Nowadays, becoming a news anchor is an attractive career option as the number of new channels across various digital media keeps multiplying rapidly. Many people love to face the camera, and the advent of news anchoring has created new opportunities for those who could not become a part of the entertainment industry. Many television news anchors enjoy high popularity, and even some tend to become celebrities as they keep us informed about the latest events and happenings across the world and within the locale.
Today, the news is about sharing information and compiling news stories, which is the job of news anchors. The faces we see on the television screen, many of which have become household names, are artistic individuals ready to demonstrate their creativity and present the news in their unique way packaging it like a commodity.
Skills required for becoming a news anchor
The first skill that you must have to become a news anchor is to face the camera freely with complete comfort. Since news presentation on television has close links to show business, it is not just enough to be camera-friendly by shedding all inhibitions. It is critical to connect with viewers and develop a relationship that compels them to stay drawn to you over your competitors. Having a magnetic personality and adding a trustworthy tone to the presentation make some news anchors more popular. It takes time to gain a reputation as a news anchor because the skill level keeps growing with time.
News anchors must have excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, and be highly receptive to the situations to instantly improvise to take their presentation to great heights. In addition, they must take great interest in current affairs and have considerable analytical skills to draw inferences that bear the marks of their brilliance.
They must be people’s men to be comfortable interacting with various sections of the community with equal ease. Interviewing people is another crucial skill of news anchors that must collaborate with bigger teams that work behind the scenes to create news stories.
Salaries vary
Salaries of news anchors vary greatly depending on whether you work in a local news channel in some small town or part of some bigger network that operates across the country where you serve as a network anchor. There is no simple answer about how much do news anchors make because it depends on the location. The earning spectrum of news anchors varies by stat. On average, a junior news anchor earns $38,000 per annum. The level and seniority could make some news anchors earn as much as $200,180 in a year which translates into about $100 an hour. Mid-level anchors earn $66,800 per year, and starters can expect to earn $27,370.
News anchors just do not broadcast news but are also responsible for gathering information by working closely with reporters throughout the day and create their presentations to make the stories attractive and exciting.
