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Skills that pay more

• Data journalism

  Spreadsheets, databases and basic code. Scarce in newsrooms and heavily recruited.

• Video and audio production

  Shooting, editing and producing. Most reporting jobs now expect at least some of it.

• A technical beat

  Courts, health, finance or energy. Reporters who understand a complicated field are hard to replace.

• Public records work

  Knowing how to file a freedom of information request and fight a refusal is what separates real investigations from press releases.