The fundamental aspect of the job is being part of the news. Having knowledge of the local culture and being keen on news-worthy events is the best attitude for pursuing a news anchor job.
A news anchor job not only involves reading a teleprompter. An anchor must be versed in editing, investigative reporting, writing and meeting deadlines and many other responsibilities that may be needed on the job. In countries like Canada and United States of America, a news anchor has to provide material for a news program and sometimes ad-lib observations and comments during live presentations. In 2011, there are eight thousand news anchors in America.
Education and Skills Requirements
In general, a news anchor should have an undergraduate degree in journalism and broadcasting programs at a university. In addition to a university degree, they need to have an experience in a news setting environment. Having a degree in broadcasting can help in pursuing a news anchor job but is not necessary. Some companies employ news anchors who have worked on school broadcast stations or newspaper. An internship with a news organization is also an advantage. Generally, news anchors have worked as a reporter, and usually moves to one station to another for better career opportunities.
Duties and Responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities of a news anchor are extensive and require patience and perseverance. News anchor give tips in developing story ideas and evaluate news leads. They authenticate accurate information about articles through research, interviews and observation. They also manage resources and write articles supported on information acquired, preserves essential targets in order to supply news stories in a well-timed approach. The news anchor also put across stories to the community and uses a variety of social platforms to make available updates and news stories.
News anchors should also have strong interest in information and has strong management skill in the newsroom. They require having a strong on-air appearance and must have outstanding communication skills in both written and oral form.
News anchors report the particulars and occasionally supply editorial commentary. They need to know how to inscribe their own scripts and sometimes can rely on the news writing team of the station, which they read over the TelePrompter. Research is imperative in every news story and news anchors ought to be well knowledgeable regarding the stories they cover and those they bring in.
News anchors also produce special segments, conduct panel discussions and on air interviews and most of all report the news. From time to time news anchors stations keep the program log and do most jobs that news anchors from established network stations do.
Salary and Compensation
A news anchor is an exciting and alluring job. News anchors have to be well-groomed prior to their television appearances. They also have to work for extended and irregular hours due to the deadlines that they have to accomplish. According to reports, as of 2009 a news anchor takes home an average pay of $50,000 every year while an experienced news anchor can get as much as $87,000. A news anchor who is working in telecommunications can earn as much as $114,000 annually.*
*According to the BLS, http://www.bls.gov/oco/
