News Anchor Job Description Templates for Small-Market TV, Radio, and Streaming
6 free templates for the newsrooms that hire without a corporate talent team: evening anchor, morning anchor, anchor-reporter hybrid, weekend fill-in, radio news anchor, and digital streaming anchor. Download as DOCX.
Nearly every news anchor job description online was written for a top-50 market. It assumes a dedicated anchor desk, a corporate talent department, an agent on the other side of the table, and a person whose entire job is presenting the newscast. If you run a station below that line, none of that describes the seat you are trying to fill.
The gap shows up in the applications. Post a big-market description at a station where the anchor also reports two days a week, shoots their own video, and drives 90 minutes to a county commission meeting, and you get reels from people who will quit in four months. The posting was honest about the glamorous half of the job and silent about the rest.
At FirstHR we write hiring templates for employers without an HR department, and small newsrooms are the sharpest version of that reader. The six below cover an evening television anchor, a morning anchor, an anchor-reporter hybrid, a weekend fill-in, a radio news anchor, and a digital streaming anchor, each with the classification, recruitment, and contract notes the generic versions leave out.
TL;DR
A news anchor job description has to describe the whole job, which below the top markets usually includes reporting, shooting, and editing. Classification turns on the creative professional test, not the title. Broadcast licensees also carry FCC recruitment obligations on every full-time vacancy. Six templates below, downloadable as DOCX.
Anchoring Is Two Jobs in a Small Market
Outside the largest markets, anchoring is rarely a standalone job. The same person presents the newscast on some days and reports, shoots, and edits on the others, and the posting has to describe both halves or it attracts the wrong people entirely.
That structural fact drives everything else on this page. It changes the overtime analysis, because a day spent hauling a tripod is not the same as a day spent interpreting public events. It changes the screening, because you need a reel that proves field work as well as desk presence. It changes the pay band, and it changes who says yes.
Small-market television station
Anchor and reporter in one seat
Below the top 50 markets the anchor desk is rarely a full-time job by itself. The person anchors part of the week and reports the rest, often shooting and editing their own material. Write the posting for the whole job, not the half that shows on camera.
Radio station or cluster
One-person news department
Local radio news is usually staffed by a single person who gathers, writes, voices, and anchors everything that airs. That person is frequently the news director too, which changes both the pay band and the overtime analysis.
Digital or streaming newsroom
No license, no tower
A streaming or newsletter-first outlet hires anchors without any FCC obligation attached. That removes the broadcast recruitment rules and the small-market overtime provision at the same time, which cuts in both directions.
Network or top-market station
Out of scope here
Large-market and network anchors are hired through agents, multi-year negotiated contracts, and in some shops a collective bargaining agreement. If that is you, legal counsel is already drafting the terms. These templates target the small side.
Write the Posting for the Actual Week, Not the Title
Sit down and count. How many days a week is this person on the desk? How many are they in a truck? Who writes the show copy, the anchor or the producer? Who cuts the video? Does the role carry a beat? Answer those five questions in the first two paragraphs of the posting. Candidates who want a pure anchor seat will self-select out, which is the point, and the ones who stay know exactly what they are applying for.
What Belongs in an Anchor Posting
An anchor job description does four jobs at once: it sells the newsroom, it filters applicants who want a different job, it protects you legally, and it closes the hire. Most postings do only the first, which produces volume and not fit. Here is the full inventory.
The parts candidates read first
Market, station, and newscast count in two sentences
Which newscasts, on which days, at which times
Whether the role also reports, shoots, and edits
Who the anchor sits next to and reports to
The parts that filter applicants
Years of live anchoring experience, stated as a number
Reel and writing samples requested up front
The overnight, weekend, or holiday reality
Driving, gear-carrying, and severe-weather expectations
The parts that protect you
FLSA classification decided on duties and stated
Essential functions written plainly for accommodation purposes
Equal opportunity statement
Broadcast licensees: the wide-dissemination recruitment notice
The parts that win the hire
Salary or a good-faith range, not 'commensurate with experience'
Contract term, if the role carries one
Clothing, grooming, or equipment allowances
A named person, a real deadline, and a decision timeline
The most common omission at small stations is the schedule reality. Overnight starts, weekend rotations, holiday coverage, and the phone call at 4:00 a.m. when a storm moves in are all part of the job, and burying them costs you a hire six months later. Our guide to writing a job description covers the general structure in more depth.
6 News Anchor Job Description Templates to Download
Download all six as one file or copy them individually. Each follows the same structure: station overview, position summary, key responsibilities, required qualifications, a classification and compliance note, an equal opportunity and recruitment statement, and how to apply. The bracketed fields are the only parts you need to change.
Download All 6 News Anchor Job Description Templates
Evening anchor, morning anchor, anchor-reporter hybrid, weekend fill-in, radio news anchor, and digital streaming anchor. All in one download.
Television News Anchor
Evening newscasts
The main desk role: show writing, live breaking coverage, enterprise reporting, and community representation, with the classification note written out.
Morning / Daybreak Anchor
Overnight start
For the daybreak block, with the overnight schedule, weather cut-ins, differential pay, and the off-the-clock prep problem addressed head on.
Anchor / Reporter (MMJ)
Small-market hybrid
The version most small stations actually hire: anchoring part of the week, one-person-band reporting the rest, non-exempt by default.
Weekend / Fill-In Anchor
Part-time or per diem
For your bench, with shift-rate mechanics, call-in scheduling, and a plain warning about treating fill-in anchors as contractors.
Radio News Anchor
One-person news department
For a radio station or cluster: gathering, writing, voicing, and directing local news, with both routes to exempt status compared.
Digital / Streaming Anchor
No broadcast license
For a streaming or digital-first outlet, with live chat, vertical video, audience metrics, and disclosure obligations built into the duties.
Template 1: Television News Anchor, Evening Newscasts
The main desk role, with show writing, live breaking coverage, enterprise reporting, and community representation written in as duties rather than assumed.
Television News Anchor Job Description (Evening Newscast)
TELEVISION NEWS ANCHOR JOB DESCRIPTION
Station: __ ([City, State], DMA [number])
Reports to: [News Director / Assistant News Director]
Employment type: Full-time, [at-will / written term contract of __ years]
FLSA status: [Exempt / Non-exempt] (see classification note before you decide)
Schedule: [Monday to Friday], [afternoon through late evening]
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT [STATION NAME]
[Station Name] is the [network affiliate / independent / public] television
station serving [market], reaching [audience] across [counties]. Our newsroom
runs [number] newscasts a day with a staff of [number]. We are hiring an anchor
for the [time] and [time] newscasts.
POSITION SUMMARY
The News Anchor presents the [time] and [time] newscasts, writes and edits copy
for the shows they anchor, contributes original reporting, handles live and
breaking coverage without a script, and represents the station in the community.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Anchor the [time] and [time] newscasts [number] days a week
•Write, rewrite, and edit lead stories and show copy rather than reading only
what others produce
•Carry breaking news and severe weather coverage live and unscripted for
extended stretches
•Report and turn [number] enterprise stories a week on [beat]
•Conduct studio and field interviews, including live guest segments
•Work with producers on rundown, story order, and show tone in the daily
editorial meeting
•Record voice tracks, teases, and promotional material as assigned
•Post to station social accounts and digital platforms under our editorial
and social media policy
•Represent [Station Name] at [community events, station appearances, charity
partnerships] as scheduled
•Follow the station code of ethics, corrections policy, and FCC obligations
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, or equivalent newsroom
experience
•[Number] years of on-air experience, including live anchoring
•Demonstrated ability to ad-lib accurately through breaking news
•Clean, current reel and writing samples
•Working knowledge of media law basics: defamation, privacy, and newsgathering
•Valid driver's license and clean driving record
•Availability for [holidays, severe weather, and election coverage]
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE (read before posting)
Do not classify by title. An anchor may qualify for the FLSA creative
professional exemption only when the primary duty requires invention,
imagination, originality, or talent: analyzing and interpreting events,
conducting investigative interviews, ad-libbing live, and writing commentary.
An anchor whose day is reading copy produced by others, on a rundown controlled
entirely by the newsroom, is likelier non-exempt. Exempt creative professionals
must also be paid on a salary basis of at least $684 per week. Separately, an
announcer or news editor at a station whose major studio sits in a small enough
city may be overtime-exempt under a narrow FLSA provision written for small
market broadcasters. Check the population test before relying on it. This is
general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT AND FCC RECRUITMENT NOTICE
[Station Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role. As a broadcast
licensee, we distribute notice of this vacancy widely and to any recruiting
organization that has requested vacancy notices from us.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per year, [benefits summary], [contract term], [clothing
or grooming allowance if offered]
To apply, send your resume, a link to a current reel, and [three] writing
samples to __ by [date].
Template 2: Morning / Daybreak News Anchor
For the daybreak block, with the overnight start, weather and traffic interaction, shift differential, and the off-the-clock prep problem addressed directly.
Morning / Daybreak News Anchor Job Description
MORNING / DAYBREAK NEWS ANCHOR JOB DESCRIPTION
Station: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Morning Executive Producer / News Director]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: [Exempt / Non-exempt] (see classification note)
Schedule: Overnight start, approximately [1:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.], [days]
Compensation: $_ per year, plus [overnight differential]
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Station Name] is hiring a morning anchor for [show name], our [length] daybreak
block. This is the shift that sets the tone for the whole market. It starts in
the middle of the night, it runs long, and it rewards someone who is genuinely
awake and genuinely warm on camera at [4:30] a.m.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Morning Anchor presents the daybreak newscast, writes and updates overnight
copy, handles live weather and traffic interaction, carries breaking news that
develops overnight, and anchors extended coverage when the morning goes sideways.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Arrive by [time] and update overnight copy, wires, and scripts before air
•Anchor [length] of live morning programming [days] a week
•Interact live with the meteorologist, traffic reporter, and field crews
The version most small stations actually hire. If your opening is really a field job with an occasional fill-in shift, use the reporter templates instead.
