The most recent survey of U.S. business journalists shows a marginal increase in business journalists’ pay in the last six months to $56,591.
Forty-two percent reported an increase in pay the past 2 years. That is up from 36 percent six months ago reporting an increase in pay.
“Opportunities among journalists do seem to be on the rise,” said Andrew Leckey, president of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center of Business Journalism, about the survey results. “They said that one-third of the newsrooms in which they work are hiring new journalists.”
The median base annual salary for business journalists surveyed is $56,591, a slight increase from $56,220 for 2010-11.
Reynolds Center research 2012:
What Business Journalists Think about their Local Economy (PDF) | Slideshow: Research questions and results (PDF)
The research also found this breakdown for median annual salaries by place of employment:
- Print: $49,375
- Broadcast: $56,852
- Wire service: $75,800
- Freelance: $48,889
- Online: $51,667
Other findings include:
- 69 percent of the 300 journalists surveyed said they believe the number of business journalists will remain the same over the next six months.
- 32 percent said their newsroom is currently hiring full-time journalists.
