Difference Between Correspondent and Reporter

Key Difference – Correspondent vs Reporter
 

In the media, you may have heard the words correspondent and reporter being used in various situations. But have you ever wondered the difference between these two individuals? This article focuses on this exact difference. A correspondent is someone who reports news from a particular region or country, on a particular topic. A reporter is a person who reports news for a newspaper or a broadcasting company. The key difference between a correspondent and a reporter is that while a correspondent voices his opinions in the news item, a reporter does not.

Who is a Correspondent?

In the simplest sense, a correspondent can be understood as someone who reports news from a particular region or country, on a particular topic. There can be war correspondents, foreign correspondents, sports correspondents, etc. In this sense, a correspondent is a journalist.

When an interesting event takes place somewhere in the world, a correspondent is sent to that particular place to report what is happening. This is why we see many correspondents reporting live from remote areas as well as foreign lands. The best example for this is war correspondents that are sent to the battle front to report the news. It is important to highlight that unlike reporters, correspondents usually state their opinions as they are reporting. This is mainly because the correspondent gets to experience the event first hand.

Correspondents communicate through writing as well as recordings. This can be considered as a rather demanding job because the correspondent has to be ready at all times to report the next big event. However, on the plus side, it allows them to travel all over the world.

It is important to highlight that the word correspondent is also used to describe a person who writes letters.

My brother has always been a poor correspondent.

She has been a brilliant correspondent.

Who is a Reporter?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a reporter is a person who reports news for a newspaper or a broadcasting company. Reporters collect information from various sources such as through interviews, news briefings, contacts, etc. This allows the reporters to inform the public of current events both locally and globally. It must be stressed that this occupies the majority of the day before the reporter finally writes his story.

When speaking of the main duties of the reporters, there are mainly two segments. They are editing and reporting.  First, the reporter collects all the necessary information for the story. This can be a rather tedious task. Once this ends, the editing process begins. This entails fitting the story to the bulletin. When writing the story, different reporters use different styles of writing to fit the audience.

When focusing on the different areas that reporters work in, some of the common areas are sports, business, crime, politics, etc. Reporting stories take up a lot of time. Usually, newspaper reporters have a longer period to compile their stories in comparison to television and radio reporters.

What is the difference between Correspondent and Reporter?

Definitions of Correspondent and Reporter:

Correspondent: A correspondent is someone who reports news from a particular region or country, on a particular topic.

Reporter: A reporter is a person who reports news for a newspaper or a broadcasting company.

Characteristics of Correspondent and Reporter:

Opinion:

Correspondent: A correspondent voices his opinion in the piece.

Reporter: A reporter does not voice his opinion in the piece.

Nature of job:

Correspondent: Being a correspondent can sometimes be more challenging and dangerous than being a reporter.

Reporter: Being a reporter is less challenging and dangerous than being a correspondent.

 

Image Courtesy:

1. Press TV correspondent – Protestas Sol – Madrid – mayo 2011 By Carlos Delgado [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

2. AGazeta Lubuska newsroom By Paweł Janczaruk [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons