I think this will surprise you....

The truth on how much your news people actually make

Here is the part of the article I wanted to highlight for you all:

"Here are some high-profile jobs that probably don't pay as well as you think:

Local news anchors
Since they often become local "celebrities," many people assume their favorite news anchors earn an enviable salary. That's often not true, especially in small markets. Entry-level news anchors earn approximately $27,000 a year upon entering the profession, and can earn as little as $30,000 after 5 years of service. Of course, wages depend on the viewership and network range, but even midsize city "celebrities" often maintain multiple jobs to provide for themselves. In Cincinnati, for example, reporters typically earn only $40,000, while salaries for those in the big leagues can be as much as half a million."

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Yes, welcome to the reality that many of us got into the business to pay off our student loans for a long period of tme.


When I began at NBC in 1999, I was making $16,000 per year. I had to work a second job. (Do you understand how hard it is to get another job where people don't ask what you are doing there. They recognize you from watching the news and want to know why you are mopping a floor in their favorite pizza place.) Our sports anchor was eligible for food stamps. Once I began to manage the newsroom in 2002, I was making $30,000. (Yes, I was in charge of the newsroom and made that.) I'm obviously not going to let you know what I make now, but I can tell you that most of the anchors and reporters you see in the tri-state area aren't making much more than what the article states is normal for Cincinnati.

I can tell you that you typically pay for your own wardrobe, and do your own hair and makeup. And believe me when I tell you that people will call and write you letters telling you what they think of what you wore that day. Not really the celebrity life that most expect.

Thanks for reading!

Message edited 4/3/2010 1:00:30 AM.

Re: I think this will surprise you....

WOW...I am really surprised at that to you bc you rock and are the best meterologist

Re: I think this will surprise you....

Yup, I was making minimum wage on a top commercial radio station in Syracuse.

Wegmann's was paying more.

Re: I think this will surprise you....

Posted by Tah-wee-ZAH

Yup, I was making minimum wage on a top commercial radio station in Syracuse.

Wegmann's was paying more.

Re: I think this will surprise you....

This is really eye-opening Kelly!!! I was a communications major in college and the starting salaries out of school were
I pursued other interests in order to eat.

But if Sue Simmons is making half a million dollars I definitely chose the wrong profession; I had no idea a potty mouth could be so lucrative

And I LOVE Wegman's, at Valentine's Day they had heart-shaped filet mignons

Re: I think this will surprise you....

I had a boyfriend in college who graduated in 1992- he was offered a job as a reporter at a tv station in Iowa, making $8k a year.

ETA- was thinking about Wegmans the other day. I LOVE that store.

Message edited 4/3/2010 7:41:30 AM.

Re: I think this will surprise you....

Posted by waterspout4

Posted by Tah-wee-ZAH

Yup, I was making minimum wage on a top commercial radio station in Syracuse.

Wegmann's was paying more.

I LOVE WEGMANS!!!!!!!!!! I wish they would come to Long Island. I miss them so much. They were a staple back home.

I'm glad you can back me up on this. I'm really thinking that $7.73 per hour was not worth the stalkers that it brought. I had no idea so many people, um (clears throat), 'loved' the weather as much as they did when I was on air.

Re: I think this will surprise you....

i went to Brooklyn college for journalism...yet at the end of my senior year, i decided it wasnt for me. the pay is sh** and what you have to do to break into the NY industry..ehh..forget it.

i work in book publishing now.

Re: I think this will surprise you....

Posted by Tah-wee-ZAH

Posted by waterspout4

Posted by Tah-wee-ZAH

Yup, I was making minimum wage on a top commercial radio station in Syracuse.

Wegmann's was paying more.

I LOVE WEGMANS!!!!!!!!!! I wish they would come to Long Island. I miss them so much. They were a staple back home.

I'm glad you can back me up on this. I'm really thinking that $7.73 per hour was not worth the stalkers that it brought. I had no idea so many people, um (clears throat), 'loved' the weather as much as they did when I was on air.

Back you up??? GIRL, I GOT LETTERS FROM JAIL!!!!!! Seriously, phone calls from inmates on Thanksgiving 1991... thank God their requests were limited to the song playlist!!! Have you ever gotten a letter from jail??? A big red stamp across the front with the institution on it!!!

My DH says, "Hey, you may not want to go to the dance but it's nice to be asked."

Oh, and it was $4.25, maybe as high as $4.75, when I was on the air I broke the news of the first Persian Gulf War LIVE and within 10 miutes of the news breaking on the AP wire threw a Freddie Mercury Tribute together, with interview pieces and all... running back and forth during songs to cue up old reel to reel tapes... you know, analog reel to reel... what the dinosaurs used

Oh, and I have way too many funny Wegmann's stories. Maybe we need a spinoff

Re: I think this will surprise you....

Posted by waterspout4

But the freakiest I had were the calls from another guy that would actually tell me what I was wearing out the night before. The police were involved on that one.

Re: I think this will surprise you....

Posted by Tah-wee-ZAH

Posted by waterspout4

But the freakiest I had were the calls from another guy that would actually tell me what I was wearing out the night before. The police were involved on that one.

See that's what's great about radio

I could be standing right next to them... in line at Wegmann's ... they could be talking about the station and never know it was me.

Twenty years later, no one would want to stalk me now

Re: I think this will surprise you....

Yes, I knew about that. Unless you are a TOP ANCHOR on the national TV on prime time, you are making no dinero.

Local anchors are not living in mansions.

Re: I think this will surprise you....

I also have my degree in communications and did not get to stay in the field very long due to the $$.

I Wegmanns my BIL lives up in Fayettville, NY and we always make a stop there when we visit

Message edited 4/5/2010 10:33:04 AM.

Re: I think this will surprise you....

wow i had no idea! i always assumed they were all making around katie couric bux, the major ones at least. the rest i figured were making a few hundred thousand.

i'd think you'd get hardship pay for the stalkers! all joking aside, how scary for you!

Re: I think this will surprise you....

I'm a freelance journalist so it doesn't surprise me, we all got warned back it school not to expect big bucks, but still I love my field!

Re: I think this will surprise you....

Oh wow...I always wondered about that....that does surprise me!

Re: I think this will surprise you....

I made so little when I got my first job at MTV it was laughable! And the hours...20 hours a day for 100 bucks flat was like 5 bucks an hour...SO brutal...and people thought we just hung out and watched videos all day

and after taxes, my pay

Entertainment industry is NOT what people think when you are starting out.