FLSA status: Non-exempt in most small market cases (see classification note)
Schedule: [Days], with [evening / weekend] rotation
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour]
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Station Name] is a [number] person newsroom in [market]. There is no separate
anchor desk and reporting staff here: you anchor part of the week and report the
rest, shoot and edit your own material, and file for broadcast and digital. This
is the job where a career gets built quickly because you touch every part of it.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Anchor / Reporter anchors [number] newscasts a week, reports and produces
original stories on the other days, shoots and edits video, files digital
versions of every story, and covers breaking news live from the field.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Anchor the [time] newscast [number] days a week
•Report, shoot, write, and edit [number] packages per week as a one-person crew
•Go live from the field using [live truck / bonded cellular / phone]
•Operate camera, tripod, lighting, and audio gear and keep it maintained
•Write digital versions of your stories and post them to our site and apps
•Develop and hold a beat: [government, courts, schools, agriculture, energy]
•Cover [meetings, elections, weather events] outside standard hours
•Fill in on [producing / assignment desk] as newsroom needs require
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree in journalism or communications, or equivalent experience
•[Number] years of reporting experience; anchoring experience preferred
•Demonstrated field shooting and nonlinear editing ability
•Reel showing both anchoring and field reporting
•Valid driver's license, clean driving record, and willingness to drive a
station vehicle across [coverage area]
•Physical ability to carry and operate field gear
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE
Most anchor / reporter hybrids in small markets are non-exempt. The FLSA creative
professional exemption is written around journalists whose primary duty requires
invention, imagination, originality, or talent, and a role built substantially on
shooting, editing, and standard recounts of public information generally does not
meet it. Treat this as an hourly job unless you have a documented reason not to:
track hours, pay overtime past forty in a week, and count required travel between
assignments in the course of a shift as hours worked. Ordinary home to work
commuting is not. Get the classification right before the first paycheck, because
the fix later is back wages plus liquidated damages. This is general information,
not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT AND FCC RECRUITMENT NOTICE
[Station Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role. Notice of this vacancy
is distributed widely and to any recruiting organization that has requested
vacancy notices from us.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour], [overtime terms], [mileage policy],
[gear provided]
To apply, send your resume and reel to __.
Template 4: Weekend / Fill-In News Anchor
For your bench, with shift-rate mechanics, call-in scheduling, and a plain warning about treating a fill-in anchor as an independent contractor.
Weekend / Fill-In News Anchor Job Description
WEEKEND / FILL-IN NEWS ANCHOR JOB DESCRIPTION
Station: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [News Director / Weekend Executive Producer]
Employment type: [Part-time / Per diem / Full-time with weekday reporting duties]
FLSA status: Non-exempt in most cases (see classification note)
Schedule: [Saturday and Sunday], plus fill-in coverage on short notice
Compensation: $_ per [hour / shift]
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Station Name] keeps a small bench of anchors who can take the desk on weekends,
holidays, and whenever a full-time anchor is out. Weekend newscasts run with a
skeleton crew, which means the person on the desk makes more of the calls than
they would on a weekday.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Weekend Anchor presents the [time] weekend newscasts, works with a reduced
crew to write and assemble the show, covers breaking news that develops with no
management on site, and fills in on weekday newscasts as scheduled.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Anchor [number] weekend newscasts and fill in on weekdays as scheduled
•Write and edit the majority of your own show copy
•Coordinate with [one producer / one photographer] and make editorial calls
when no manager is in the building
•Monitor scanners, wires, and social platforms through the shift
•Cut in live for breaking news and severe weather outside the newscast window
•Post weekend digital updates
•Maintain readiness to be called in on short notice for [holidays, elections,
storm coverage]
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Bachelor's degree / equivalent newsroom experience: set your bar]
•[Number] years of on-air experience
•Sound news judgment with no one to check with at 6:00 p.m. on a Sunday
•Current reel and writing samples
•Reliable availability on weekends and on short notice
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE
A part-time or per diem anchor is almost always non-exempt, and a per shift rate
does not change that. Convert the shift rate to an hourly figure, record actual
hours, and pay overtime past forty in a week when fill-in shifts stack on top of
a regular schedule. Do not treat a fill-in anchor as an independent contractor:
a station that sets the schedule, the scripts, the wardrobe, the location, and
the editorial standards is directing an employee, and misclassification here is
one of the more common and expensive newsroom mistakes. Be explicit in the offer
about how call-in shifts are scheduled and paid. This is general information, not
legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT AND FCC RECRUITMENT NOTICE
[Station Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role. Notice of this vacancy
is distributed widely and to any recruiting organization that has requested
vacancy notices from us.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per [hour / shift], [call-in policy], [benefits if any]
To apply, send your resume, reel, and weekend availability to
__.
Template 5: Radio News Anchor and News Director
For a radio station or cluster where one person is the entire news department. Pair it with the producer templates if you also staff show production separately.
