Position Overview
Call them news anchors, television journalists, broadcast journalists or TV news reporters; their work remains the same – collecting, analyzing and reporting facts about newsworthy events.
TV news reporters employ their interviewing, investigation and observation abilities to bring forward news items to the general public.
They work for independent news channels and fall under the broader category of reporters and correspondents.
TV News Reporter Job Description
The primary work of a TV news reporter is to present information on-air in a fair and balanced manner.
Part of their work involves editing, reporting and producing activities apart from regular correspondent work.
They generate ideas for stories and follow leads from different agencies and sources to create news items. It is essential for TV news reporters to research news items properly so that they can provide accurate information to the general public.
It is also imperative for TV news reporters to possess a college degree in journalism or media as this provides them with a base on which they can begin their television career.
In addition to this, they need to be excellent communicators and possess excellent public speaking skills.
Specific duties of a TV news reporter are listed below:
See also: TV News Anchor Resume
TV News Reporter Job Duties and Responsibilities
• Built a plausible network of resources in a bid to help the news channel to stay ahead of its competitors.
• Generate stories and features ideas and follow leads from law enforcement agencies, public, and press conferences.
• Pitch ideas and their implementation strategies to editors and producers.
• Research and collect evidence to support stories and features.
• Write scripts for headlines and bulletins and prepare and present news reports.
• Assist in selecting well-placed locations, sounds, and pictures to provide credence to news items.
• Approach stories and features by exercising editorial judgment.
• Use DV cameras and other recording equipment to record news.
• Present news items on air – both recorded and live sessions.
• Prepare timelines for each news item and monitor each broadcast for accuracy.
• Handle breaking news presentations by employing moderating techniques.
• Arrange interviews with individuals and agencies in a bid to gather information for news items.
• Consult books, periodicals, news files, and public records to obtain accurate and relevant facts.
• Review copy and correct content errors such as grammatical and punctuation mistakes.
• Ensure that prescribed editorial styles and formatting guidelines are followed for each news item.
• Conduct live and taped interviews and assist in the editing of broadcast videos.