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Arts, design & media

News analysts, reporters, and journalists

Typically requires Bachelor's degree

What is this page & how do I use it?

This is a research report for one career — the kind an analyst would write for a stock. The rating at the top is the neutral baseline (same for everyone); below it come the cases for and against, how the last official forecast for this career actually aged, and what the education path costs and pays.

How to use it: read the bulls-vs-bears case, then hit Score this career to weigh it against your other options with your own interests factored in.

CareerStar rating
RiskyMedium uncertainty

Analyst take: Softer prospects — -3.9% projected growth, moderate AI exposure (65/100).

29
/ 100
low riskhigh
top row = high reward

Moat (borrowed from investing — the water that defends a castle): how shielded this career is from AI. None = broadly exposed — many of its tasks are automatable and its skills are widely shared. (Exposure ≠ job loss; see the bears below.)

The small grid is a style box (borrowed from Morningstar’s fund reports): the blue square places this career on reward (top row = high) versus risk (left column = low), against all 730 careers. Medium uncertainty means the score leans partly on forward-looking bets like AI exposure, so treat the exact number loosely.

🐂 Bulls say
  • +Its brightest spot: pay tops 52% of careers ($60,280).
🐻 Bears say
  • Projected to shrink (-3.9%).
  • High AI exposure — 65% of tasks are model-touchable (exposure ≠ job loss).
Was this rating fair?
Projected growth
-3.9%
Median pay
$60,280
AI exposure
65/100
share of tasks exposed to AI — not job loss

Education & ROI — how to get here

Real outcomes for the college majors that feed this occupation, across 2,570 bachelor’s programs.

Median earnings
$32,481
1 year after graduating
Typical debt
$24,939
median federal debt
Pay-to-debt
1.3×
first-year pay ÷ debt
Feeder majors
Communication and Media StudiesJournalismRadio, Television, and Digital CommunicationPublic Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationAgricultural Public Services
Selective schools offering these majors
Stanford University
CA · 4% admit rate
$87,833/yr
$124,080 grad pay
University of Chicago
IL · 4% admit rate
$90,360/yr
$91,885 grad pay
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MA · 5% admit rate
$82,730/yr
$143,372 grad pay
Northeastern University
MA · 5% admit rate
$84,641/yr
$92,538 grad pay
Brown University
RI · 5% admit rate
$87,648/yr
$93,487 grad pay
University of Pennsylvania
PA · 5% admit rate
$89,028/yr
$111,371 grad pay

Earnings & debt from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard; majors mapped to this occupation via the NCES CIP→SOC crosswalk. A grounded ROI snapshot, not a guarantee — pay varies widely by school and specialty.

What this work involves

creativedesignartmediawriting