What is a News Anchor?
An anchor is the face of the program. They are professionals who present live news to the audience through a live broadcast. A teleprompter is used to narrate the story or news by an anchor who will sit at a desk behind a camera. Before presenting the news report they give information about the latest events and signal when the broadcast pauses for a break and returns.
Being the face of the program they are recognizable figures on television and also the first and the last face that the viewers see. Anchors specialize in topics like narrating the sports segment highlights and sharing the recent game statics.
Who is a News Reporter?
A reporter is a professional or an individual who gathers information on recent events and delivers their results for a broadcast. They take interviews and through these interviews, they get the answers to their question directly from the public figure. There are types of reports like television reporters and print reporters. Television reporters work for news channels while print reporters work for magazines or newspapers. It is also important for them to spend some of their time finding good sources that will help them get the information they are reporting on.
There are different types of news that a reporter can specialize in, like:
- Crime
- Politics
- Sports
- Traffic
- International affairs
- Weather
Differences Between Anchor & Reporter
When the audience or the viewers turn on the TV newscasts, the main two talents on-air are anchors and reporters. Anchors are the face of the program and present the news, reporters gather information on the latest event and write stories. Due to their roles, there is a lot of competition between them making them highly competitive, especially for those who are excellent with communication and have a good command of the language
Here are the differences between an anchor and a reporter:
Anchor | Reporter |
Stay and work
in a television station. | Travel to
gather news on current events. |
They make
edits to the script before preparing to read the teleprompter. | They need to
combine interview recordings and b-roll footage into one and they also attach
voiceovers to the narration. All this needs a lot of editing. |
Writing is
not needed. | A lot of
writing is needed as they write the scripts. |
Interviews
happen in the news station | Interviews occur
at the scenes of the story. |
Not a primary
duty to investigate a story or event | Investigate
stories before including them in the broadcasts. |
Similarities Between Anchor Reporter
Both news anchors and news reporters play a very important
role in bringing the news to the viewers. They gather information, take
interviews, and report on current events. Due to their job roles, it is
necessary that they have good communication skills and the strength to work
under immense pressure. They should have the knowledge about the journalistic
ethics. They work closely to make sure that the events are delivered to the
audience on time.
Here are some similarities between an anchor and a reporter:
Similarities | Information |
Communication
Skills | Both require a
high level of communication skills and a good command of language. |
Journalistic
Ethics | Both are
required to understand journalistic ethics and work with fairness and respect
the privacy and sensitivity. |
Gathering
Information | Both are
responsible for gathering news through research, conducting interviews, etc. |
Presentation
of News | Both are
responsible for sharing clear and correct news with the audience. |
Ability to
Adapt | Both job
roles require to adapt to changes that happen in this industry like
technological updates or changing audience preferences. |
Turn Your Passion into a Career
If you are committed and dedicated to getting into this competitive industry of media there are several courses and programs that will help you achieve your goal. One such program is AAFT Online’s Ultimate Journalism Certificate Program which provides a detailed understanding and knowledge of some important topics of journalism like digital journalism, print media, broadcast media, TV news editing software, and more. These are some topics that will help students understand this competitive industry and make them ready even before they step into the industry.
Conclusion
To conclude, while there are several differences when it comes to news anchors vs reporters, there are also some similarities that help them work together to bring the recent events to the viewers. A position as a news anchor or a reporter is competitive, but both are very lucrative, and you can build a successful career in this industry. We hope you have understood the difference between a news anchor and reporter through this article.
