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Journalist vs anchor

The differences between journalists and anchors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a journalist and an anchor. Additionally, an anchor has an average salary of $70,715, which is higher than the $60,828 average annual salary of a journalist.

The top three skills for a journalist include news stories, multimedia and story development. The most important skills for an anchor are news stories, story development, and facebook.

Journalist vs anchor overview

JournalistAnchor
Yearly salary$60,828$70,715
Hourly rate$29.24$34.00
Growth rate-10%-10%
Number of jobs11,4882,986
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age4040
Years of experience22

What does a journalist do?

A journalist is responsible for creating written correspondence, covering various subjects as the management requires. This task involves a lot of research investigations, conducting interviews, and gathering reliable sources to verify the authenticity of data before releasing the articles on news portals and other social platforms. Journalists should have excellent communication skills, both written and oral, conveying information to the target audience with high accuracy and efficiency. They analyze opinions and testimonies, create eye-catching headlines, and ensure adherence to deadlines.

What does an anchor do?

A news anchor is a journalist who informs the public through reports of events and news stories. News anchors educate the public about the world, local, and national events. They interact with the reporters while they are in the air. Their job includes gathering, verifying, and analyzing data from different sources. They produce news and coordinate reports. Skills necessary for this job include verbal communication, the ability to improvise, collaboration, and reading comprehension.

Journalist vs anchor salary

Journalists and anchors have different pay scales, as shown below.

JournalistAnchor
Average salary$60,828$70,715
Salary rangeBetween $38,000 And $95,000Between $41,000 And $119,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYNew York, NY
Highest paying stateNew YorkNew York
Best paying companyBloombergThe Walt Disney Company
Best paying industryFinance-

Differences between journalist and anchor education

There are a few differences between a journalist and an anchor in terms of educational background:

JournalistAnchor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorJournalismJournalism
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Journalist vs anchor demographics

Here are the differences between journalists' and anchors' demographics:

JournalistAnchor
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 46.6% Female, 53.4%Male, 55.9% Female, 44.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.6% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 9.5% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between journalist and anchor duties and responsibilities

Journalist example responsibilities.

  • Manage studio operations, ensuring that shows run efficiently by floor directing, prompting and providing scripts.
  • Partner closely with 13WHAM ABC Rochester.
  • Award regional EMMY for spot news.
  • Edit headline packages, kickers, bumps and topicals.
  • Update stories to web page, twitter, and facebook.
  • Used ENG trucks to distribute live news feeds during broadcasts.
  • Show more

Anchor example responsibilities.

  • Read off teleprompter and interact with co-anchor.
  • Write and update KOTA's website and Facebook page.
  • Serve as primetime anchor and reporter for local ABC affiliate.
  • Co-Anchore the 6 p.m. news at the ABC affiliate in Alaska.
  • Fabricate steel clips and anchoring points, assemble aluminum window frames.
  • Film basketball games and edit clips for analysis on the show.
  • Show more

Journalist vs anchor skills

Common journalist skills
  • News Stories, 15%
  • Multimedia, 11%
  • Story Development, 11%
  • Local Community, 7%
  • Edit Video, 5%
  • Local News, 4%
Common anchor skills
  • News Stories, 21%
  • Story Development, 7%
  • Facebook, 6%
  • Twitter, 5%
  • Local News, 5%
  • News Coverage, 5%

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