What Does a News Director Do?
As long as listeners want local news, stations will need someone to make sure it is accurate, fair and broadcast on time. The news director is that person, running a radio or TV newsroom's coverage, staff and daily newscasts. News directors work on tight deadlines and spend a lot of time weighing stories, editing scripts and coaching reporters.
Also known as: Radio News Director
News Director Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a news director include:
- Decide each day's coverage with editors and producers, weighing news value, resources and audience.
- Assign reporters and hosts to stories, events and breaking news as the day develops.
- Edit scripts and audio for accuracy, fairness, clarity and length before they air.
- Hire, coach and evaluate reporters, producers and interns in the newsroom.
- Plan special coverage of elections, severe weather and major local events well in advance.
- Set newsroom standards on sourcing, corrections and conflicts of interest; enforce them consistently.
- Manage the news budget, including freelance fees, travel and equipment purchases.
- Build partnerships with other newsrooms to share stories, audio and data.
- Handle listener complaints and correction requests, and publish corrections when the station gets it wrong.
- Review web and social posts so digital stories match the standards of on-air reports.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a news director, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Strong news judgment and ethics
- Script and audio editing
- Leading and coaching a newsroom team
- Newsroom tools such as Adobe Audition and a CMS
- Budget management
- Media law basics, including libel and open records
- Calm decisions during breaking news
- Bachelor's degree in journalism or communications
Education and Training
Bachelor's degrees in journalism or communications are typical, and the path to news director runs through years of reporting or producing. Public radio stations in particular look for someone who has built local coverage from scratch with a small team. Some news directors add management training before taking over a newsroom.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $62,670 - $134,800 per year, with a median of $90,360.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Producers and Directors.
According to BLS, employment of producers and directors, the wider group that includes news directors, is projected to grow about 4 percent in the decade ending in 2035. The group should see roughly 12,100 openings a year, though few of those are newsroom leadership posts. Local news budgets are under pressure, given that much advertising has moved online, so candidates who can lead digital and podcast coverage tend to do best.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Producers and directors.