Radio News Anchor / News Director Job Description
RADIO NEWS ANCHOR / NEWS DIRECTOR JOB DESCRIPTION
Station or cluster: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Operations Manager / General Manager / Owner]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: [Exempt / Non-exempt] (see classification note)
Schedule: [Morning drive], approximately [4:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.]
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Station Name] is a [number] station cluster serving [market]. Local news is our
differentiator against everything streaming into this market from outside it. We
are hiring one person to gather, write, and anchor the local newscasts that run
during [morning drive] across [stations].
POSITION SUMMARY
The Radio News Anchor gathers and reports local news, writes and voices the
newscasts that air [frequency] during [daypart], covers government meetings and
breaking events in the coverage area, and sets the newsroom's editorial direction.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Write and anchor [number] newscasts per hour during [daypart]
•Gather local news: [city council, county commission, school board, courts,
law enforcement, weather, agriculture]
•Record, edit, and place actualities and interviews into newscasts
•Post news copy to the station website and social accounts
•Conduct [weekly] long-form interviews or public affairs programming
•Cover severe weather and emergency alerts, including outside normal hours
•Maintain the station's public file entries related to news programming as
assigned
•Set the local news agenda and, where the role includes it, direct any
part-time news staff or stringers
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Bachelor's degree in journalism or communications / equivalent experience]
•[Number] years in radio news or a closely related newsroom role
•Strong broadcast writing and a clean, credible delivery
•Digital audio editing proficiency
•Working knowledge of media law basics and of open meetings and public records
law in [state]
•Valid driver's license
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE
Two separate paths can make this role overtime-exempt, and they are easy to
confuse. The first is the creative professional exemption, which requires a
salary basis of at least $684 per week and a primary duty of work requiring
invention, imagination, originality, or talent. The second is a narrow FLSA
provision covering an announcer, news editor, or chief engineer at a station
whose major studio is located in a small enough city under a specific population
test. That second one exempts the employee from overtime only, not from minimum
wage, and it turns on decennial census figures rather than on how the job feels.
If neither path clearly applies, run the role as non-exempt and track hours. This
is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT AND FCC RECRUITMENT NOTICE
[Station Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role. Notice of this vacancy
is distributed widely and to any recruiting organization that has requested
vacancy notices from us.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per year, [benefits summary]
To apply, send your resume and an audio sample of a newscast you wrote and
voiced to __.
Template 6: Digital / Streaming News Anchor
For a streaming or digital-first outlet, with live chat, vertical video, audience metrics, and disclosure obligations built into the duties. If the role is mostly post-production, see the video editor templates.
Digital / Streaming News Anchor Job Description
DIGITAL / STREAMING NEWS ANCHOR JOB DESCRIPTION
Organization: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Digital Director / Editor in Chief / Founder]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: [Exempt / Non-exempt] (see classification note)
Schedule: [Days], with live streams at [times]
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Organization Name] publishes [local news / vertical coverage] to an audience of
[number] across [site, newsletter, YouTube, streaming apps, social]. We do not
have a broadcast tower and we do not have a rundown handed down from a network.
We are hiring an anchor to front our daily stream and become the face people
associate with our coverage.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Digital News Anchor hosts our [length] daily live stream, writes and produces
the show, conducts interviews, produces short-form video for social platforms,
and builds a direct relationship with the audience.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Host the daily [length] live stream on [platforms]
•Build the rundown and write the show with [the producer / on your own]
•Book and conduct interviews with newsmakers, officials, and experts
•Cut [number] vertical short-form videos per day from the show and from the news
•Read and respond to live chat and comments within our community guidelines
•Track performance data and adjust format, timing, and topics accordingly
•Operate your own [camera, lighting, audio, streaming software] setup
•Follow our corrections policy, disclosure policy, and social media policy
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years of on-camera or on-mic experience in news, or a demonstrated
body of published work
•Genuine command of [subject or coverage area]
•Comfort with unscripted, long-form live delivery and with live audience
interaction
•Working knowledge of [streaming software, editing tools, vertical video]
•Judgment about what is verified and what is not, under time pressure
•Willingness to be publicly identified with the brand
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE
A digital publisher is not a broadcast licensee, so FCC equal employment
opportunity recruitment rules do not reach you. Federal and state employment law
still does. The narrow FLSA exemption for announcers at small market radio and
television stations is written around licensed broadcast stations and generally
will not cover a streaming-only operation, so the creative professional test is
the realistic path to exempt status here, salary basis included. Sponsorship
and affiliate disclosure obligations attach to the on-air person as well as to
the organization, so write the disclosure policy into the job description rather
than leaving it to a handbook nobody opens. This is general information, not
legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Organization Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per year, [benefits summary], [equipment stipend]
To apply, send your resume and links to [three] pieces of live or on-camera work
to __.
