Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media

News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists

Narrate or write news stories, reviews, or commentary for print, broadcast, or other communications media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, or television. May collect and analyze information through interview, investigation, or observation.

MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES

A wage reference for United States.

Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.

Source wage group: News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists

This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.

May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.

Median annual wage$62,200USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Median hourly wage$29.91USD per hour · Published 50th percentile

Annual wage thresholds

USD per year

Hourly wage thresholds

USD per hour

Published occupational wage percentiles · United States · May 2025
PercentileAnnual wage (USD/year)Hourly wage (USD/hour)
10th$36,240$17.42
25th$45,370$21.81
50th · Median$62,200$29.91
75th$98,450$47.33
90th$144,140$69.30

“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.

PUT A WAGE IN CONTEXT

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Compare an entered wage with the published thresholds for United States. Your entry stays on this page.

This compares wage amounts to published percentile thresholds. It does not estimate your personal percentile, adjust for your experience, or compare total compensation. Match the wage definition and occupation group before using the result.

THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE

What this career involves.

Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.

Selected title examples

AnchorAnchormanArt CriticBasketball CommentatorBloggerBook CriticBook ReviewerBreaking News ReporterBroadcast JournalistBroadcast MeteorologistBroadcast News AdvisorBusiness Reporter
Expand more title examples (48)
Business WriterColumnistCourtroom ReporterCriticCub ReporterData JournalistDesk ReporterDigital CommentatorDigital ProducerDigital ReporterDramatic CriticEducation ReporterEnvironmental JournalistFashion JournalistFilm CriticFinancial WriterFood CriticFood WriterGeneral Assignment ReporterGeneral Assignment Television News ReporterHeadline WriterInformation WriterInvestigative ReporterJournalistLaw ReporterLeg ManMagazine JournalistMagazine WriterMarine ReporterMarket News ReporterMarket ReporterMedia AnalystMorning News AnchorMotion Picture CriticMovie CriticMultimedia JournalistMultimedia ReporterMusic CriticMusic JournalistNews AnalystNews AnchorNews CommentatorNews CorrespondentNews ReporterNews WriterNewspaper ColumnistNewspaper CorrespondentNewspaper Journalist

Typical tasks

  • Report news stories for publication or broadcast, describing the background and details of events.
  • Gather information and develop perspectives about news subjects through research, interviews, observation, and experience.
  • Research a story's background information to provide complete and accurate information.
  • Arrange interviews with people who can provide information about a story.
  • Establish and maintain relationships with individuals who are credible sources of information.
  • Investigate breaking news developments, such as disasters, crimes, or human-interest stories.
Expand more tasks (24)
  • Select material most pertinent to presentation, and organize this material into appropriate formats.
  • Report on specialized fields such as medicine, green technology, environmental issues, science, politics, sports, arts, consumer affairs, business, religion, crime, or education.
  • Review and evaluate notes taken about news events to isolate pertinent facts and details.
  • Receive assignments or evaluate leads or tips to develop story ideas.
  • Check reference materials, such as books, news files, or public records, to obtain relevant facts.
  • Determine a published or broadcasted story's emphasis, length, and format, organizing material accordingly.
  • Examine news items of local, national, and international significance to determine topics to address, or obtain assignments from editorial staff members.
  • Take pictures or video, and process them for inclusion in a story.
  • Review written, audio, or video copy, and correct errors in content, grammar, or punctuation, following prescribed editorial style and formatting guidelines.
  • Write commentaries, columns, or scripts, using computers.
  • Analyze and interpret news and information received from various sources to broadcast the information.
  • Conduct taped or filmed interviews or narratives.
  • Revise work to meet editorial approval or to fit time or space requirements.
  • Develop ideas or material for columns or commentaries by analyzing and interpreting news, current issues, or personal experiences.
  • Transmit news stories or reporting information from remote locations, using equipment such as satellite phones, telephones, fax machines, or modems.
  • Discuss issues with editors to establish priorities or positions.
  • Communicate with readers, viewers, advertisers, or the general public via mail, email, or telephone.
  • Photograph or videotape news events.
  • Write online blog entries that address news developments or offer additional information, opinions, or commentary on news events.
  • Write columns, editorials, commentaries, or reviews that interpret events or offer opinions.
  • Present live or recorded commentary via broadcast media.
  • Coordinate and serve as an anchor on news broadcast programs.
  • Present news stories, and introduce in-depth videotaped segments or live transmissions from on-the-scene reporters.
  • Assign stories to other reporters or duties to production staff.

Skills used in this work

Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Expand more skills (29)
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Programming
Writing computer programs for various purposes.
Quality Control Analysis
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Management of Financial Resources
Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Management of Material Resources
Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Technology Design
Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
Operations Analysis
Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Equipment Selection
Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Equipment Maintenance
Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Installation
Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
Repairing
Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
FIND YOUR MARKET

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United States wage reference

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Available links reflect retained source coverage for this career.

TURN CONTEXT INTO A NEXT STEP

Find the next step that fits.

Look at current disclosed job ranges, explore supported employer salary evidence, or build a proposed hiring range with your own assumptions.

Sources and citation.

Cite this page: Wages.fyi, “News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists career and wage guide.” Link to this Wages.fyi page

This page includes information from the O*NET® 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wages.fyi has selected and organized this information and added wage navigation and explanations. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Database license and attribution requirements.

Official occupation profile · Official wage reference . Wage reference: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service. Source data and publication dates can differ from the date this page is accessed.