By Michael Hinckley, eHow Contributing Writer
Developing a career as a broadcast journalist takes time, effort, and preparation. Understanding the educational requirements, typical salaries, and job prospects is a good place to start. Broadcast journalism can open doors to many opportunities: Both Oprah and David Letterman got their starts in the field.
Education
Most broadcast journalists major in mass communication of journalism at a college or university. Most employers, even those at relatively small local agencies or companies, are looking for applicants who have at least a Bachelor's (4 year) degree in either of those fields. While in school, the broadcast journalism major will learn about public speaking, economic, sociology, political science, and other fields they will encounter during the course of a career.
Employment
Entry-level jobs in broadcast journalism usually are acquired through local television or radio stations, though increasingly there is a call for similar journalism on the Internet. Broadcast journalists should expect to start off relatively small, with only occasional on-air time covering lighter reports such as "human interest" stories. A small percentage of broadcast journalists (about 11%) are employed part-time or are self-employed "stringers."
Earnings
The average salary range for a broadcast journalist is anywhere between $24,370 and $51,700 a year, but depending upon region, experience, and employment status, the salary may be as low as $19,180 or as much as $73,880 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Types
There are several types of broadcast journalists, each having their own specialty within a news organization. News anchors typically read and interpret the news, conduct in-studio interviews, or moderate round-table discussions on various topics. Sports, science and technology, and weather reporters specialize in the technical jargon, statistics, and inside information of their field. Investigative broadcast journalists engage in fact finding, interviews, and a variety of other activities in order to better understand certain events or people. Finally, radio broadcasters who specialize in a certain field may become expert analysts for their broadcasting corporations.
Expert Insight
Most broadcast journalists can expect frequent moves, particularly early in their careers. It is not unusual for newly hired broadcast journalists to need to find jobs after their current company or station cuts jobs or is consolidated with a larger corporation.
Internet broadcasting can be done from almost any location because of the flexibility of the technology involved and lower cost or overhead involved in an Internet production. For example, the increasing popularity of YouTube allows mainstream broadcasters such as C-Span, Al Jazeera, and CBS to post short news reports.
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