Working in cinema, radio, or television is a common desire. The greatest-paying positions in broadcasting are fulfilling ones that require innovation. However, you can also work as a content strategist, news producer, filmmaker, technical writer, or public relations professional. When most people think of broadcasting, they see news anchors.
We go through some of the highest-paying broadcasting occupations that media students might look into in this career guide. Due to the growth of social media, there are more opportunities in broadcasting, and most broadcasting wages are higher than the US national average income of $56,310. This article will discuss the highest-paid roles in broadcasting and provide details on the education needed to fill them. However, let’s first figure out how much a broadcasting career pays.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that in May 2021, the median yearly salary for those working in the media and communications was $62,340. There are several creative, technical, and management professions available in the huge field of broadcasting, and compensation varies depending on the position as well as an employee’s background and degree. Here are the top-paid:
1. Broadcast Producer
A TV program or show on any media platform is produced under the close supervision of broadcast producers. Designing program schedules, organizing live episode broadcasts, and choosing shooting locations are some of their duties. Some broadcast producers are also in charge of the show’s in-show commercials.
Average salary: $79,000 per year
2. News Director
The entire management of news segments for TV, radio, or other media sources falls under the purview of a news director. They supervise a group of journalists and the production staff for a news show and determine the topic, news items, camera angles, and personnel. To work as a news director, you must possess both management and journalism abilities.
Average salary: $79,000 per year
3. Program Director
Program directors oversee a radio station’s or a TV network’s programming. They choose the kinds of shows the network would provide its viewers with from season to season. They also make important selections about the budget and personnel. You must possess managerial abilities and programming expertise to be a program director.
Average salary: $79,000 per year
4. Technical Writer
A technical writer creates technical information for a broadcasting or media firm. Regardless of the specialized topic, technical writers should utilize straightforward language to explain complicated ideas to a broad audience. Technology reporters, political correspondents, and scientific journalists are all examples of technical writers.
Average salary: $78,060 per year
5. Content Strategist
A media company or brand’s content strategy is managed by content strategists. To ensure that the material supports the company’s vision and objectives, they collaborate with content teams.
A bachelor’s degree in creative writing, journalism, or communications is likely required, as well as previous experience writing and editing intriguing articles.
Average salary: $63,207 per year
6. PR Specialist
To market a business, a public relations (PR) practitioner creates media campaigns and tactics. Every media outlet or broadcasting firm also has a staff of internal public relations experts that assist them in developing a favorable brand image. To operate as a PR expert, you must possess exceptional communication and networking abilities.
Average salary: $62,800 per year
7. Video Editor
For various networks, video editors produce, edit, and change video footage. Because of the expanding social media influencer business and entertainment sector, video editors are in great demand. Video editors must be proficient with programs like Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro. To acquire these abilities, aspiring video editors might enroll in courses on video editing.
Average salary: $62,680 per year
8. Camera Operator
Video footage utilized in movies, TV shows, or newsrooms is filmed by camera operators. Before filming, they create a strategy together with a director of photography. You must learn how to operate sophisticated video production equipment if you want to work as a camera operator.
Average salary: $60,360 per year
9. Social Media Manager
Consider working as a social media manager if you want to be compensated for using social media sites. You will be in charge of coming up with and publishing social media postings for all platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, in this position. To increase brand recognition, you’ll create social media campaigns and commercials.
Average salary: $50,088 per year
10. Sound Technician
A sound technician is employed by a broadcasting company’s audio division. To record, edit, and recreate sound for various content forms, they employ recording equipment. The only educational requirement for becoming a sound technician is an associate’s degree in audio engineering or sound technology. Four years of college are not necessary.
Average salary: $49,050 per year
11. Senior Executive
The achievement of the business or organization as a whole is the responsibility of the chief executive officer. In the broadcasting profession, they create objectives, rules, and plans to ensure that the business is successful and profitable. The average pay for all top executives, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), was $197,840 in May 2020. There were many people employed by the corporation and businesses.
Average salary: $248,610 per year
12. Sales Manager
Sales managers are in charge of pointing customers toward services and goods. In a broadcasting job, they examine sales targets, data, and goals to attract more clients and their business. The BLS reports that in May 2020, sales managers made an average salary of $147,580.
Average salary: $161,050 per year
13. Weather Reporter
Through a television network, radio station, or social media platform, a weather reporter, often known as a meteorologist, offers updates and analysis of the present and predicted weather conditions. Your responsibilities in this position involve creating short-term weather forecasts, examining atmospheric factors that affect climate patterns, and presenting this information to an audience. Local television stations and nationally syndicated news organizations both have openings for weather reporters.
Average salary: $98,250 per year
14. Advertising And Promotions Manager
Managers of advertising and promotions offer sponsors, ad agencies, and purchasers ad time slots. The majority of the income generated by these broadcasters goes to their employers. The BLS reported that these managers made an average income of $147,560 annually in May 2020.
Average salary: The average income in the newspaper, magazine, book, and directory publishing sectors was $127,650, but the average compensation in the advertising, public relations, and associated services sector were significantly higher at $164,880.
