Reporters and Correspondents

Collect and analyze facts about newsworthy events by interview, investigation, or observation. Report and write stories for newspaper, news magazine, radio, or television.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context interests work_styles work_values

Tasks

• Write reviews of literary, musical, and other artwork based on knowledge, judgment, and experience.

• Write columns, editorials, commentaries, or reviews that interpret events or offer opinions.

• Transmit news stories or reporting information from remote locations, using equipment such as satellite phones, telephones, fax machines, or modems.

• Develop ideas and material for columns or commentaries by analyzing and interpreting news, current issues, and personal experiences.

• Photograph or videotape news events, or request that a photographer be assigned to provide such coverage.

• Edit or assist in editing videos for broadcast.

• Revise work in order to meet editorial approval or to fit time or space requirements.

• Conduct taped or filmed interviews or narratives.

• Receive assignments or evaluate leads and tips in order to develop story ideas.

• Discuss issues with editors in order to establish priorities and positions.

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Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

• Experience: A minimum of two to four years of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

• Education: Most of these occupations require a four - year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

• Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

• Examples: Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include accountants, human resource managers, computer programmers, teachers, chemists, and police detectives.

• Svp range: (7.0 to < 8.0)

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Knowledge

Browse Knowledge

• Communications and Media
  Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Customer and Personal Service
  Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

• Clerical
  Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

• Geography
  Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

• Education and Training
  Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

• Administration and Management
  Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

• Sociology and Anthropology
  Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

• Law and Government
  Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

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Skills

Browse Skills

• Writing
  Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

• Reading Comprehension
  Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

• Active Listening
  Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

• Critical Thinking
  Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

• Speaking
  Talking to others to convey information effectively.

• Active Learning
  Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Time Management
  Managing one's own time and the time of others.

• Coordination
  Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

• Monitoring
  Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

• Social Perceptiveness
  Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

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Abilities

Browse Abilities

• Oral Comprehension
  The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

• Speech Recognition
  The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

• Written Comprehension
  The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• Written Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

• Speech Clarity
  The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

• Oral Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

• Near Vision
  The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

• Inductive Reasoning
  The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

• Fluency of Ideas
  The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

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Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Communicating with Persons Outside Organization
  Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.

• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

• Getting Information
  Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
  Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

• Thinking Creatively
  Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

• Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
  Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
  Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

• Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others
  Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.

• Analyzing Data or Information
  Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.

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Work Context

• Telephone
  How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

• Contact With Others
  How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

• Electronic Mail
  How often do you use electronic mail in this job?

• Face-to-Face Discussions
  How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?

• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
  How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?

• Time Pressure
  How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?

• Work With Work Group or Team
  How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?

• Frequency of Decision Making
  How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
  How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?

• Freedom to Make Decisions
  How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

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Interests

Browse Interests

• Artistic
  Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

• Investigative
  Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

• Enterprising
  Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

• Social
  Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

• Conventional
  Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

• Realistic
  Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

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Work Styles

• Attention to Detail
  Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

• Initiative
  Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

• Persistence
  Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

• Dependability
  Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

• Integrity
  Job requires being honest and ethical.

• Stress Tolerance
  Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.

• Independence
  Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.

• Achievement/Effort
  Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

• Adaptability/Flexibility
  Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

• Self Control
  Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

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Work Values

Browse Work Values

• Ability Utilization
  Workers on this job make use of their individual abilities.

• Achievement-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

• Achievement
  Workers on this job get a feeling of accomplishment.

• Recognition
  Workers on this job receive recognition for the work they do.

• Creativity
  Workers on this job try out their own ideas.

• Variety
  Workers on this job have something different to do every day.

• Security
  Workers on this job have steady employment.

• Advancement
  Workers on this job have opportunities for advancement.

• Company Policies and Practices
  Workers on this job are treated fairly by the company.

• Supervision, Human Relations
  Workers on this job have supervisors who back up their workers with management.

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