known company, but eventually found themselves with their dream employer.
What general advice would you give to a Newspaper Writer?
Betsy Boyd: Social media savvy as social evolves; navigating the conversation regarding AI; good writing and improving your writing and communication skills, always important. Brave journalism is going to be key.
What general advice would you give to a Newspaper Writer?
Anna Mae Duane: The idea that English majors are not in demand is a myth—don’t harm your own chances by buying into it! There are numerous studies—and countless employer testimonies—that indicate how valuable your skills as an English major are. English majors consistently find work in a variety of fields, and perhaps even more important, alumni of English departments report that they find their jobs and lives rewarding. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 'what sets two equally qualified job candidates apart can be as simple as who has the better communication skills.' You are, in many ways, ahead of the game in comparison to others in your cohort. I’d also urge English majors to think broadly about their career options. Yes, fields like journalism, publishing and advertising all rely on the skills developed in English departments. But other employers, particularly in tech companies, have realized how valuable English majors can be to their organization. As a recent report in Fortune indicates, top executives in AI at IBM and elsewhere realize that having expertise in the Humanities is an essential component for success in their field.
What general advice would you give to a Newspaper Writer?
Sarah Graves Ph.D.: Many wrongly assume that a degree in English is a dead end. But that's only because the career potential isn't as immediately obvious as something like, say, a degree in computer science or accounting. The truth is that English majors can do almost anything. Of course, they can become teachers or enter writing-related fields, such as journalism, editing, or publishing. But tons of CEOs are English majors, as are those in business-related fields, such as marketing, brand strategy, and social media management. Even most tech companies hire English majors. That's because computer science majors might be experts in coding, but English majors excel at humanizing the end product, like making chatbots sound more human. In fact, the areas where English majors excel are those most in-demand by employers: communication, creativity, critical thinking, and empathy.
What general advice would you give to a Newspaper Writer?
Lisa Smith Ph.D.: Despite the new prevalence of artificial intelligence and what that technology means for the workplace, talented writers will always be in demand. To maximize your opportunities in the field of writing, diversify your undergraduate coursework as much as possible, taking classes in professional writing, creative writing, technical writing, and academic/expositional writing. If opportunities for internships exist, take advantage of those, along with embracing writing courses that include a service-learning component in which you work with a corporation or non-profit organization that needs writing expertise. In job interviews, highlight your critical thinking skills, share about writing projects you have done that incorporated many different kinds of writing skills and/or required collaboration, and emphasize your ability to make complex ideas clear and accessible. At the entry-level stage of your career, take all opportunities offered to you and be an encouraging, contributing team player.