Broadcast Journalist Salaries

Every night, millions of people worldwide tune in to their nightly local and national news. Broadcast journalists lend a face and a voice to the events going on around us. We invite them into our homes and trust them to keep us informed of the day's incidents, whether somber, uplifting, or offbeat. Aspiring broadcast journalists may be attracted to the job because of the aura of trust and authority surrounding it, or because they have a passion for the truth. Some may be drawn to the thought of their face on TV or their voice on the radio. And yes, in addition to the prestige, some may like the idea of high broadcast journalist salaries at the top. Which brings us to the question: how much does a broadcast journalist make?

Average Salary for Starting Journalist

Just staring out? Don't get discouraged. Even Tom Brokaw got his start at his local news station. The average salary for starting journalists is going to be a lot lower than broadcast journalist salaries for national news anchors. It takes time to build up credibility and perfect your journalism style--not to mention land that perfect story. The average salary for starting journalists may take a while to grow, but stick with it; the Salary Range for Broadcast Journalists by Years Experience chart above attests to the fact that broadcast journalist salaries will increase significantly over time. The chart shows a significant increase from the average salary for a starting journalist to that of a well-established journalist with a few years and stories under their belt.

Broadcast Journalism Salary Data

Recently, 'Today' veteran Katie Couric left daytime to become the first woman to solo anchor a weekday evening network news program. Women like Couric, Barbara Walters, and Diane Sawyer are serving as inspirations to female broadcast-journalists-to-be, and with good reason: PayScale's Median Broadcast Journalist Salaries by Gender chart shows that female broadcast journalist salaries are actually higher than those of their male counterparts, a rarity in any field. Of course, there are many different specialties within the broader field of broadcast journalism, and a correspondingly large salary range. Broadcast journalists work in a variety of media and industries. Research Salary Range for Broadcast Journalists by Industry to see where your chosen field stacks up.

Looking at median Broadcast Journalist Salaries by State reveals a wide range of possible salaries within the field of broadcast journalism. Salary also varies greatly on the Broadcast Journalism Salary by City report, with San Francisco and Los Angeles at the top of the list. Of course, the median broadcast journalist salaries in these cities may be high, but so is the cost of living. Especially if you are just starting your career, cost of living is an important factor to consider when researching salaries by location. Using PayScale's cost of living calculator, you can get both Cost of Living and Broadcast Journalism Salary Data for San Francisco, Los Angeles and other U.S. cities. Find out just how far broadcast journalist salaries will go in

Broadcast Journalism Salary Story

Researching data on broadcast journalist salaries can only provide so much insight into what it's really like to work in the field. Read "News Anchor Salaries," the real-life story of News Anchor Sheree Paolello, to learn more about this diverse and fascinating field. Sheree offers advice on how to break into the business, what factors affect broadcast journalist salaries and more. This and other all-true accounts of various careers can be found in the Salary Stories blog.