With radio newsrooms across the US facing budget cuts and layoffs even as demand for news coverage grows dramatically, the RTDNA has shared new data with grim news about the salaries of those working in news radio, especially when compared to inflation.
In the collaborative report with Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, RTDNA says overall radio news salaries fell by 2.5%. With inflation at 3.1%, this results in a real wage drop of 5.6%. Over the past four years, real wages have cumulatively decreased by 11.5%.
Despite the general downward trend, there are some sectors within the industry where salaries have seen improvements.
While the median salary for news directors remained stable, their average salary increased by 6.7%. Reporters experienced a mixed outcome, with the average salary decreasing by 0.9% but the median salary rising by 12.5%. News producers enjoyed gains in both average and median salaries, up 5% and 10.4%, respectively. However, other roles such as news anchors, sports anchors, and sports reporters saw declines in both average and median salaries, with web producers/editors experiencing slight drops.
A significant shift is evident when comparing commercial and non-commercial radio, as public radio continues to make headlines for financial shortfalls, staff buyouts, and reductions in force.
Traditionally, non-commercial radio salaries have been higher than those in commercial radio. Yet, in 2024, average salaries in large and major markets for commercial radio surpassed those in non-commercial, with median salaries remaining close. Notably, commercial radio salaries for news directors, news producers, news reporters, and news anchors in these markets surged by 23.5%, while non-commercial salaries saw an 8% decline from the previous year.
This matches a downturn in employment in public media initially reported in by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in June, with job openings and hirings declining from 2022 to 2023. Specifically, job openings decreased from 4,020 to 3,317, while hirings dropped from 2,469 to 2,048. Additionally, the public radio workforce saw a slight reduction in staff numbers, with larger grantees reporting a decrease of 57 employees, reflecting broader layoffs within the sector.
