Media & Journalism Jobs in San Diego, CA

For reporters and journalists in San Diego, BLS shows a 2025 median of $63,810, a mean of $83,390, and a 25th-75th band of $48,620 to $95,170. For the broader media and communication family in the metro, the 2025 median was $67,100 and the mean was $84,500. More current posting data points higher at the offer stage, with local posted ranges centering on about $75k to $98k and a broader 25th-75th band of about $64k to $129k.

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 12 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $63,440 at the 25th percentile, $75,358 at the median and $112,148 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of October 15, 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.

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What our analysts see this month

Competitive market | next 3-6 months

San Diego is a competitive market for media, journalism, and entertainment work right now. The metro labor market is steady overall—unemployment was 4.9% in August 2026 and total nonfarm employment rose 0.7005% year over year—but the local Information sector fell -6.5934% year over year, which is a warning sign for many media-adjacent employers. Direct openings exist but they are not abundant: a local posting sample found more than 40 postings across more than 30 companies in the last 90 days, with about 80% on-site and only about 5% senior. Pay is respectable for the roles that do open, but San Diego's cost base and the national decline projected for journalism roles mean generalist candidates will feel more pressure than specialists.

Best positioned: Candidates with a visible portfolio in photography, video editing, or technical writing—and who are open to on-site work—have the best odds right now.

Main caution: This is not a remote-first market: about 80% of local openings were on-site and less than 5% were remote.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 23 openings in this market. 3 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. Deloitte: 2 open roles
2. MediaNews Group: 2 open roles
3. Nexstar Media Group: 2 open roles
4. All-Pro Auto Reconditioning: 1 open role
5. Bella Baby Photography: 1 open role
6. Confie: 1 open role
7. DanceBUG Inc.: 1 open role
8. EMURJ, Inc.: 1 open role
9. Flare Energy Services: 1 open role
10. Free Brands: 1 open role

Where the openings are

• San Diego: 19
• Poway: 1
• Encinitas: 1
• Municipio de Tijuana: 1
• Chula Vista: 1

Work arrangement

on-site 14 (61%), hybrid 5 (22%), remote 4 (17%)

Where the demand is

Opportunity is spread across several small pools rather than one deep hiring lane. Over the last 90 days, the local sample found more than 40 postings across more than 30 companies, with recurring employers including Nexstar Media Group, Lifetouch Inc., GLORY DAYS SERVICE INC, MediaNews Group, Deloitte, and the County of San Diego. That mix points to a split between local broadcast and publishing, photography and event-style production, and institutional documentation work. Skills and seniority back that up. The most-requested local hard skills were photography, technical writing, video editing, Microsoft Word, editing, technical editing, Adobe Premiere, and content management systems, while the opening mix was about 40% entry, about 55% mid, about 5% senior, and about 0% lead+. In practice, that means more hands-on producers, writers, and editors are being sought than true newsroom managers or celebrity-talent roles. The market also rewards local presence. About 80% of openings were on-site and about 15% were hybrid, so employers appear to value people who can show up for shoots, newsroom collaboration, live events, or stakeholder-heavy documentation work.

• Local broadcast and publishing (moderate): Broadcasters and publishers still appear in the named employer set, but they are selective and usually want recent clips or production-ready skills.
• Photo and video production (high): Photography, video editing, and Adobe Premiere are among the clearest local skill screens, making visual-first production one of the more active sub-lanes.
• Technical writing and institutional editing (high): Technical writing and technical editing appear often enough in the local skill mix to make documentation-heavy roles one of the more dependable ways into this category.

Where to focus: Focus first on visual production or technical documentation roles unless you already have recent newsroom clips or a clear beat.

Roles worth searching next

• Communications specialist / public information officer: Strong writing, interviewing, editing, and public-affairs instincts transfer well.
• Content strategist / brand editor: Editing, CMS fluency, and audience thinking carry over cleanly.
• UX writer / content designer: Clear structure, information hierarchy, and concise writing are directly reusable.
• Social video producer in a marketing team: Photo, video, editing, and fast-turn storytelling skills transfer naturally.

