Duties and Responsibilities
To accomplish their primary goal of broadcasting current and accurate information to consumers, News Reporters perform many tasks. We analyzed several job listings to identify these core News Reporter duties and responsibilities.
Gather and Write News
News Reporters collect information on assigned topics to report accurate and timely news. They talk to sources, follow-up on leads, and do research to be as well informed as possible. They fact-check their findings, then write them up in an article for printing or a script to be read on-air.
Report On-Air
In broadcasting, News Reporters are filmed or recorded presenting the news. They may be recorded in a studio or in the field, depending on the story. They usually read from a script, but also must be knowledgeable about the topic that they are reporting on.
Conduct Interviews
A key component of a News Reporter’s job is to conduct interviews. These may be broadcast live or pre-recorded and edited. The News Reporter must have done research in advance and be prepared to ask the pointed and interesting questions of the interview subject.
Generate Stories
News Reporters are tasked with generating new and interesting news stories to cover. They must always be looking for unique, relevant, and urgent topics to bring to the public, and investigating interesting new angles of stories that have already been covered.
News Reporter Skills
Inquisitive, outgoing, and driven, successful News Reporters are curious to find out as much as they can about any given topic and share it with the public. They are driven and persistent and have excellent interpersonal skills and strong ethics. In addition to these general skills and personality traits, employers are seeking News Reporter candidates with the following skills.
Core skills: Based on the job listings we looked at, employers want News Reporters with these core skills. If you want to work as a News Reporter, focus on the following.
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Strong writing skills, and ability to convey information in a clear, concise, and conversational manner
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Excellent live reporting skills and strong on-camera presentation skills
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Able to work a flexible schedule, including nights and weekends
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Ability to interact professionally and build relationships and sources
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Ability to shoot and edit digital video
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Strong research skills, including the ability to navigate online search engines
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Excellent understanding of Associated Press style