How Does a News Reporter Spend a Workday?

Early Morning

A news reporter arrives at the news office around 8 am. The first order of business involves checking email, telephone messages and other types of correspondence. The reporter then spends a few hours responding to important correspondence. During this time, the reporter also checks in with his regular contacts such as police officers, city council members and other community organizations to find out if there are any potential story leads.

Afternoon

The reporter meets with her managing editor to discuss events and to cover that day. Each reporter is expected to cover her "beat"--a particular part of town under one reporter's jurisdiction. The beat reporter is the one to cover any newsworthy events that take place within that area. The rest of the afternoon is spent interviewing people in a variety of circumstances. For instance, the reporter might talk to people who've been in an emergency situation, people who've won the lottery, celebrities at press conferences or government officials. Interviews are conducted in person, over the phone and via email. A reporter also spends a bulk of his workday investigating stories stemming from the reporter's contacts, attending press conferences, attending events such as sports games or city council meetings, and writing both serious ("hard") and entertainment ("soft") news stories on a tight deadline. A reporter may have three deadlines a day including one around noon, another at 3 p.m. and a final deadline at 5 p.m.. Depending on his assignments, a reporter may have to write up to five news stories a day.

Other Responsibilities

On any given workday, a news reporter has numerous responsibilities. Of utmost importance is compiling, researching and writing news stories as they happen. A news reporter works closely with the team of photographers, editors and sub-editors throughout the day to make sure the story is ready by the end of the day. He must also be ready to react to breaking news stories that may occur at any time. If a newsworthy story breaks, the reporter and his team must quickly gather all important information. A reporter also spends a significant amount of time writing both hard news stories and soft news stories. The reporter is also responsible for uploading content to the publication's website.