Overtime and the Creative Professional Test
An anchor is exempt from overtime only when the primary duty requires invention, imagination, originality, or talent, and when the salary basis test is met. The title on the offer letter decides nothing. The actual daily work decides everything.
The governing text is the federal regulation on creative professionals, which addresses journalists explicitly. It puts performing on the air, conducting investigative interviews, analyzing or interpreting public events, and writing commentary on the exempt side, and rewriting press releases or producing standard recounts of public information under substantial employer control on the non-exempt side. Salaried exempt status also requires at least $684 per week under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The creative professional test decides exempt status
Federal regulation puts journalists inside the creative professional exemption only when the primary duty is work requiring invention, imagination, originality, or talent, as opposed to work depending primarily on intelligence, diligence, and accuracy. The regulation names the exempt side directly: performing on the air in radio, television, or other electronic media, conducting investigative interviews, analyzing or interpreting public events, and writing editorials, opinion columns, or commentary. It names the other side too: rewriting press releases and producing standard recounts of public information, under substantial employer control, is not exempt work. Anchoring is on the exempt list, which is why a lot of stations assume every anchor is exempt. The assumption breaks when the anchor mostly reads copy someone else wrote, on a rundown someone else built. Exempt creative professionals must also clear the salary basis test of at least $684 per week. Decide on the actual duties, write down your reasoning, and revisit it when the job changes. This is general information, not legal advice.
The small-market broadcast overtime exemption
There is a provision in the Fair Labor Standards Act that almost nobody outside broadcasting knows about, and it was written for exactly the stations reading this page. Section 13(b)(9) exempts from overtime any employee working as an announcer, news editor, or chief engineer at a radio or television station whose major studio is located in a city or town of 100,000 population or less by the latest decennial census, unless that city is part of a metropolitan statistical area over 100,000. In that case the studio has to sit in a city or town of 25,000 or less that is at least 40 airline miles from the principal city of the area. Three cautions. It exempts overtime only, not minimum wage. It covers three named jobs, so a producer or a photographer is not included. And it runs on census figures, so a growing city can move you out of it between one census and the next. Verify the current population before you rely on it. This is general information, not legal advice.
FCC recruitment rules if you hold a license
A broadcast licensee is not free to fill an anchor seat through a quiet word with a friend at a competing station. The FCC equal employment opportunity rules apply to any station employment unit with five or more full-time employees, and they require a three-part approach: widely disseminate information about every full-time vacancy, meaning positions of 30 hours a week or more, except where exigent circumstances force an immediate hire; send vacancy notices to any recruiting organization that has asked to receive them; and complete a set number of longer-term outreach initiatives within each two-year period, with the count depending on unit size and market. Stations document all of it in an annual EEO public file report and file the broadcast EEO program report with the license renewal application. Build the outreach into the hiring process rather than reconstructing it at renewal time. This is general information, not legal advice.
Contracts, restrictive covenants, and appearance rules
Anchoring is one of the few roles at a small business where a written multi-year contract is normal rather than exotic, because the station is investing in a face the audience learns to trust. Write the term, the notice period, the renewal mechanics, and the grounds for termination in plain language, and have counsel review anything that restricts where the person can work next. Several states have statutes written specifically for broadcast employees that limit or ban non-compete clauses, including New York, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, and Utah, so a clause borrowed from a template can be void where you operate. Appearance and grooming standards are the other live wire. They intersect with race, religion, sex, age, and disability discrimination law, and a growing number of states and cities prohibit discrimination based on hair texture and protective hairstyles. Keep any standard job-related, apply it consistently, and build in a route to request an accommodation. This is general information, not legal advice.
Anyone outside an exemption needs hours tracked and overtime paid past forty in a week, and in a newsroom those hours accumulate in places nobody logs: show prep before the scheduled start, a live shot that runs past the newscast, a station appearance on a Saturday morning. If you are unsure which side a role falls on, our breakdown of exempt versus non-exempt classification works through the tests in order.
The Small-Market Provision Is Narrower Than It Sounds
Section 13(b)(9) of the Fair Labor Standards Act exempts an announcer, news editor, or chief engineer from overtime when the station's major studio sits in a city or town of 100,000 population or less, or 25,000 or less if that town is part of a metropolitan area above 100,000 and at least 40 airline miles from its principal city. Three limits catch people out. It removes the overtime obligation only, never the minimum wage one. It names three jobs, so producers, photographers, and multimedia journalists are outside it. And it runs on decennial census figures, which means a growing city can move your station out of the exemption without anyone in the building noticing.