What postings ask for

• Photography (table_stakes | immediate): Photography appeared in about 20% of local postings, making it one of the clearest hands-on screens for visual roles. Who: Entry-level candidates, freelancers, and anyone targeting event, field, or multimedia work.
• Video editing and Adobe Premiere (differentiator | immediate): Video editing appeared in about 15% of local postings and Adobe Premiere in about 10%, so the market rewards people who can shoot-to-edit rather than hand work off. Who: Reporters, videographers, digital producers, and career switchers coming from adjacent creator work.
• Technical writing (differentiator | immediate): Technical writing showed up in about 15% of local postings, and national guidance says AI is pushing technical writers toward stronger information architecture and documentation design. Who: Mid-career writers, domain experts, and switchers from regulated industries.
• Technical editing and CMS workflow (differentiator | near-term): Technical editing appeared in about 10% of local postings and content management systems in about 5%; that combination matters when lean teams need publish-ready work with less handoff. Who: Editors, production specialists, and anyone applying to small teams.
• AI literacy (premium | immediate): AI literacy is increasingly expected in journalism, and an August 2026 study found that 68% of journalists at top-100 U.S. newsrooms now use AI tools in workflow. Who: Everyone in this category, especially reporters, editors, and technical writers.
• Data journalism stack (SQL, Python, R, Tableau, Power BI) (premium | near-term): SQL, Python, R, Tableau, and Power BI remain high-value differentiators for data journalism and investigative work. Who: Reporters and editors who want a harder-to-replace specialization.

Questions about this market

What do Media, Journalism & Entertainment roles pay in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?

For reporters and journalists in San Diego, BLS shows a 2025 median of $63,810, a mean of $83,390, and a 25th-75th band of $48,620 to $95,170. For the broader media and communication family in the metro, the 2025 median was $67,100 and the mean was $84,500. More current posting data points higher at the offer stage, with local posted ranges centering on about $75k to $98k and a broader 25th-75th band of about $64k to $129k. That is respectable nominal pay, and BLS also puts the metro's all-occupation mean hourly wage at $38.01 versus $33.54 nationally. But San Diego's cost of living is approximately 40 percent above the national average, so midrange offers will not feel as strong here as the headline salaries suggest.

Where is demand for Media, Journalism & Entertainment roles in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA concentrated?

Opportunity is spread across several small pools rather than one deep hiring lane. Over the last 90 days, the local sample found more than 40 postings across more than 30 companies, with recurring employers including Nexstar Media Group, Lifetouch Inc., GLORY DAYS SERVICE INC, MediaNews Group, Deloitte, and the County of San Diego. That mix points to a split between local broadcast and publishing, photography and event-style production, and institutional documentation work. Skills and seniority back that up. The most-requested local hard skills were photography, technical writing, video editing, Microsoft Word, editing, technical editing, Adobe Premiere, and content management systems, while the opening mix was about 40% entry, about 55% mid, about 5% senior, and about 0% lead+. In practice, that means more hands-on producers, writers, and editors are being sought than true newsroom managers or celebrity-talent roles. The market also rewards local presence. About 80% of openings were on-site and about 15% were hybrid, so employers appear to value people who can show up for shoots, newsroom collaboration, live events, or stakeholder-heavy documentation work.

Which employers are hiring the most Media, Journalism & Entertainment talent in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?

Recent postings show the most activity from Nexstar Media Group (5 postings), Lifetouch Inc. (5 postings), GLORY DAYS SERVICE INC (5 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Media, Journalism & Entertainment roles in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 5% are remote and 15% hybrid, with 80% 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.

Browse California openings by job title

• Software Engineer: 1,182 open roles statewide
• General Manager: 419 open roles statewide
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• Project Manager: 388 open roles statewide
• Program Manager: 327 open roles statewide
• Technical Program Manager: 316 open roles statewide
• Senior Software Engineer: 277 open roles statewide
• Staff Software Engineer: 234 open roles statewide
• Engineering Manager: 173 open roles statewide
• Senior Manager: 138 open roles statewide
• Senior Product Manager: 117 open roles statewide
• Associate Director: 108 open roles statewide

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