News reporters gather information about newsworthy events in order to write stories for publication or broadcast. News media broadly fall into two categories and reporters generally specialize in one or the other:
- Print media; which includes newspapers and magazines
- Digital publishing on the World Wide Web and broadcast media; which covers radio and television
Reporters usually start out by reporting on general news, such as court cases or crime. As experience is gained they move on to specialized areas such as sport or politics. News reporting offers a wide range of possibilities, depending on the individual's temperament. One option is the high pressure 'buzz' of a daily newspaper, or feature writing for magazines; alternatively sub-editing and layout or even broadcast reporting from war zones (if action is what you really want).
Satisfying Aspects
- helping the public to keep informed about important subjects and events
- working on a new story almost every day
- travelling
- meeting interesting people
- being part of exciting events
Demanding aspects
- the pressure of the job
- the long and irregular hours
- the danger involved in covering some types of events
- dealing with pressing deadlines and sometimes disturbing, possibly even dangerous assignments
Requirements
A news reporter should:
- have a 'nose for news';
- have an enthusiastic curiosity about people and events;
- have well-developed writing and communication skills;
- be objective;
- be persistent;
- have initiative;
- be creative and resourceful;
- have a good memory;
- have physical stamina and emotional stability,
- long and irregular hours and sometimes disturbing, possibly even dangerous assignments.
- be at ease on camera (broadcast reporter);
- be at ease in unfamiliar places with all kinds of people.
School Subjects
National Senior Certificate meeting degree requirements for a degree course
National Senior Certificate meeting diploma requirements for a diploma course
Each institution will have its own minimum entry requirements.
Compulsory Subjects: None
Recommended Subjects: History, Languages
Training
Degree: BA Journalism or Journalism and Media Studies or Communication Studies / Science - UJ, NWU, UZ, UFS, UFH, UCT, US, RU, UZ, Monash, UKZN, NMMU, UNISA, UP, Wits.
Diploma: N.Dip: Journalism - CUT, TUT, CPUT.
An academic background is preferred but is not essential. The training of a journalist can be divided into two categories: career orientated programmes and broad communication courses. A tertiary student is trained within the career-orientated programmes where theoretical training is combined with practical training.
In-service training is also offered by some employers
Employer
- Daily or weekly newspapers
- Niche-market magazines
- Specialized trade journals in numerous fields
- Large corporations (responsible for the in-house newspaper, the annual report
and other publications)
- Television channels
- Radio stations
- Self-employment, with freelance work
Contact
South African Journalists’ Association
POSTNET Suite 530
Private Bag X113
Melville, 2109
41 A Frost Road
Richmond
Milpark, 2109
Tel: (011) 716-1308 Fax: (011) 716-5647
The Head, Recruitment, SABC, eTV, M-Net
saja.org.za