FCC Rules Change How You Recruit
If you hold a broadcast license and your station employment unit has five or more full-time employees, you cannot fill an anchor seat quietly. FCC equal employment opportunity rules require you to disseminate every full-time vacancy widely and to document that you did.
The rules use a three-part structure: wide dissemination of information about each full-time vacancy, meaning any position of 30 hours a week or more, except where exigent circumstances force an immediate hire; vacancy notices sent to any recruitment organization that has asked to receive them; and a set number of longer-term outreach initiatives completed within every two-year period, with the count depending on the size of your employment unit and your market. The record goes into an annual EEO public file report.
Obligation
Who it applies to
What to do during an anchor search
Wide dissemination
Broadcast employment units with 5 or more full-time employees
Post the vacancy through sources that reach the whole qualified pool, not one industry contact list
Recruitment organization notices
Same units, on request
Keep the standing request list and send every full-time opening to everyone on it
Long-term outreach initiatives
Count varies by unit size and market
Track job fairs, internships, scholarships, and mentoring across the two-year window, not at renewal
Annual EEO public file report
Broadcast licensees
Record recruitment sources, interview counts, and the hire for each full-time vacancy as you go
Broadcast EEO program report
Filed with license renewal
Attach the public file reports from the prior two years
No FCC obligation
Digital-only and streaming outlets
Federal and state employment law still applies in full, including recordkeeping and EEO law
None of this is difficult on its own. It becomes difficult when a station reconstructs two years of recruitment activity the month before a renewal filing. Log the sources and the outcome at the time of each hire, in whatever system already holds your employee records.
Contracts, Non-Competes, and Appearance Rules
Anchoring is one of the few small-business roles where a written multi-year contract is standard rather than unusual. The station is investing in a face the audience learns to trust, and both sides want the term written down.
Write the term, the notice period, the renewal mechanics, and the grounds for termination in language a person can read once and understand. Then check your state before adding any restriction on where the anchor can work next, because several states have statutes written specifically for broadcast employees that limit or ban non-compete clauses, including New York, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, and Utah.
Appearance Standards Are a Discrimination Question
Wardrobe, grooming, and on-air presentation standards are legitimate business requirements for an anchor, and they are also where discrimination claims start. Any standard you set intersects with race, religion, sex, age, and disability protections, and a growing number of states and cities prohibit discrimination based on hair texture and protective hairstyles. Keep every requirement job-related, apply it identically across the desk, put it in writing rather than leaving it to a manager's taste, and give people a stated route to request a religious or disability accommodation. If you cannot explain why a rule serves the broadcast, remove it.
The other document an anchor needs on day one is a clear social media policy, because an anchor's personal account is read as the station's voice whether you intend that or not. Our social media policy template covers the structure, and it should be signed alongside the ethics and corrections policy rather than mentioned in passing.
What to Pay a News Anchor
There is no BLS occupation called news anchor, so any single number you see quoted as the anchor salary is an estimate rather than an official figure. Anchors are split across two federal classifications, and the honest approach is to benchmark against both and then adjust hard for market size.
The Labor Department's O*NET database, which is built on the same occupational system as the wage survey, lists News Anchor and Television News Anchor as reported job titles under both News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists (SOC 27-3023) and Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys (SOC 27-3011). Television anchors who report and analyze sit closer to the first. Radio anchors and hosts sit closer to the second.
No Anchor-Specific Occupation Exists at BLS
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), news analysts, reporters, and journalists earned a median of $62,200 a year, from $36,240 at the 10th percentile to $144,140 at the 90th. Broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys earned a median of $47,340 a year, from $28,190 to $138,440 across the same percentiles (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS). The spread is market size, not skill.
Classification (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
10th percentile
Median
90th percentile
Which anchors it covers
News analysts, reporters, and journalists (27-3023)
$36,240
$62,200
$144,140
Television anchors, anchor-reporters, digital news anchors
Broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys (27-3011)
$28,190
$47,340
$138,440
Radio news anchors, morning show hosts, sports anchors
Producers and directors (27-2012)
$45,780
$90,360
$198,540
Newscast producers and news directors, for budgeting alongside
Set your range from the bottom half of those ladders unless you are in a large market. The federal wage survey counted 49,300 people in the news analysts, reporters, and journalists occupation, and the Bureau projects the group to decline about 4 percent between 2024 and 2034, with roughly 4,100 openings a year from replacement need. Publish a good-faith range where pay transparency laws apply, and compete on the desk itself, the beat, and the speed of your decision rather than on base salary.
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Two screening steps separate a good anchor hire from a bad one, and neither is an interview. Watch unscripted work, and run a live audition that includes something going wrong.
