Presenter Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a presenter. Feel free to use our presenter job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a presenter.
Who is a News Presenter?
A news presenter is an expert who relays the news as precisely and easily as is feasible to the general public via the radio or on television. News presenters may specialize in particular expertise or may be a generalist. To become a news presenter, you must have a college education usually required.
It is possible to have different duties, based on how big the organization is. A news presenter is typically accountable for introducing footage and real-time feeds of reporters. A news presenter reads news from the teleprompter, giving the appearance of looking directly into the viewers.
News presenters are accountable for the latest news and require quick thinking and adjustment to changing circumstances. A lot of news presenters are generalists who perform various tasks which include writing and conducting research reports. When they are not on camera, news presenters spend time talking with sources to gather the latest news and checking the accuracy of their reports.
To succeed as a news presenter, they must have excellent communication skills. Also, the news presenter must appear credible, as well as neat and professional. Other crucial skills include the ability to organize, the capacity to meet deadlines, and the ability to stay current with the latest fashions and trends. News presenters usually work long and irregular hours since most newscasts run usually at the beginning of the morning, or late into the evening.
Most news presenters hold a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting or journalism. Broadcasters typically work at the university or college news stations or engage in internships at a TV or radio station. The most beneficial college courses on the path to becoming a news presenter include public speaking, mass communication, and television and radio production. The amount of money you earn will differ greatly according to the region, size of the market for the audience and the tasks carried out. News presenting jobs are highly competitive and the majority of positions are located in metropolitan areas.
Although their viewers typically view their shows for one or two hours each day, news presenters stay on their feet for a long time. The work of a news presenter is extremely demanding. It requires more than just interpreting a teleprompter.
Presenter Job Description
Below are the presenter job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a presenter job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The duties and responsibilities of a presenter include the following:
- Finding news stories
- Presenting story ideas to supervisors
- Conducting interviews and scheduling them to get information or to hear opinions on a story
- Providing news and updates on stories when more information is made available
- Deciding which stories to broadcast and arranging them in a sensible order
- Writing scripts for reading on air
- Working with field reporters on live broadcasts
- Working with photographers, videographers as well as editors, writers, and writers to create an original story
- Setting up a social media presence as well as using the platform to connect with the public
- Maintaining a database of industry contacts
- Exploring local and state, national and international news.
- Meeting with the director of news reporters, the news director, and other presenters for a briefing on the news of the day.
- Organizing the news so that it is presented in a coherent, convincing order
- Creating, revising, and editing scripts and preparing them for air.
- Making sure breaking news is added to newscasts
- Participating in editorial commentary whenever appropriate.
- Interviewing people who are involved in specific stories
- Introducing reporters from the newsroom reporting on their location and asking them pertinent questions
- Following the code of ethics for the journalistic profession.
- Staying informed of the latest news by reading papers and attending events.
- Keeping in touch with professionals in the industry.
Qualifications
Most news presenters require a minimum of a bachelor’s level and previous work experience or internship to be able to get the job. Their resumes typically include:
Education
News presenters typically earn a Bachelor’s degree in Communications, journalism, or mass communication. The related degrees are English public relations and political sciences. Employers often prefer presenters who have journalism degrees since these programs impart important skills like research and interview methods as well as ethics in broadcasting, investigative reporting, and more.
Certain presenters in the news industries are pursuing an advanced degree in Communications or Journalism to improve their skills, especially when they didn’t major in journalism, to be prepared for positions at the top.
Training
News presenters acquire experiences and learn through work experiences and internships. They could begin their career in a lower-level job, for example, as an assistant reporter in the field, and then work in this position for a couple of years until they’ve mastered the abilities to advance to presenters of news.
Since news is increasingly distributed via websites, social media, and mobile applications, presenters could be interested in training in areas like video editing, multimedia, and computer programming.
Certifications
News presenters rarely receive certificates. However, they may be a part of professional associations to show their commitment to the field and for improving their skills. The organization’s news presenters could think of joining include:
- The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA)
The RTDNA is the world’s biggest broadcast journalism organization. Members receive professional education via conferences and webinars and network with other members and receive prizes and scholarships.
- The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)
The NAB promotes presenters of news and radio in government and focuses on how broadcasters are a part of their communities. The NAB provides members with technical and legal advice along with professional and leadership training via podcasts, webcasts, and other events.
- Society of Professional Journalists
Society promotes freedom of the press, high-quality content, and ethical conduct in journalism. Members can access videos and tools for career development as well as a network of professionals from the industry to connect with. The society also hosts a Journalism conference and awards every year.
