CCollegeMatcher

News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists

US occupation · SOC 27-3023

Job titles people report: Anchor, Journalist, Multimedia Journalist, News Anchor, News Reporter, Reporter, Staff Writer, TV News Anchor (Television News Anchor), TV News Reporter (Television News Reporter), TV Reporter (Television Reporter)

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$62,200
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$45,370 – $98,450
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
39,250
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
-5.9%
Shrinking (below 0%)
Openings a year (projected)
3,400
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
Bachelor's degree
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

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.

Main 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.
  • 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.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Bachelor's degree
O*NET Job Zone 4
Considerable preparation
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Artistic: creating, designing and self-expression
  • Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
  • Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 14 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Communications & Media

  • Communication, General
  • Mass Communication/Media Studies
  • Journalism
  • Broadcast Journalism
  • Photojournalism
  • Business and Economic Journalism
  • Cultural Journalism
  • Science/Health/Environmental Journalism
5 more programmes
  • Journalism, Other
  • Radio and Television
  • Political Communication
  • Sports Communication
  • International and Intercultural Communication

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Communications & Media at the Major step.

Where many students take communications & media

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Agriculture

  • Agricultural Communication/Journalism

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Agriculture at the Major step.

Where many students take agriculture

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

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. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk