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Writer/producer vs freelance producer

The differences between writer/producers and freelance producers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a freelance producer has an average salary of $62,218, which is higher than the $55,163 average annual salary of a writer/producer.

The top three skills for a writer/producer include instagram, facebook and twitter. The most important skills for a freelance producer are music videos, news stories, and video content.

Writer/producer vs freelance producer overview

Writer/ProducerFreelance Producer
Yearly salary$55,163$62,218
Hourly rate$26.52$29.91
Growth rate4%8%
Number of jobs20,0269,703
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 81%Bachelor's Degree, 80%
Average age4240
Years of experience-12

What does a writer/producer do?

A writer/producer's work involves developing, writing, and producing engaging and entertaining scripts of news stories for television episodes or programs. Other tasks include sourcing video and audio footage for editors and working with them throughout the post-production process. The essential skills that a writer/producer should possess to accomplish his/her or her responsibilities include strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively as a team and meet tight deadlines despite working on multiple projects. Other requirements to qualify for the job include obtaining a degree in journalism or a related field and prior experience in broadcast writing and producing.

What does a freelance producer do?

The responsibilities of a freelance producer are so broad that they can be tricky to define. Broadly, a freelance producer is responsible for finding, launching, and completing a project. They primarily handle logistics pertaining to the creation of various pieces of content. This content may include television shows, advertisements, or audio/video presentations. They also manage finances, keep the production within the allocated budget, and hire all key staff, crew members, and post-production teams. They may also have to scout for shoot locations.

Writer/producer vs freelance producer salary

Writer/producers and freelance producers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Writer/ProducerFreelance Producer
Average salary$55,163$62,218
Salary rangeBetween $36,000 And $83,000Between $33,000 And $113,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between writer/producer and freelance producer education

There are a few differences between a writer/producer and a freelance producer in terms of educational background:

Writer/ProducerFreelance Producer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 81%Bachelor's Degree, 80%
Most common majorCommunicationPhotography
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Writer/producer vs freelance producer demographics

Here are the differences between writer/producers' and freelance producers' demographics:

Writer/ProducerFreelance Producer
Average age4240
Gender ratioMale, 62.0% Female, 38.0%Male, 58.7% Female, 41.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 4.9% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 6.3% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage16%14%

Differences between writer/producer and freelance producer duties and responsibilities

Writer/producer example responsibilities.

  • Manage Comcast's local channels and their content throughout central Indiana.
  • Coordinate and manage show production, including budget creation, scriptwriting and booking guest for on camera interviews.
  • Supervise casting and communicate with producer to access props, costumes, and set pieces and to manage the budget.
  • Manage day-to-day completion activities including project planning and QA testing.
  • Work closely with the founder to create an internet comedy channel on YouTube.
  • Air on ABC, NBC, CBS, WOR and PBS.
  • Show more

Freelance producer example responsibilities.

  • Drive engagement by managing the brand's YouTube channel, as well as all other social media outlets.
  • Manage production shoots for image campaigns and monthly communications meetings for CNN newsroom and internal in-house creative services department.
  • Manage creative release process working closely with site merchandising, content engineering, release engineering, QA, buyers and marketing.
  • Manage the QA process including test/debug cycles and platform compliance/compatibility testing.
  • Produce for Chubb s website, YouTube, Facebook and on DVD.
  • Help maintain social media presence on Facebook and Instagram.
  • Show more

Writer/producer vs freelance producer skills

Common writer/producer skills
  • Instagram, 13%
  • Facebook, 9%
  • Twitter, 9%
  • Control Room, 8%
  • Video Production, 5%
  • Web Content, 5%
Common freelance producer skills
  • Music Videos, 20%
  • News Stories, 6%
  • Video Content, 5%
  • Video Production, 4%
  • Live Events, 4%
  • Photography, 4%

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