Questions to Ask a News Anchor
For students, career-day and station-tour visitors, and anyone interviewing a TV news anchor for a class, a profile or their own career plans. The list opens with the questions nearly every anchor is asked, then moves through how a newscast is built, what happens live on air, life away from the camera and the road from reporting to the desk. Take a few from each group instead of working down the page, because the time an anchor has between shows is short.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The basics
Why did you want to be a news anchor?
Why ask it
Plenty of anchors set out to be reporters and reached the desk later, so the honest answer is often about a first job and not a childhood dream. Follow up by asking when the desk became the goal, or whether someone else suggested it.
What does your day look like before the newscast starts?
Why ask it
Viewers see the show and none of the hours before it. Listen for the meetings, the script reading, the writing and the makeup chair, then ask which part they would never skip even on a rushed day.
Do you write what you read on air, or does someone else write it?
Why ask it
The split between anchors, producers and writers is different in every newsroom, so ask how it works at theirs. If they rewrite what they are handed, ask for one line they changed today and why.
What happens when the teleprompter stops working?
Why ask it
Nearly every anchor has a story for this one, which makes it a safe pick for a nervous first-time interviewer. The useful part is the backup: paper scripts, a tablet, or what they remember of the running order. Ask which of those is on the desk tonight.
How do you handle breaking news when it comes in during a live show?
Why ask it
You are asking how a planned show gets thrown out while it is on air. A full answer covers who tells them, what is dropped to make room, and how they keep talking with very little to go on. The last time it happened makes a better story than the general rule.
What is the most memorable newscast you have anchored?
Why ask it
Expect either a huge news day or a small one where something went sideways. Whichever it is, ask what the studio was like while it was happening, since that is the part nobody at home saw.
Who is the most interesting guest you have interviewed on air?
Why ask it
The name matters less than the reason. Wait for what made that guest stand out, such as an answer nobody saw coming or something said after the cameras cut away, and you have a scene for a report or a profile.
Do you still get nervous before going on air?
Why ask it
Younger students like this one because it makes a person on television sound like a person. A yes leads to what they do in the last minute before the show. A no leads to when the nerves stopped and what took their place.
Which part of anchoring do you enjoy most, and which part could you do without?
Why ask it
Asking for both at once keeps the answer from turning into a commercial for the job. The part they could do without is the more useful half for anyone weighing the career, so follow that one.
What do viewers get wrong about what an anchor does?
Why ask it
The usual guess is that anchors turn up, read and go home. Let them correct it in their own words and you will get a list of the unseen work, which is good material for a profile or a class report.
The newscast
Who decides which story goes first in the newscast?
Why ask it
This opens up the editorial meeting and the producer's job, which most visitors have never heard of. Ask how much say the anchor has, and whether they have ever argued for a different lead story and lost.
How many people does it take to get one newscast on air?
Why ask it
Each job they name is a career a student might not know exists: producer, director, photographer, editor, audio, graphics. Crews differ a lot from one station to the next, so write down the jobs on theirs and look up any you have not heard of.
What is a rundown, and how much does it change once the show has started?
Why ask it
A rundown is the show's running order, and asking about it by name shows you did some homework. The second half is where the stories are: a dropped segment, video that arrived late, a report that moved up with seconds to spare.
How do you make a script someone else wrote sound like you?
Why ask it
Anchors often mark up or reword copy so it is easier to say out loud. Ask for a word or phrase they refuse to say on air, since nearly everyone who reads for a living has a few.
How do you check how to say a name or a place before you read it?
Why ask it
Getting a local town or a family's name wrong is a mistake viewers remember. The answer shows how careful the newsroom is: a phone call, a pronunciation note in the script, a colleague who grew up nearby. Worth asking if your assignment is about accuracy.
How do you and your co-anchor work out who reads which story?
Why ask it
Skip this if they anchor alone. If they share the desk, the answer covers how the scripts are split and how two people avoid talking over each other. The telling detail is what one of them does when the other loses their place.
How is anchoring a morning show different from an evening newscast?
Why ask it
Use it once you know which shift they work, and aim it at the one they no longer do or have never done. Pace, tone and the amount of unscripted talk tend to differ, but formats vary by station, so let them describe theirs.
When the show is running long, who decides what gets cut?
Why ask it
Timing is the side of live television that outsiders rarely think about. You will hear about a producer counting down in their ear and stories dropped halfway through the show. Ask what it is like to be told to wrap up in ten seconds.
Do you still go out and report stories, or is your whole shift at the desk?
Why ask it
Some anchors report regularly and some rarely leave the building, depending on the station and the person. For a would-be anchor the answer shows how much reporting survives the move to the desk, which matters if reporting is the part you want.
Could I watch a newscast from the studio or the control room?
Why ask it
Save it for the end of the visit, once the talk has gone well. Whether visitors are allowed is up to the station, so take a no gracefully and ask instead which newscast to watch at home and what to look for.
Live on air
What do you hear in your earpiece while you are on air?
Why ask it
The idea of someone speaking to you while you speak to an audience fascinates people. Find out who is on the other end, and how long it took before they could listen and talk at once.
How do you read a prompter without looking like you are reading?
Why ask it
This is the skill question, and the answer is usually practical: knowing the script beforehand, the speed of the scroll, looking down at the desk on purpose. If a studio visit allows it, ask to try a few lines yourself.
What do you say when there is time to fill and nothing on the script?
Why ask it
Ad-libbing is where experience shows, and anchors know it. Listen for what they fall back on, such as restating what is known or turning to the weather or sports anchor. How they practiced it is the part a student can copy.
Is the chat between you and the weather or sports anchor planned?
Why ask it
Those few seconds between segments look casual, and the answer shows how much of that is timed. Some shows give the talk a set number of seconds and others leave it loose, so let them describe theirs. It suits any age group, because everyone has watched it happen.
What is the biggest mistake you have made on air, and what did you do right after?
Why ask it
The second half matters more than the first. How someone recovers in front of an audience is a lesson for anyone who has to speak in public, and it keeps the question from sounding like a hunt for a blooper. Let them pick a mistake they are comfortable telling.
Have you ever gotten the giggles on air?
Why ask it
A light one to place after the question about mistakes. It usually brings out a story about a co-anchor or an odd line in a script, and it is the answer a class will repeat at lunch. Leave it out of a formal interview unless the mood allows.
How do you stay composed when the story you are reading is upsetting?
Why ask it
Ask gently, and do not press for the specific story if they do not offer one. The answer tends to be about preparation and about what happens once the cameras are off, which leads into how they wind down after a show.
How do you keep your own opinion out of your face and your voice?
Why ask it
A written script can be edited until it is neutral, but a raised eyebrow goes out live. Ask whether anyone has told them a reaction showed, and how they read a story they feel strongly about.
What do you do when a live report drops out or a guest does not appear?
Why ask it
Things break on live television often enough that this is not awkward to bring up. You are listening for the plan: who speaks in their ear, what they move to next, how they explain it to viewers. Compare it with what they said about the prompter.
While a story is still developing, how do you know what you can say on air?
Why ask it
This is the accuracy question for live television. Ask who in the building confirms a detail and what wording they use for things that are reported but not yet verified. It suits a journalism class or a profile about trust in the news.
What is the longest you have stayed on air for one story?
Why ask it
Hours of coverage of a storm, an election or an emergency are the days anchors remember in detail. The practical side is worth drawing out: when they ate, who relieved them, and who kept handing them confirmed information.
What happens on set during a commercial break?
Why ask it
The break turns out to be busy: script changes, a word with the director, a sip of water, a microphone put right. It works well with younger visitors because the answer is a scene they can picture.
How do you prepare for a live interview when you only have a few minutes with the guest?
Why ask it
Asking an interviewer about interviewing tends to get a thoughtful answer. Listen for how many questions they plan and which one they make sure to reach, then see whether your own interview is following that advice.
Off camera
What hours do you work, and what time do you go to bed?
Why ask it
Shifts follow the newscast, so a morning anchor and a late evening anchor will give opposite answers. The bedtime half makes it real: that is where you hear what the schedule costs, from missed dinners to an alarm set for the middle of the night.
What is it like to be recognized when you are out running errands?
Why ask it
A local anchor can be known around town in a way few other jobs bring. Ask for the nicest encounter and the oddest, and whether their family minds. Do not ask where they live or shop.
What do viewers contact you about most often?
Why ask it
Be ready for the answer to be their appearance as often as the news. If it is, ask how they decide what to reply to and what to ignore. A profile writer can ask to hear one message that stayed with them.
Who chooses what you wear on air, and who does your hair and makeup?
Why ask it
People are curious about this and many feel rude asking, so say it plainly. Arrangements differ from station to station, including who pays, so ask how it is handled where they work and what is off limits on camera.
Is there anything you cannot do or post in public because of the job?
Why ask it
Newsrooms commonly have rules about political activity, endorsements and personal accounts, and the details are set by the employer. Ask what theirs covers and whether any rule has been hard to live with.
How much of your job happens away from the desk, such as social media or community events?
Why ask it
The answer brings out duties nobody mentions at career day: posting clips, hosting charity events, school visits, promotional shoots. Which of those are expected and which are their own choice varies by station, and the split shows how much of an anchor's time belongs to the employer.
Do you work holidays and through storms when everyone else stays home?
Why ask it
News runs on the days other workplaces close, and severe weather can mean longer shifts. Schedules and time off are set by each station, so ask how it is decided there and which holiday they last spent in the studio.
Do you watch the news on your days off?
Why ask it
A small question that shows how far the job follows them home. Some people in news cannot stop checking and some switch everything off. If they do watch, find out what they notice in another station's newscast that a viewer would miss.
After a heavy newscast, what do you do before you go home?
Why ask it
Pair this with the question about reading upsetting stories. Some people have a routine and some drive home with the radio off. Take whatever they give you and do not push past it.
