News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
A typical day starts with a lead, a tip, or an assignment from editorial staff, then moves into background research and interviews with people who know the subject. Observation and material from several sources get turned into a story, column, commentary, or broadcast script, written on a computer and checked for completeness and accuracy. Part of the job is choosing which local, national, or international items to cover; part of it is anchoring a news program and working with a team. Print and broadcast both run on deadlines. The work fits those who like asking questions, weighing sources, and turning what they find into copy or airtime.
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$62'200
Median Wage Market Position
$62'200
What you might do
- Write news stories, columns, or scripts
- Research a story's background for accuracy
- Interview people who can explain events
- Choose which news topics to cover
- Analyze information from many sources
- Anchor a live news broadcast
Skills that matter
- Writing columns, scripts, and commentaries
- Background research before a story runs
- Interviewing people who can fill in facts
- Judging which tips become real stories
- Anchoring or narrating a news program
- Interpreting reports from many sources
AI & the future of this role
Drafting copy, summarizing sources, and packaging updates are tasks generative tools already handle quickly, which may shrink demand for routine reporting. Source relationships and investigative judgment still matter, but much day-to-day news production looks highly exposed.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details