April O'Neil was originally a computer programmer and lab assistant rather than a news reporter.

In the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics from 1984, April O'Neil worked for a scientist named Baxter Stockman. She was a computer expert who helped build the Mouser robots. She met the turtles after she discovered Stockman was using the robots to steal money from banks.The creators of the 1987 animated series changed her job to a reporter for Channel 6 News. This was a storytelling tool that allowed her to be at crime scenes. It gave her a reason to talk to the police and learn about the villain Shredder. Her famous yellow jumpsuit was designed as a work uniform for her news job.This reporter version became the most famous version of the character for many years. It was used in the 1990 live-action movie and the 2014 film. Later versions of the show and comics have sometimes switched her back to being a scientist or a student. These changes depend on whether the writers want her to be a news source or a technical expert.