The reporter is that person who is searching for information that might interest a large part of the public and usually he or she works for some mass media company. This mass media can be a radio station, TV station, daily or weekly newspaper or more recently, online newspaper or television.
The income for such a professional is not very appealing, for none of the mass media type, since the entry level pay for a year is about US$ 21,000 or US$ 26,000. Interesting to notice though is that the newspapers, both daily and weekly, seem to pay the most, compared to the TV station which pays the least. The situation is quite similar in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.
The reporters get their stories from personal informers, commonly called tips, press releases or by witnessing the events. At times, they travel to various places in search of a story, and usually that is an investigation. The people who host scientific shows are also called reporters, only that they direct their material to a certain section of the population that is directly interested in those programs (working in the field) or interested because of their hobbies.
Anyone can become a reporter if they have worked for the school's news paper or radio station, or if they have a little bit of talent in presenting the news. Of course, there are many who have finished school with a journalistic diploma, but many reporters or journalists do not have it.
This industry is a great place to build a career, because there are many journalists or reporters who manage to become famous in their home countries, or sometimes even abroad.
As a reporter, sometimes you will be asked to go to dangerous places, like conflict or war areas (Afghanistan, Irak, Israel, or others). This is very risky since you can be taken by a prisoner, and we all know it has happened to some. And it really doesn't matter the country you are from; the local terrorists will kidnap and keep as hostages even tourists, and journalists are even more exposed to this. This is because they can contact easier the authorities or politicians back at home, people who can give the terrorists what they want. These people can (and some even did) face death from those keeping them as hostages.
Another danger reporting is for those conducting shows involving science or wild life. It has happened to Steve Irwin who died in 2006, aged only 44, while shooting for a new episode for his show. He wasn't a reporter per sé, but he was delivering interesting information about wildlife which he loved, and thus he transformed into one.
No matter what kind of news one delivers, he/she can never be too careful. Reporters go through a very dangerous, but at the same time exciting side of life. They get the chance to meet interesting people, famous personalities and even enter or have a peek at their lifestyles. They are restless individuals who are always in search for a new story to make public.
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