# News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists

US SOC code 27-3023. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/27-3023

Also called: Journalist, Reporter, News reporter, News analyst, Staff reporter.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **39,250** US news analysts, reporters, and journalists, with median pay of **$62,200** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the highest was **45,020**, in May 2023. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://archive.org/details/americanjournali0000mott_t2b7) of **30,000** from 1900, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for news analysts, reporters, and journalists: Otter.ai + Trint, 2018 to 2023.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 5.9% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=27-3023&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **63.3%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1833
- Latest US employment: 39,250 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Latest US median pay: $62,200 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [13]
- Outlook: -5.9% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [33]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 51113)
  - Employment, 2020: 10,270. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [9]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 51113 Journalists, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$67,000. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [16]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 51113 Journalists, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 13 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1900 | 30,000 (estimate) | $500 (estimate) | Est., Mott, Frank Luther [1] |
| 1950 | 75,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Estimated 1950 reporter/journalist… [2] |
| 1970 | 80,000 | $9,100 (estimate) | Decennial Census 1970 (employment) [3]; Est., Weaver & Wilhoit (pay) [11] |
| 1990 | 125,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Weaver, David H. & Wilhoit, G. Cleveland [4] |
| 2000 | n/a | $29,110 | BLS OEWS 2000 [12] |
| 2006 | 74,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Pew Research Center [5] |
| 2019 | 44,100 | $46,270 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [6] |
| 2020 | 41,580 | $49,300 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [6] |
| 2021 | 39,080 | $48,370 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [6] |
| 2022 | 44,530 | $55,960 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [6] |
| 2023 | 45,020 | $57,500 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [6] |
| 2024 | 41,550 | $60,280 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [6] |
| 2025 | 39,250 | $62,200 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [6] |

## Sources (71)

### Employment series

1. [Mott, Frank Luther — "American Journalism: A History of Newspapers in the United States Through 250 Years, 1690–1940" (1941)](https://archive.org/details/americanjournali0000mott_t2b7), Frank Luther Mott (scholarly history)
2. [Estimated 1950 reporter/journalist employment, apportioned from the 1950 Census combined "editors and reporters" occupational series (Sterling & Haight, "The Mass Media: Aspen Institute Guide to Communication Industry Trends," 1978)](https://archive.org/details/massmediaaspenin0000ster), Sterling & Haight (Praeger), citing 1950 U.S. Census; Internet Archive
3. [US Census 1970 — Occupational Characteristics, Table 2 (reporters and editors)](https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1973/dec/pc-2-7a.html), US Census Bureau
4. [Weaver, David H. & Wilhoit, G. Cleveland — "The American Journalist in the 1990s" (1996), citing BLS OES and Newspaper Guild data](https://archive.org/details/americanjournali0000weav), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates / Internet Archive
5. [Pew Research Center — "Newspapers Fact Sheet: Employment" (2023 edition, citing the 2006 peak figure)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/newspapers/), Pew Research Center
6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
7. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
8. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
9. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

10. [Mott, Frank Luther — "American Journalism" (1941): average weekly wages for reporters at metropolitan dailies ranged $10-$15/week in 1900, implying ~$520-$780/year annual; $500 used as the floor estimate for smaller-market reporters.](https://archive.org/details/americanjournali0000mott_t2b7), Macmillan / Internet Archive
11. [Weaver & Wilhoit — "The American Journalist in the 1990s" (1996), citing 1971 survey of journalist salaries: median ~$175/week at daily newspapers, implying ~$9,100/year.](https://archive.org/details/americanjournali0000weav), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates / Internet Archive
12. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
13. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
14. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
15. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
16. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

17. [Mott, Frank Luther — "American Journalism: A History of Newspapers in the United States Through 250 Years, 1690–1940" (1941)](https://archive.org/details/americanjournali0000mott_t2b7), Macmillan / Internet Archive
18. [Associated Press — AP history and founding 1846](https://www.ap.org/about/our-story/), Associated Press
19. [Wikipedia — Linotype machine (history and impact on newspaper industry)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linotype_machine), Wikipedia
20. [Wikipedia — IBM Selectric typewriter (newsroom adoption)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Selectric_typewriter), Wikipedia
21. [Wikipedia — Atex (software): editorial system adopted by New York Times, LA Times, AP and other major US papers through the late 1970s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atex_%28software%29), Wikipedia
22. [Wikipedia — Desktop publishing (history and Macintosh adoption)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_publishing), Wikipedia
23. [Pew Research Center — "State of the News Media 2004: An Annual Report on American Journalism" (first major annual assessment of online news ecosystem)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2004/03/19/state-of-the-news-media-2004-an-annual-report-on-american-journalism/), Pew Research Center
24. [Wikipedia — WordPress (history and 2003 launch)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WordPress), Wikipedia
25. [Pew Research Center — "State of the News Media 2010": social media's impact on newsroom workflows](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2010/03/15/state-of-the-news-media-2010/), Pew Research Center
26. [Wikipedia — iPhone (original 2007 release)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_%281st_generation%29), Wikipedia
27. [Wikipedia — The Washington Post: Publishing service (Arc XP)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post#Publishing_service), Wikipedia
28. [Nieman Journalism Lab — "The Washington Post's robot reporter has published 850 articles in the past year" (Sept 2017)](https://www.niemanlab.org/reading/the-washington-posts-robot-reporter-has-published-850-articles-in-the-past-year/), NiemanLab / Nieman Foundation
29. [Otter.ai — About page: OtterPilot AI transcription launch history](https://otter.ai/careers), Otter.ai
30. [Trint — "Used by journalists at AP, BBC, Channel 4 News, and Condé Nast"](https://trint.com/), Trint
31. [The New York Times v. Microsoft Corporation and OpenAI — complaint filed December 27, 2023 (S.D.N.Y.)](https://nytco-assets.nytimes.com/2023/12/NYT_Complaint_Dec2023.pdf), The New York Times / S.D.N.Y.
32. [JournalismAI (Polis / LSE) — "AI in News Production Survey 2024"](https://www.lse.ac.uk/media-and-communications/polis/JournalismAI), JournalismAI / Polis / LSE

