Journalist: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
10% of journalists earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $36,240
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of journalists earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $45,370
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of journalists earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $62,200
- Hourly
- $29.91
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of journalists earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $98,450
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of journalists earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $144,140
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Journalists narrate or write news stories, reviews, or commentary for print, broadcast, or other communications media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, or television. The median pay is $62,200 a year ($29.91 an hour) (BLS, May 2025).
- Median pay
- $62,200
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 39,250
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- considerable preparation
Data Government data groups this job as News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists (O*NET-SOC 27-3023.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.
Every page for Journalists
Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.
Open →ResumeJournalist resumeKeywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.
Open →Career changeJournalist career changeWhere these skills transfer, with skill match and pay change.
Open →Free toolCheck your resumeParsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.
Open →What journalists do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- 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.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: English Language, Communications and Media, Computers and Electronics, Telecommunications, Customer and Personal Service.
Software journalists use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- Adobe After EffectsVideo creation and editing softwareHot technology
- Adobe InDesignDesktop publishing softwareHot technology
- Adobe PhotoshopGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
- FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
- IBM SPSS StatisticsAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology
- WordPressWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
- Adobe Premiere ProVideo creation and editing software
- Apple Final Cut ProVideo creation and editing software
- Audion Laboratories VoxProMusic or sound editing software
- Avid Technology Pro ToolsMusic or sound editing software
- ESRI ArcViewGeographic information system
- Grass Valley EDIUSVideo creation and editing software
Also called: Reporter, Anchor, Multimedia Journalist, News Anchor, News Reporter.
Similar careers to explore
How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).