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Staff reporter vs beat reporter

The differences between staff reporters and beat 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 staff reporter and a beat reporter. Additionally, a beat reporter has an average salary of $65,737, which is higher than the $44,906 average annual salary of a staff reporter.

The top three skills for a staff reporter include news stories, event coverage and feature stories. The most important skills for a beat reporter are feature stories, twitter, and hard news stories.

Staff reporter vs beat reporter overview

Staff ReporterBeat Reporter
Yearly salary$44,906$65,737
Hourly rate$21.59$31.60
Growth rate-10%-10%
Number of jobs70,4152,133
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 81%Bachelor's Degree, 86%
Average age4040
Years of experience22

Staff reporter vs beat reporter salary

Staff reporters and beat reporters have different pay scales, as shown below.

Staff ReporterBeat Reporter
Average salary$44,906$65,737
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $76,000Between $36,000 And $117,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DC-
Highest paying stateNew York-
Best paying companyVanEck-
Best paying industryMedia-

Differences between staff reporter and beat reporter education

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

Staff ReporterBeat Reporter
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 81%Bachelor's Degree, 86%
Most common majorJournalismJournalism
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Staff reporter vs beat reporter demographics

Here are the differences between staff reporters' and beat reporters' demographics:

Staff ReporterBeat Reporter
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 44.4% Female, 55.6%Male, 59.3% Female, 40.7%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.7% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between staff reporter and beat reporter duties and responsibilities

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

Beat reporter example responsibilities.

  • Develop and write columns and editorials in the sports field as well as managed the blog website.
  • Update newspaper's Facebook account.
  • Cover issues relating back to health, writing print stories, producing broadcast video and photography.
  • Used twitter to monitor trending topics and reach out to points of contact to cover crime and jurisprudence.
  • Interview sources daily; coordinate frequently with editorial and photography departments.
  • Construct and edit web-published multimedia pieces that are featured on the university's athletic programs.
  • Show more

Staff reporter vs beat reporter skills

Common staff reporter skills
  • News Stories, 14%
  • Event Coverage, 12%
  • Feature Stories, 12%
  • News Articles, 6%
  • Conduct Interviews, 3%
  • Local Government, 3%
Common beat reporter skills
  • Feature Stories, 17%
  • Twitter, 10%
  • Hard News Stories, 8%
  • Facebook, 6%
  • Photography, 6%
  • Press Conferences, 5%

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