Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media · Holland code AES
Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys
Speak or read from scripted materials, such as news reports or commercial messages, on radio, television, or other communications media. May play and queue music, announce artist or title of performance, identify station, or interview guests.
Also called: Anchor, Announcer, DJ (Disc Jockey), On-Air Personality, Host, Morning Show Host, On-Air Host, Radio Announcer.
O*NET 27-3011.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $47,340
- Middle half earn $35,360 to $75,480. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree
- 35% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Read news flashes to inform audiences of important events.
- Announce musical selections, station breaks, commercials, or public service information, and accept requests from listening audience.
- Operate control consoles.
- Identify stations, and introduce or close shows, ad-libbing or using memorized or read scripts.
- Study background information to prepare for programs or interviews.
- Prepare and deliver news, sports, or weather reports, gathering and rewriting material so that it will convey required information and fit specific time slots.
- Record commercials for later broadcast.
- Keep daily program logs to provide information on all elements aired during broadcast, such as musical selections and station promotions.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Speaking4.8 / 5
- Active Listening4.0 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.9 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.8 / 5
- Writing3.1 / 5
- Active Learning3.1 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Communications and Media4.8 / 5
- English Language4.7 / 5
- Computers and Electronics3.8 / 5
- Telecommunications3.7 / 5
- Law and Government2.7 / 5
- Public Safety and Security2.6 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic11
- Investigative17
- Artistic78
- Social42
- Enterprising56
- Conventional35
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- journalist · DE Journalist/Journalistin · FR journaliste
- sports journalist · DE Sportjournalist/Sportjournalistin · FR journaliste sportif/journaliste sportive
- broadcast news editor · DE Nachrichtenredakteur/Nachrichtenredakteurin · FR rédacteur de journal radio ou télévisé/rédactrice de journal radio ou télévisé
- entertainment journalist · DE Unterhaltungsjournalist/Unterhaltungsjournalistin · FR journaliste spécialisé dans la culture et le divertissement/journaliste spécialisée dans la culture et le divertissement
- radio producer · DE Radioproduzent/Radioproduzentin · FR producteur radio/productrice radio
- news anchor · DE Nachrichtenmoderator/Nachrichtenmoderatorin · FR présentateur de journal/présentatrice de journal
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Newspaper, periodical and broadcast editors (2491)43,100 employed
- Newspaper and periodical broadcast journalists and reporters (2492)45,100 employed
- Arts officers, producers and directors (3416)113,500 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €61,714 |
| Germany | €59,529 |
| Ireland | €56,877 |
| Austria | €55,374 |
| Netherlands | €53,595 |
| Sweden | €43,567 |
| France | €41,515 |
| Spain | €35,735 |
| Italy | €33,649 |
| Portugal | €26,072 |
| Poland | €14,380 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.85. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (27-3011).
Related careers
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