Essential Skills
- Knowledge base
This involves the understanding of names, issues as well as geography, history, and the capacity to place everything into perspective for viewers. It is a result of the journalist’s desire to be an avid student of news.
- Ability to process information
This involves sorting or organizing, prioritizing, and storing huge quantities of data that is incoming.
- Ethics compass
Sensitivity ethical landmines that frequently befall the field of live breaking news, non-confirmed information, graphic images and words that could cause create panic, threaten public safety or security, or words that cause distress to already wounded victims as well as those that are concerned about them.
- Language proficiency
Grammar, syntax pronunciation, tone, and storytelling regardless of how tired or stressed a presenter or reporter might be.
- Interviewing finesse
A sense to know what people require and would like to know what is missing from the story as well as the capacity to gather facts through skillful, well-informed decisions.
- Multitasking ability
Ability to simultaneously listen to instructions from a producer’s earpiece, while scanning for new information from texts or messages on computers or tweets. With this skill, the news presenter will be able to listen to what other reporters from the team are sharing, and what interviewees are recording; watch an incoming video, and live-tweet to followers who are used to receiving information in a variety of formats.
- Recognition of each role
This is a thorough understanding of the technology and tasks involved in the operation of a broadcast. The capability to adjust to the unexpected and to anticipate the other professionals involved.
- Sharp awareness of time
This is the capacity to reduce or increase the volume of the speech of a person on the news, to recognize the need to refresh or recap, and to know how many words are required in a minute, while waiting for a satellite window or live feed.
How to Become a News Presenter
- Earn a bachelor’s degree
Find colleges and universities offering broadcasting, journalism as well as mass communication degree programs. You may also choose to major in communication, English, or other related fields and also take electives or classes related to topics that can help your professional career, like public speaking or film studies.
- Gain relevant experience
Learn to build your newscasting capabilities in college and afterward. You may be able to volunteer with the school’s radio or newspaper as well as take part in a debate or speech team, or create your blog on video where you can talk about the latest news. Find internships at local television and news stations during the summer, or after finishing your degree. Some internships may lead to full-time positions. It is possible to list all of the activities you have done in your résumé when you apply for news presenter positions
- Apply for an entry-level job
The majority of presenters for news advance their careers after they have gained experience in entry-level roles. It is possible to apply as a reporter or correspondent at a local radio station, at which point you could have the chance to be interviewed on-air or substitute for presenters when they’re away.
- Get experience.
If you’ve accumulated the required experience to become a presenter in the news industry, usually after a few years in a news outlet, you might begin being a presenter for a small company. After you have earned a good name, establish contacts in the industry, and expanding your portfolio of content, it is possible to be considered for news presenter positions in larger cities or at stations.
- Obtain a master’s degree
You may want to pursue a Master’s degree with a focus on Broadcast Journalism or Mass Communications to gain more job opportunities. This is possible after completing your bachelor’s degree. You may take graduate school classes part-time as you work
- Join a professional organization
Join an organization that is industry-related like that of the Society of Professional Journalists to benefit from continuing education, seminars, as well as networking possibilities. Use these resources to continue your training as a news presenter and demonstrate your dedication to the employers in the industry.
Where to Work as a Presenter
Most news presenters are always employed by radio stations, television stations, news outlets, etc.
US newspapers offer a large job marketplace for news presenters. Many of the titles are owned by major newspapers on a regional, national, or international scale,
Independent press agencies are often called newswires to provide general interest or special interest images, news, or features for news outlets.
Print publications are struggling and, as a result, some newspapers are now focusing on the growing popularity of online media, which is where information is posted in real-time.
The internet, the media, and marketing industries, as well as advertising and PR could provide jobs for news presenters m
The job openings may be advertised through the headquarters of a regional company or newspaper owners. Certain newspapers are dependent on speculations from the editor and do not advertise any jobs.
The work in newsrooms is generally very enjoyable. The majority of stations are housed in modern facilities. Maintenance of electronic equipment demands the control of temperature and dust, and the people who work with these devices profit from the measures that are taken to protect the equipment. While presenters are in comfy private offices, some are in large spaces that are filled with the sounds of computers and keyboards and the voices of journalists.
News Presenters may report for work early in the morning or work late into the evening. News presenters working night shifts for 24-hour news outlets may be the only ones within the station during working hours. Even presenters who usually work during normal night or daytime hours can be called at any moment to present breaking news. Since these types of situations happen without notice, it is not always possible to write texts, which require presenters to cover the news as it unfolds and changes, without previously preparing the contents.
News Presenter Salary Scale
News presenters earn an average salary of $38,647 annually in the United States.