Newspaper reporter, broadcaster make list of worst jobs

par Nicole Martinelli
30 oct 2018 dans Miscellaneous

For the first time, newspaper reporter and broadcaster have made a list of the worst jobs in the US.

Job instability, stress, low income and hiring outlook place these journalism jobs on par with those in the food industry like waitress, dishwasher and butcher, according to a survey by website Career Cast of the best and worst jobs in 2012.

While covering news may be more fun than washing dishes or hacking meat, the instability and stress are palpable - newsroom staffing was recently reported at a 34-year low.

The report surveyed 200 jobs evaluating them with six sets of criteria; it's easy to see where journalism hit bottom by looking at the "stress" set of factors which include what are traditional occupational hazards (deadlines, competitiveness, own life at risk) paired with a gloomy market outlook.

"As the digital world continues to take over and provide on-demand information, the need for print newspapers and daily newscasts is diminishing," Career Cast noted. "To be sure, both jobs once seemed glamorous, but on-the-job stress, declining job opportunities and income levels are what landed them on our Worst Jobs list."

At least one working journalist agrees with their assessment.

"You can definitely see a decline in the industry. As a sports reporter, there used to be several reporters at an event and now, sometimes, I'm the only one," David Campbell, a reporter and editor for a Pennsylvania newspaper told Career Cast. "Today's younger generation doesn't seem to care about the news, and, if they do, it's more about celebrities and Hollywood and not what's going on in their backyards."

A possible bright spot? In the top 15 jobs, there are three related to computer science; perhaps the intersection of journalism and informatics will yield a few good jobs for enterprising media types.

You can read the full report here.

Photo: CC-licensed, thanks Julian Dobson on Flickr.