### Forecasts and exposure studies

33. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 27-3023 News analysts, reporters, and journalists (2025: 47.1 thousand; 2035: 44.3 thousand; -5.9%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=27-3023&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
34. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 27-3023.00, human-rated β 0.633)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

35. [Mott, Frank Luther — "American Journalism: A History of Newspapers in the United States Through 250 Years, 1690–1940" (1941)](https://archive.org/details/americanjournali0000mott_t2b7), Macmillan / Internet Archive
36. [Associated Press, "Our Story": AP founding in 1846](https://www.ap.org/about/our-story/), Associated Press
37. [Pulitzer Prizes — "History of the Prizes"](https://www.pulitzer.org/page/history-pulitzer-prizes), The Pulitzer Prizes / Columbia University
38. [Wikipedia — "Watergate scandal": Woodward and Bernstein coverage and impact on journalism as a profession](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal), Wikipedia
39. [Pew Research Center — "The Decline of Newspaper Industry Revenues and the Role of Classified Advertising" (State of the News Media 2008)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2008/03/17/state-of-the-news-media-2008/), Pew Research Center
40. [New York Times v. Microsoft and OpenAI — complaint filed December 27, 2023](https://nytco-assets.nytimes.com/2023/12/NYT_Complaint_Dec2023.pdf), The New York Times / SDNY
41. [Knight Foundation / Medill Local News Initiative — "State of Local News 2023"](https://localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/research/state-of-local-news/2023/), Northwestern Medill / Knight Foundation
42. [BLS OOH — "Reporters, Correspondents, and Broadcast News Analysts", 2024-25 edition](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/reporters-correspondents-and-broadcast-news-analysts.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Predecessors & successors

43. [Weaver, David H. & Wilhoit, G. Cleveland — "The American Journalist in the 1990s" (1996): historical entry paths into journalism pre-J-school credentialing](https://archive.org/details/americanjournali0000weav), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates / Internet Archive
44. [Mott, Frank Luther — "American Journalism" (1941): many 19th-century reporters began as compositors or printers who learned the business from the shop floor.](https://archive.org/details/americanjournali0000mott_t2b7), Macmillan / Internet Archive
45. [BLS OOH — Editors, 2024-25 edition](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/editors.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
46. [Pew Research Center — "State of the News Media 2014": outflow of journalists to PR documented as primary exit path](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2014/03/26/state-of-the-news-media-2014-overview/), Pew Research Center
47. [Wikipedia — Substack: growth and notable journalists joining (2020-2021)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substack), Wikipedia

### Present-day analysis

- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Reporters, Correspondents, and Broadcast News Analysts, 2024-25](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/reporters-correspondents-and-broadcast-news-analysts.htm), accessed 2026-05-23
- [O\*NET 30.3 — News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists (27-3023.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/27-3023.00), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024](https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2024), accessed 2026-05-23
- [JournalismAI (Polis / LSE) — AI in News Production Survey 2024](https://www.lse.ac.uk/media-and-communications/polis/JournalismAI), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Pew Research Center, State of the News Media (Project) topic hub](https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/news-habits-media/news-media-trends/state-of-the-news-media-project/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Associated Press — Standards Around Generative AI (The Definitive Source)](https://www.ap.org/the-definitive-source/behind-the-news/standards-around-generative-ai/), accessed 2026-06-22
- [NiemanLab — AI and the Newsroom, 2025-2026](https://www.niemanlab.org/collection/artificial-intelligence/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Otter.ai — OtterPilot AI Meeting and Interview Transcription](https://otter.ai/otterPilot), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Trint AI — Transcription and Collaborative Story Editing for Journalists](https://trint.com/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Perplexity AI — AI-Powered Research and Answer Engine](https://www.perplexity.ai/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Columbia Journalism Review / Tow Center — Artificial Intelligence in the News (Felix M. Simon, 2024)](https://www.cjr.org/tow_center_reports/artificial-intelligence-in-the-news.php), accessed 2026-06-22

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.