Broadcast news editor to photojournalist
A broadcast news editor already meets 52% of what the photojournalist role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
57.8/ 100
1 How much of what a photojournalist is expected to do is already part of a broadcast news editor’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the photojournalist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A photojournalist role treats 15 of its required skills as things a broadcast news editor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply grammar and spelling rules
- build contacts to maintain news flow
- consult information sources
- copyright legislation
- develop professional network
- digital journalism
What stands in the way is 11 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 24 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A photojournalist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a broadcast news editor background worth leading with.
- already held digital journalism social sciences, journalism and information
- already held write headlines communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held build contacts to maintain news flow communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held follow ethical code of conduct of journalists assisting and caring
- already held create online news content communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held participate in editorial meetings communication, collaboration and creativity
All 24 carried skills, including the 15 the photojournalist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 27 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn adapt to type of media required
- still to learn evaluate writings in response to feedback required
- still to learn interview people required
- still to learn use specific writing techniques required
- optional, not held direct photographic workers optional
- optional, not held follow directions of on-site director optional
- optional, not held maintain an artistic portfolio optional
- optional, not held write captions optional
- optional, not held develop film optional
- still to learn select camera apertures required
- still to learn select photographic equipment required
- still to learn set up photographic equipment required
- optional, not held maintain photographic equipment optional
- optional, not held record multi-track sound optional
- optional, not held use photographic equipment optional
- still to learn stay up to date with social media required
- still to learn study topics required
- optional, not held manage writing administration optional
- optional, not held test photographic equipment optional
- still to learn writing techniques required
- still to learn interview techniques required
- optional, not held edit negatives optional
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held perform image editing optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a photojournalist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 adapt to type of media practise this
- 02 evaluate writings in response to feedback practise this
- 03 interview people practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 24 skills that carry over
- already held apply grammar and spelling rules skill
- already held build contacts to maintain news flow skill
- already held consult information sources skill
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held digital journalism knowledge
- already held editorial standards knowledge
- already held follow ethical code of conduct of journalists skill
- already held follow the news skill
- already held grammar knowledge
- already held meet deadlines skill
- already held participate in editorial meetings skill
- already held photography knowledge
- already held spelling knowledge
- already held write to a deadline skill
- already held adapt to changing situations skill
- already held audio editing software knowledge
- already held check correctness of information skill
- already held create online news content skill
- already held edit digital moving images skill
- already held edit recorded sound skill
- already held perform video editing skill
- already held press law knowledge
- already held write headlines skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held manage personal finances optional
- optional, not held manage personal professional development optional
- optional, not held follow newspaper house style optional
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held direct photographic workers optional
- optional, not held edit negatives optional
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held follow directions of on-site director optional
- optional, not held follow newspaper house style optional
- optional, not held maintain an artistic portfolio optional
- optional, not held maintain photographic equipment optional
- optional, not held manage personal finances optional
- optional, not held manage writing administration optional
- optional, not held record multi-track sound optional
- optional, not held test photographic equipment optional
- optional, not held use photographic equipment optional
- optional, not held write captions optional
- optional, not held develop film optional
- optional, not held manage personal professional development optional
- optional, not held perform image editing optional
23 held skills the photojournalist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply organisational techniques skill
- not needed by the target role audiovisual equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role check stories skill
- not needed by the target role create editorial board skill
- not needed by the target role create rough cut skill
- not needed by the target role cut raw footage digitally skill
- not needed by the target role develop digital content skill
- not needed by the target role digital compositing knowledge
- not needed by the target role file-based workflow knowledge
- not needed by the target role graphic design knowledge
- not needed by the target role intellectual property regime of digital content knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role media and information literacy knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor broadcast programming skill
- not needed by the target role motion graphics knowledge
- not needed by the target role multimedia systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role newsletter analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role proofread text skill
- not needed by the target role put uncut recordings into computer skill
- not needed by the target role synchronise sound with images skill
- not needed by the target role use presentation software skill
- not needed by the target role work closely with news teams skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn interview techniques required
- still to learn writing techniques required
Other moves recorded from broadcast news editor
Common questions about this move
Can a broadcast news editor become a photojournalist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A broadcast news editor already covers 52% of what a photojournalist is expected to do: 24 skills carry over, 15 of which the photojournalist role treats as required.
What skills does a broadcast news editor need to become a photojournalist?
11 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is adapt to type of media.
How hard is the move from broadcast news editor to photojournalist?
Its learning distance is 57.8 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.