foreign correspondent
Foreign correspondents research and write news stories of international importance for newspapers, journals, magazines, radio, television and other media. They are stationed in a foreign country.
foreign correspondent foreign correspondents research and write news stories of international importance for newspapers, journals, magazines, radio, television and other media. They are stationed in a foreign country. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include interview techniques, editorial standards, writing techniques, rhetoric, spelling.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £44,534 a year for Newspaper and periodical journalists and reporters (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2492). ONS rates this estimate acceptable: it rests on a small sample, so treat it as a rough guide. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only foreign correspondent, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 2. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- English Language
- Communications and Media
- Law and Government
- Computers and Electronics
- Telecommunications
- Customer and Personal Service
- Geography
- Public Safety and Security
What you'd actually do
- Write commentaries, columns, or scripts, using computers.
- Coordinate and serve as an anchor on news broadcast programs.
- Examine news items of local, national, and international significance to determine topics to address, or obtain assignments from editorial staff members.
- Analyze and interpret news and information received from various sources to broadcast the information.
- Receive assignments or evaluate leads or tips to develop story ideas.
- Research a story's background information to provide complete and accurate information.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does foreign correspondent do?
Foreign correspondents research and write news stories of international importance for newspapers, journals, magazines, radio, television and other media. They are stationed in a foreign country.
What skills does foreign correspondent need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include interview techniques, editorial standards, writing techniques, rhetoric, spelling, grammar. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace foreign correspondent?
Our AI-durability model gives foreign correspondent a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.