Being a news anchor requires many skills, most of which you will need to hone; however, there is also an innate talent required for a job as a TV anchor and you need to be honest with yourself whether or not you have the talent it takes to become a news anchor.
First, you need to be comfortable in front of the camera. This is show business, in a sense, and the viewers have to like you. You also need to be able to think on your feet. Many anchors read scripts off teleprompters or from notes on their desk; however, if news is breaking live, information may be fed to the anchor verbally from a producer. The anchor needs to be able to pay attention and then convey the information to the audience clearly and concisely. In addition to speaking skills, writing is important in this type of work. Stories that are reported by anchors are often from the field or from a specific locale and have sometimes been researched and worked on by the anchor him- or herself.
Most news anchors fell in love with journalism in high school. Whether it was running the school newspaper or working on the yearbook, they knew early on that this type of work was for them. They may have even taken a journalism class or a radio/TV class in high school if it was offered. The next step is college. At the college level, journalism would be the obvious major. There are a variety of radio and TV classes at universities and colleges that offer the degree you are looking for. You have to be sure that you are enrolled in a college that will provide you with the complete education that you will need. Meanwhile, part-time media jobs and summer employment should start adding to your resume.
After college, it may be difficult to find that first job; but this is where your determination and persistence come in. You are certainly not going to get hired as a TV anchor right out of college. Many people have worked as interns or have even volunteered at TV stations just to get their foot in the door. You may have done this in college, but you may have to do it again. Being an intern really allows you to see what goes on behind the scenes, gives you the confidence that you will need to eventually work in front of a camera, and gets you in front of the people who may eventually hire you.
Most likely for your first job you will be hired as an assistant writer or an assistant field producer. Maybe during this time you can get a shot at writing a story of your own, maybe something small to start. This is where you need to shine in order to get noticed. During this time at your first job do everything you can to get your resume built up. You need to be preparing tape for future on-camera positions. Once you have your tape completed and some experience behind you, you can start looking for jobs with TV stations as an anchor on any station at any time. The best places to look are start-up shows. You also need to be keeping your eye open for any and all opportunities that come up and should be willing to relocate. You might find a job with a local TV station in your area, but often there are only a few TV stations in a city; so you may need to travel to another city to find work, especially if you are looking for big-time media.
Once you feel that you are actually qualified to go after that news anchor job, you will find that this only puts you in the running to get hired. Now you have to match up with and beat the competition. You might have all the skills, but now you have to look good. For TV, this is a must. Just look at all of the famous news anchors. TV news stations also want to balance men and women anchors, so this may also factor in when you are looking for that media job.
You will get hired as a reporter and this is where you slowly work your way up to reporting the news on TV. All great news anchors were good reporters; journalism is in their blood. First, you will get small spots on the news. Then you may be called to fill in for other anchors. You may be able to get a job with the very early morning news, the late night news, or the weekend news to start. Whatever it is, take it. Only those who make it anchor prime-time news.
Do not expect a lot of money at first. For people just starting out in the media industry salaries are very low. You may need a second job to get you through. The salary of a news anchor will depend on many factors. First, a syndicated station will pay higher. A small city or region pays much less than a bigger market with many viewers.
There are many more jobs for news anchors these days than in the past. This is due to the many stations that have twenty-four-hour news coverage, morning shows, and all of the cable news channels that are on the air. With the population increasing and with more globalization, there is more than enough news to go around. If your dream is to land a job as a news anchor, go for it.