A reel is edited. Packages are edited. What you actually need to see is the person carrying live coverage with no script: a weather cut-in, a long wait for a press conference, a developing story where the facts keep moving. Ask for that specifically in the posting, because candidates default to sending their most polished packaged pieces.
Screening step
What it tells you
How to run it
Reel review, unscripted segments only
Whether the person can talk without a prompter
Ask for live and ad-libbed clips by name in the posting, and review inside 48 hours
Cold read
Delivery, pacing, and how they handle unfamiliar copy
Hand over a script they have not seen and record it in your own studio
Breaking news scenario
Judgment and composure when the script runs out
Give a developing situation and feed new facts mid-read to see the correction handled live
Wire rewrite on a clock
Writing ability, which is half the job and rarely tested
Thirty minutes, one wire story, rewritten for broadcast in your station voice
Reference call with a former news director
Reliability through a bad night, not on a good day
Ask about storm coverage, election night, and how they took an on-air correction
Community and audience fit
Whether they will stay past the contract term
Ask what they know about the coverage area and why they want this market specifically
Structure those steps the same way for every candidate, and score them against the same criteria, which protects you and produces better comparisons. Our guide to interview questions to ask candidates covers building a consistent structure that holds up if a rejected candidate ever asks how the decision was made.
Hiring On-Air Talent Without an HR Department
Small newsroom hiring fails in three predictable places: the posting describes a job the station does not have, the process moves slower than the candidate's other options, and the paperwork behind an on-air hire is heavier than anyone budgets for. Each has a fix.
The news director is also the recruiter, the interviewer, and the HR department
At a small station the person writing the anchor posting is the news director, between a rundown meeting and a live shot that fell apart. There is no corporate talent team and no template library, so the posting either gets written properly or it gets copied from a top-50 market listing that describes a job your newsroom does not have. Candidates notice. A reel that lands from someone expecting a dedicated anchor desk, when the actual job is anchoring three days and reporting two, wastes an interview and sometimes a hire. Fix it with a fixed structure you reuse every opening: the station-specific parts are the only paragraphs you rewrite, and the classification, EEO, and screening language stays where it is.
Every strong candidate is auditioning somewhere else at the same time
On-air hiring runs on a short clock. Anchors move markets on a schedule, reels circulate fast, and the strongest applicant to your posting is almost certainly in a process at two other stations. You will not outbid a larger market, so compete on the things a small station genuinely has: the main desk instead of a weekend fill-in seat, real ownership of a beat, a chance to build a body of work with your name on it, a news director who is in the building, and a decision in a week instead of six. Put those in the posting rather than saving them for a second interview, then compress your own process: reel review inside 48 hours, one live audition, one conversation, offer.
The paperwork behind an on-air hire is heavier than for any other role in the building
An anchor hire generates more documents than anyone else you employ: a signed employment agreement with a term rather than a simple offer letter, a personal appearance and social media policy acknowledgment, an editorial ethics and corrections policy sign-off, a station vehicle and driving record authorization, likeness and promotional use consent, plus the ordinary tax forms, benefits elections, and handbook acknowledgment. Then the FCC recruitment documentation has to be retained for the public file. FirstHR runs that as one sequence instead of a stack: the onboarding wizard assigns every step, built-in e-signature captures the agreement and each policy acknowledgment, document management stores signed copies against the employee profile with renewal dates attached, and training modules deliver ethics and safety orientation before the first newscast. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR. Note that FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a payroll provider.
Once the agreement is signed, the work shifts to a repeatable onboarding checklist that ends with the anchor ready for a first newscast rather than still chasing signatures. Other roles in the building have their own versions in our hiring template library.
Key Takeaways
Below the top markets an anchor job is rarely anchoring alone, so the posting has to state which newscasts, on which days, and whether the role also reports, shoots, and edits.
Exempt status turns on the creative professional test, which requires a primary duty of work needing invention, imagination, originality, or talent, plus a salary basis of at least $684 per week.
A narrow provision exempts announcers, news editors, and chief engineers at small-market stations from overtime only, based on decennial census population figures, and it does not cover producers or photographers.
Broadcast licensees with five or more full-time employees must widely disseminate every full-time vacancy, notify requesting recruitment organizations, and document it in an annual EEO public file report.
There is no BLS occupation for news anchor: the May 2025 medians are $62,200 for news analysts, reporters, and journalists and $47,340 for broadcast announcers, with market size driving nearly all the spread.
Screen on unscripted work and a live audition with something going wrong, and check state law before writing any non-compete into an anchor contract.
An anchor hire generates more paperwork than any other seat in the building. FirstHR runs it as one sequence: e-signature for the employment agreement and every policy acknowledgment, document storage for driving authorizations, likeness consents, and recruitment records, plus renewal dates tracked so a contract term never lapses unnoticed. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a news anchor job description include?