15. Talk Show Host
The talk show television programming format was established in the American news and entertainment sector in the 1960s and 1970s. The Talk Show Host is the program’s public face, coming up with original and captivating methods to engage with guests and share experiences. In front of a live studio audience, these celebrities frequently conduct interviews with various guests from the worlds of politics, sports, and entertainment, asking them insightful questions and sharing entertaining anecdotes. The host also plays games with the audience if the show is entertainment-based and guides the show through various sketches or segments. A talk show host may host a program on a daily, weekly, or irregular basis, and the show itself may air early in the morning or late at night.
Average salary: $30,500-$104,000 per year
16. News Reporter
On television or during a media broadcast, a news anchor delivers the news. People in this profession frequently contribute to regional or national TV broadcasts or appear on local news channels to report on local news stories. Most news industry veterans who work as anchors are journalists. Before becoming an anchor, many reporters cover a niche “beat” or topic. You must be comfortable reporting on every subject addressed throughout the newscast to be an effective anchor.
Average salary: $27,000-$65,000 per year
17. Education Reporter
For a newspaper, radio station, or television news organization, an education reporter’s job responsibilities include working to cover educational stories and concerns. You can also find work with news publications on the web. Writing about or reporting on matters about schools in your state, area, or school district is among your duties in this field. You could concentrate on writing about public, private, or charter schools, or you might write about all various kinds of schools, depending on your employer. Although you may also cover higher education, the duties of an education reporter often call for you to concentrate on K–12 education.
Average salary: $31,000-$57,000 per year
18. Investigative Reporter
To develop their article, investigative journalists may undertake interviews or research. This kind of journalism frequently concentrates on one subject at a time, may include travel, and may have erratic hours. In this line of work, you look into many aspects of a narrative and locate different sources to gather data. You may choose to focus on a specific area, such as crime, politics, or even consumer research to determine whether items live up to consumers’ expectations. Some journalists include photographs in their reports. It requires basic computer abilities to write out and arrange your work for publication.
Average salary: $32,000-$57,500 per year
19. Sports Reporter
On television news programs or sports-related channels and programs, a sports anchor presents sports-related news and information. As a sports anchor, you serve as the program’s face, usually reporting from a desk in a studio. While some shows only cover one sport at a time, most sports anchors have knowledge about a wide range of sports. They may even broadcast many programs on numerous sports. Sports anchors may create their scripts or read material supplied by producers, depending on the size of the station or the popularity of the program. Sports anchors frequently conduct on-air interviews with athletes, coaches, and other significant sportspeople.
Average salary: $28,000-$39,500 per year
20. Developer
The media sector has a significant demand for web developers. In their day-to-day role, they will be responsible for maintaining websites for digital newspapers, creating downloadable magazines, or even updating apps. Additionally, they will be responsible for bug fixes and making ensuring that users can simply access their preferred publications. You’ll require a range of hard and soft talents, including HTML/CSS, Javascript, responsive design, and SEO, to be successful in this position.
Average salary: $42,389 per year
21. Client Director
In a word, client directors ensure that clients are satisfied with the goods or services their business provides. In the media sector, that often means ensuring they are happy with their advertisements, sponsored content, and ROI. You need a wide range of abilities, including marketing and customer service, to execute this work successfully. They will be interacting with clients daily to respond to their inquiries, resolve disputes, and gather feedback.
Average salary: $67,391 per year
22. Account Director
The last item is account directors. Their job is to act as a link between the client and the wider agency team. They must represent the client’s interests and serve as a salesperson for the agency to fulfill their dual job. Account directors must thus like interacting with people and do well in hectic settings.
Account directors typically started as assistants or account executives and worked their way up. Working on entertaining activations, social media campaigns, or even TV commercials may be a part of this fascinating employment. You won’t get bored, that much is certain.
Average salary: $54,120 per year
Conclusion
Reporters, journalists, correspondents, researchers, lighting technicians, camera operators, writers, editors, directors, and producers are a few examples of people working in the media. Media jobs occur in newspapers and magazines, radio and television broadcasts, material for the internet and social media, and in developing mass communications technologies. Although many jobs in the media concentrate on research and story creation, interviewing, advertising, public relations, or writing, you may also find a career in the production industry, working with the technology that enables mass media. There are also positions in media administration that coordinate the many labor-related activities that come together to create a well-rounded media output.
A fulfilling and fascinating professional option is in broadcasting, especially if you desire to create and distribute the material. Working in front of the camera or behind the scenes offers several career options. The digital entertainment landscape is changing, and the projection is this will have an impact on the broadcasting sector. More individuals in the US are obtaining their daily news from social media.
The median pay for most broadcasting positions in the US is greater than the average for all occupations. Broadcasting, though, is a cutthroat industry. You’ll need strong presenting, writing, content writing, or videography abilities and the capacity to adhere to condensed broadcast deadlines if you want to enter the industry.
There is no one way to acquire a media career since they are so diverse. You could require particular technical abilities, exceptional writing talent, business savvy, or a mix of these with a plethora of other attributes, depending on your field, passion, expertise, and chosen media. Although not all jobs need a college degree, the majority do. Before earning a bachelor’s degree in communications from college, many people, especially those interested in journalism, start working for local newspapers or small radio programs before moving on to national publications or doing paid internships at magazines or publishing companies.