50+ Media & Journalism Jobs in Chicago, IL

The cleanest local government pay signal is broad, not title-specific: BLS put Chicago arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations at a mean $38.36 an hour in May 2025. Current local posting data is more mixed: sampled salaries center on about $74k to $96k, hourly roles center on about $18 to $25 / hour, and individual community-news listings ranged from $51,500 salaried to $19.23 an hour. Illinois new-opening data from Revelio Public Labor Statistics shows a mean offered salary of about $70,212 in July 2026 (n=790), which is directional rather than a Chicago metro median.

Full July 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 44 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $36,400 at the 25th percentile, $63,375 at the median and $78,000 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of September 7, 2026

Senior roles | Entry level | Remote | Posted this week

Live from the Callings.ai index of over 13 million postings, refreshed hourly and re-checked here nightly. Roles that close are dropped at the next refresh.

Showing 30 of 68 openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Competitive market | next 3-6 months

Chicago is still a real market for media and journalism work, but it is not an easy one. We observed more than 200 postings across more than 125 companies over the last 90 days, and hiring in the sample is fragmented rather than controlled by one dominant employer. The catch is that the broader backdrop is softer: metro unemployment was 5.3% in June 2026, up 12.7660% year-over-year, while metro employment was down 2.5739% year-over-year. Illinois-wide occupation signals are also slightly negative, with media, journalism & entertainment employment down 1.2% year-over-year and active postings down 0.7% year-over-year in July 2026.

Best positioned: The best odds right now belong to a multiplatform candidate who can report or produce on site, work visually, and add either Spanish fluency or data skills.

Main caution: The biggest trap is assuming Chicago's top-end salary figures are normal; lower-paid community and suburban newsroom jobs are still common and may be the real entry point.

From the July 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 68 openings in this market. 9 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. Lifetouch Inc.: 11 open roles
2. Bella Baby Photography: 5 open roles
3. Saint Xavier University: 5 open roles
4. Shutterfly, Inc.: 4 open roles
5. Book Jobs US: 3 open roles
6. Sourcebooks: 3 open roles
7. BlockReel DAO: 2 open roles
8. Breaking News ABA: 2 open roles
9. Neal R. Gross & Co.: 2 open roles
10. AAP group: 1 open role

Where the openings are

• Chicago: 36
• Naperville: 5
• Joliet: 2
• North Aurora: 2
• Carol Stream: 2
• Lake Forest: 2
• Aurora: 2
• Hinsdale: 1

Work arrangement

on-site 41 (64%), hybrid 18 (28%), remote 5 (8%)

Where the demand is

Real opportunities are spread across a long tail of employers rather than a few flagship newsrooms. Over the last 90 days, we observed more than 200 postings across more than 125 companies, and the sample was fragmented by employer rather than concentrated. That means your odds improve if you search beyond prestige brands and include smaller publishers, studios, in-house visual teams, and mission-driven organizations. The work is also not confined to pure media companies. In the local sample, the most-active industries were healthcare about 20%, construction about 15%, media about 15%, education about 10%, and photography about 10%. On the journalism side, current signals point to community reporting and multiplatform newsroom work: Wednesday Journal posted for local beat coverage, Daily Southtown highlighted Spanish fluency, and FOX 32 Chicago listed openings across producer, anchor, reporter, sports, and audience roles. There are also smaller but notable opportunities around local-news infrastructure and senior editorial leadership. A Chicago-based program officer opening tied to local news and an editor-in-chief search at Heartland Signal suggest that some of the better-funded roles may sit just outside traditional daily filing.

• Community and suburban reporting (moderate): Current openings include community beat coverage around Oak Park and south/southwest suburban reporting, with Spanish fluency called out as a plus in one listing.
• Broadcast and multiplatform newsroom roles (high): FOX 32 Chicago is recruiting across producer, anchor, sports, reporter, and audience jobs, which favors candidates who can work across formats.
• Visual and explainer work outside pure media companies (moderate): A meaningful share of local postings sits in healthcare, construction, education, and photography-heavy employers rather than only media organizations.

Where to focus: Start with broadcast-multiplatform and community-beat roles, then widen to healthcare, education, and construction employers that still need visual storytelling and explainer talent.