A news anchor job description should include nine things: the station or outlet and the market in two sentences, exactly which newscasts the anchor presents and on which days, whether the role also reports or shoots and edits, the writing expectation, the breaking news and severe weather obligation, the community appearance commitment, the FLSA classification, the pay or a good-faith range, and the reel and writing samples you want with the application. Small-market postings fail most often on the second and third items, because the job is rarely anchoring alone. If the anchor also reports two days a week and carries a beat, say so in the first paragraph rather than the tenth bullet. Add the equal opportunity statement, and if you hold a broadcast license, remember the posting is part of a recruitment record you will have to document.
Are news anchors exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
It depends on the actual duties, not on the title. The federal regulation places journalists inside the creative professional exemption only when the primary duty requires invention, imagination, originality, or talent, and it lists performing on the air, conducting investigative interviews, analyzing or interpreting public events, and writing commentary as qualifying work. An anchor who writes the show, ad-libs live coverage, and reports original stories has a strong case. An anchor whose primary duty is reading copy written by others, on a rundown built by others, does not, and neither does a role built substantially on shooting and editing. Exempt creative professionals must also be paid on a salary basis of at least $684 per week. Separately, an announcer or news editor at a station whose major studio sits in a small enough city may be exempt from overtime under a narrow broadcast provision. Most small-market anchor-reporter hybrids should be run as non-exempt with hours tracked. This is general information, not legal advice.
How much does a news anchor make?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a standalone occupation for news anchors, so there is no single official anchor wage. The Labor Department's O*NET database lists News Anchor and Television News Anchor as reported job titles under two separate classifications. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), news analysts, reporters, and journalists earned a median of $62,200 a year, with the bottom 10 percent at $36,240 and the top 10 percent at $144,140. Broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys, the code that covers many radio anchors and hosts, earned a median of $47,340 a year, from $28,190 at the 10th percentile to $138,440 at the 90th. Those spreads are driven almost entirely by market size. A small-market anchor typically sits in the bottom quartile, and the top decile belongs to large-market and network talent. Benchmark to comparable stations in your market, not to the national median.
Do FCC rules affect how a station advertises an anchor opening?
Yes, if you hold a broadcast license and your station employment unit has five or more full-time employees. The FCC equal employment opportunity rules require broadcasters to widely disseminate information about every full-time vacancy, defined as positions of 30 hours a week or more, except where exigent circumstances force an immediate hire. They also require you to send vacancy notices to any recruiting organization that has requested them, and to complete a set number of longer-term outreach initiatives within each two-year period, with the required count depending on the size of the unit and the market. Stations document the effort in an annual EEO public file report and file a broadcast EEO program report with the license renewal application. In practice this means filling an anchor seat through a private word with a colleague at another station is not enough on its own. Digital-only and streaming outlets hold no license and are not covered by these rules, though all other employment law still applies.
Should a news anchor be on a contract instead of at-will employment?
A written term contract is normal for anchors and unusual for almost every other role at a small business, because the station is investing in a face the audience learns over years. If you use one, write the term length, the notice period, the renewal mechanics, and the grounds for termination in plain language, and have counsel review anything restricting where the person can work afterward. Restrictive covenants deserve particular care in this industry: several states have statutes written specifically for broadcast employees that limit or ban non-compete clauses, including New York, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, and Utah, so a clause copied from a generic template can be unenforceable where you operate. Also decide up front how a contract interacts with your handbook, since a term agreement that contradicts an at-will policy statement creates a problem you do not want to litigate.
What is the difference between a news anchor and a reporter job description?
The difference is where the work happens and who owns the show. A reporter gathers, writes, and files stories from the field on a beat. An anchor presents the newscast, carries live and unscripted coverage when the script runs out, and functions as the public identity of the newsroom. In practice the two overlap heavily below the top markets, where the same person anchors part of the week and reports the rest, which is exactly why the anchor-reporter hybrid template on this page exists. The distinction still matters for the posting, because anchoring adds requirements a reporter posting does not carry: live ad-lib ability, a current reel showing unscripted work, appearance and wardrobe expectations, community appearance commitments, and often a term contract. If your opening is genuinely a field reporting job, use the reporter templates instead.
How do I hire an anchor for a station with no HR department?
Run a fixed sequence and compress it, because strong on-air candidates are always in more than one process at once. Post a specific description with the market, the newscasts, the reporting expectation, and a pay range stated up front. Review reels within 48 hours and screen for live and ad-libbed work rather than polished packages, since packages are edited and live is not. Then run one real audition: a cold read, an unscripted breaking news scenario, and a rewrite of a wire story on a clock, which tells you more than any interview. Check references with a news director who watched the person work through a bad night. Make the offer fast. Then run onboarding as a checklist rather than a pile: signed agreement, ethics and corrections acknowledgment, appearance and social media policy, driving authorization, likeness consent, tax and benefits forms. FirstHR handles that sequence with e-signature, document storage, and renewal tracking. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
