As the job market for journalists continues to grow and become more competitive, salaries for anchors are rising as well. If you’re interested in getting a bankable salary as a local news anchor, check out our list of the best local news anchor salaries in the last few years. Local news anchors may not be household names like other on-camera personalities. Let us know about ‘Salaries For Local News Anchor’.
The Best Local News Anchor Salaries
It’s important to remember that salary comparisons among local news anchors can be tricky. Unlike many other professions, salary levels for local news anchors are dictated by factors beyond your control, like the type of station, the size of the market, and the region. To be considered a local news anchor, however, you must anchor the newscast, so the salary you’ll earn will likely be much higher.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the median annual salary for television newscasters was $47,340 as of May 2018, which is more than $5,000 less than the national average for all occupations. The BLS also reports an average hourly salary of $27.64, which means local news anchors who work full-time typically earn $71,680 per year or $16.24 per hour.
What You Earn As a Local News Anchor?
The salaries of Local News Anchor depend on states, cities, news channel level, type of news coverage, skills and expertise of anchors, etc. So, the amount varies from time to time and from state to state. But the average salary that a Local News Anchor made in the US is near about $45,810. Their salaries range from $13,380 to $350,48. The anchors with median-level skills and experience have a salary range between $64,163 and $159,166.
Best Local News Anchor Salaries Based on Skills and Experience
The salaries for local news anchor highly depends upon skills and experience. If you are a median or low-level new anchor then your salary would be less than highly skilled anchors. Like average level salary is range in-between $64,163 and $159,166. The highly skilled experienced local news anchor can make a salary of up to $350,481.
Choosing the Best Career as High-Salary Local News Anchor
To become a local news anchor earning a high salary, you’ll have to:
- first, make it onto the radar of a local news station. While there are more opportunities for finding employment in metropolitan areas.
- often, you’ll need to apply to a few different local news stations before you land an interview.
- Once you’re in the running for a job at a local news station, you’ll have to prove yourself again in person.
- Once you’ve got a job at a local news station, you’ll want to seek out opportunities to increase your on-air experience and expand your reporting skills.
- Spend as many shifts covering breaking news as you can, and make sure to add social media posts, editorials, and other content to your portfolio.
- If there are opportunities within your station that allow you to report and cover stories beyond what’s on the nightly newscast, take advantage of them.
Factors Determining a Good Local News Anchor Salary
While the type of station and the size of the market all come into play, there are a few factors that typically determine a good local news anchor’s salary.
First, a station’s newscast and the salary of individual anchors can play a significant role in determining how much an anchor gets paid. If your station offers a higher salary or has a higher rank in the ratings compared to your peers, you may receive a higher salary as well.
Second, the type of station you work for can also have an impact on your salary as a local news anchor. Public access stations, for example, generally pay their anchors significantly less than those at commercial stations.
Find Local News Anchor Salaries on Job Sites
You can find jobs that are related to your field, skills, and experience through specific websites or social media. There you will also find a great variety of local new anchor websites. The most famous websites where you can find local news anchor jobs with salaries are LinkedIn, Job.com, Ladders, Glassdoor, Network, Monster, etc.
Salary Scale of Different Cities or States of the US
Here you can notice how salary or new anchor varies from state to state even city to city:
- Atkinson, NE $78,299
- Deer Park, CA $65,203
- Tacoma, WA $61,971
- Stamford, CT $61,822
- Bellevue, WA $61,425
- Belgrade, MT $61,045
Evaluating New Anchor Salaries in the US
As news agency is enhancing in the US, the demand for news anchors has increased. The career of local news anchors is also highly trending in the media industry. So, before entering into this field you should evaluate the basic salary, average salary, and other perks and benefits that are given to news anchors by other companies. Then you can evaluate by researching salary in every aspect.
Negotiation for Salary
When you are done with your research and make a catalog of salary that is offered by salary. Then when you go for a job interview in any media company and negotiate on salary with them. You can give a high demand as much as you can and then fix your salary.
Comparing the Salary of Local News Anchors and on National Level
The demand for local news channels has increased in the last few years as people want to get themselves update about current affairs at the local level. Now broadcasting ratings of local news channels increased as compared to national or international news channels. So, does the demand for local news anchors also increase, and so does their salary ratio increase than the salary of news anchors at the national level?
Bottom Line
While it’s impossible to give an exact figure, we compiled a list of the best local news anchor salaries and gave some insight into salary factors that can help you determine your salary. Ultimately, the best way to determine your salary as a local news anchor is to apply for the job, show your employers why you should be hired, and then negotiate a salary based on your experience and qualifications.
FAQs
Q: How can local news anchors get highly paid?
The salary of any job depends on skills and experience. If you are at the junior level of a local news anchor and want to upgrade to be highly paid then you should get skills and experience working at the initial level and then surely you will get a chance of getting a high salary.
Q: Is it good to start a journalism career as a local news anchor?
As local news channels are broadcast at the local level and are watched by the majority of local viewers to get updates on their surrounding local environment. So, this is the best choice to kick start your career as a local news anchor; from here you will get surely a good experience to work at a higher level as a news anchor.