Roles worth searching next

• Audience development manager / local news audience growth lead: FOX 32 Chicago is hiring an audience development manager alongside newsroom roles, showing a close bridge from editorial work into growth and distribution functions.
• Brand journalist: Mediabistro lists brand journalist as an expanding path for media professionals, and it maps naturally into marketing and communications teams when newsroom hiring is tight.
• Newsletter editor for brand or membership teams: Mediabistro lists newsletter editor as an expanding role, and it is a practical bridge for reporters with strong curation and audience habits.
• Program officer for local news: Chicago has a program officer opening tied to local news, signaling adjacent demand in philanthropy and ecosystem support rather than daily newsroom output.

What postings ask for

• Bachelor's degree plus reporting clips (table_stakes | immediate): BLS still describes a bachelor's degree and writing or reporting experience as the typical baseline, and about 45% of local postings that state education ask for a bachelor's degree. Who: Entry-level candidates and career switchers.
• Photography (differentiator | immediate): Photography is the most-requested hard skill in the local sample at about 10%, which helps in community news, events, and visual-first roles. Who: Entry-level reporters, freelancers, and visual storytellers.
• Camera operation (differentiator | immediate): Camera operation appears in about 5% of local postings and pairs well with reporter-producer-photographer hybrid work. Who: Candidates targeting broadcast, field production, or multimedia roles.
• Spanish fluency (premium | immediate): A current Chicago-area reporting listing says Spanish fluency is a plus, which points to real audience needs in suburban and community coverage. Who: Community reporters and suburban beat candidates.
• Audience-first storytelling (premium | immediate): FOX 32 says it is reimagining local journalism and hiring across both editorial and audience roles, signaling value in story formats designed for reach, not just traditional scripts. Who: Mid-career journalists and producers who want more openings than pure reporting alone offers.
• AI newsroom workflows (differentiator | near-term): Media and publishing AI adoption reached 78% in March 2026, and newsroom use now includes research, summarization, audio-video analysis, and app or workflow building through the Google News Initiative AI Skills Program 2.0. Who: All candidate types, especially reporters dealing with documents, transcripts, or fast-turnaround production.

Questions about this market

What do Media, Journalism & Entertainment roles pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

The cleanest local government pay signal is broad, not title-specific: BLS put Chicago arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations at a mean $38.36 an hour in May 2025. Current local posting data is more mixed: sampled salaries center on about $74k to $96k, hourly roles center on about $18 to $25 / hour, and individual community-news listings ranged from $51,500 salaried to $19.23 an hour. Illinois new-opening data from Revelio Public Labor Statistics shows a mean offered salary of about $70,212 in July 2026 (n=790), which is directional rather than a Chicago metro median. Chicago can pay above the U.S. reporter benchmark, but only in part of the market. The national median for reporters, correspondents, and broadcast news analysts is $60,280, while a Chicago salary page citing BLS data estimates a local journalist median of $89,960.

Where is demand for Media, Journalism & Entertainment roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN concentrated?

Real opportunities are spread across a long tail of employers rather than a few flagship newsrooms. Over the last 90 days, we observed more than 200 postings across more than 125 companies, and the sample was fragmented by employer rather than concentrated. That means your odds improve if you search beyond prestige brands and include smaller publishers, studios, in-house visual teams, and mission-driven organizations. The work is also not confined to pure media companies. In the local sample, the most-active industries were healthcare about 20%, construction about 15%, media about 15%, education about 10%, and photography about 10%. On the journalism side, current signals point to community reporting and multiplatform newsroom work: Wednesday Journal posted for local beat coverage, Daily Southtown highlighted Spanish fluency, and FOX 32 Chicago listed openings across producer, anchor, reporter, sports, and audience roles. There are also smaller but notable opportunities around local-news infrastructure and senior editorial leadership. A Chicago-based program officer opening tied to local news and an editor-in-chief search at Heartland Signal suggest that some of the better-funded roles may sit just outside traditional daily filing.

Which employers are hiring the most Media, Journalism & Entertainment talent in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Recent postings show the most activity from Nando's PERi-PERi North America (10 postings), Candid Studios (10 postings), Alignerr Corp. (5 postings), Lifetouch (5 postings), DigPermit (5 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Media, Journalism & Entertainment roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 10% are remote and 20% hybrid, with 70% on-site. Use the Remote filter above to see only remote openings.

How current are these listings?

Openings come from the Callings.ai live index of over 13 million jobs, refreshed hourly. This page searches postings from the last 30 days; run the search yourself to filter by anything else in plain language.

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