Career path
How did you get from reporting to the anchor desk?
Why ask it
The move is often gradual: a fill-in shift, a weekend show, then a regular slot. Ask who gave them the first chance at the desk and what they had done to be the one who was asked.
What was your first job in television?
Why ask it
First jobs in broadcast news are frequently at small stations where one person shoots, writes and edits. Ask what they had to do there that they never do now, and which of those skills they still lean on.
What did you study, and how much of it do you use?
Why ask it
Degrees among anchors vary, and so do opinions on whether a journalism or broadcasting degree is needed. Treat the answer as one person's route. What they would study if they were starting today is often a different answer, and the more useful one.
What should a student who wants your job start doing this year?
Why ask it
The words 'this year' push the answer past 'work hard' toward something specific: a school broadcast, a campus station, reading aloud to a phone camera. Write it down exactly and ask how they would judge the result.
What was on the reel that got you your first on-air job?
Why ask it
A reel is the short video of on-air work that applicants send to news directors. Ask what they would put first on one now and what they would cut, since that is advice a student can act on this semester.
Did you have to train your voice or change how you speak?
Why ask it
Coaching, pacing and accent all come up here, and attitudes to accent in broadcasting differ by place and by station. Ask what feedback they were given early on and whether they still watch recordings of themselves.
Did you have to move cities to move up?
Why ask it
Broadcast careers have often meant relocating from a smaller station to a larger one, though routes differ. How many moves it took, and what each one cost in friends, family and money, is what someone weighing the career needs to hear. Whether staying put was ever an option is the follow-up.
Does someone starting out in TV news need an agent?
Why ask it
Leave this out with a school group and save it for an informational interview. Practice differs by country, by the size of the station and by employer, so take the answer as how it went for them, and do not expect contract terms or figures.
What do you notice first when a new reporter fills in at the desk?
Why ask it
It shows what the skill looks like from the inside: pace, eye contact, what happens after a stumble. It is also a kinder way of asking what beginners get wrong.
How has the job changed with streaming and phones since you started?
Why ask it
You are asking where the audience went and what the anchor now does to reach it. Listen for extra shows on a stream, clips cut for social feeds, or new duties. Then ask what they think a newscast will look like in ten years.
If anchoring had not worked out, which job in the building would you have wanted?
Why ask it
A good one near the end of a station tour, because it points you to the next person worth meeting. If they say producer or director, ask whether you could talk to one before you leave.
How to interview a news anchor
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you meet
Watch a newscast first
Watch at least one full newscast they anchor before you talk, and write down one moment you want to ask about: a handoff to a reporter, a story that seemed to arrive late, a line that made them smile. A question that begins 'On Tuesday's show I noticed' gets a better answer than a general one, and it tells the anchor you took the visit seriously.
Find out which newscast is theirs
A morning anchor, an evening anchor and a weekend anchor have different days, so the questions about hours, preparation and reporting land differently for each. The station's website usually lists who anchors what. If it does not, make it your first question and adjust the rest.
Ask how long you will have
A visit may be a five-minute stop on a tour or a half-hour sit-down. For five minutes, take two from The basics and one from Live on air. For a longer talk, plan one or two from every group and mark the three you would be sorry to leave without.
Skip what their station biography answers
Hometown, college and previous stations are often on the station's site. Build on them instead: 'I read that you started in a smaller city. What did you do there that you no longer do?'
Match the questions to the occasion
A class visit or career day
Share the questions out beforehand so thirty students do not all ask about bloopers. Younger groups do well with the earpiece, the commercial break and the prompter. Older students should take the Career path group, where the answers are things they can act on.
A station tour
On a tour you can see what you are asking about, so point at it. Ask what the screens on the studio floor show, where the producer sits and which camera the anchor looks into. The newscast group works best here because the people and the equipment are in front of you.
An informational interview
If you want the job yourself, spend most of the time on Career path and Off camera: the moves, the hours, the first station, what goes on a reel. Say at the start that you are after an honest picture and not a job, and ask at the end who else in the newsroom you should talk to.
A profile or school assignment
A profile needs scenes and exact words, so favor the questions that ask for one specific time: the longest stretch on air, the mistake and the recovery, the day the prompter went dark. Ask permission to record, and check the spelling of their name and the name of their newscast before you leave.
Getting past the broadcast voice
Expect a polished answer, then ask once more
Anchors speak for a living and many have told their best stories dozens of times, so the first answer may sound finished. One follow-up such as 'what did you do in the next ten seconds?' or 'who was talking in your ear right then?' usually reaches the part they have not rehearsed.
Ask to be shown
Some things are easier to show than to explain. Ask them to read a line the way a beginner would and then the way they would, or to show you how they mark up a script. On a tour, ask whether you can read a few lines off the prompter yourself.
Go carefully around hard news
Questions about upsetting stories are fair, and anchors hear them often, but let the anchor choose the example. Do not name a local tragedy and ask how it felt to read it. If the answer is short, move to how they wind down after a show and leave it there.
Keep pay, agents and station rules general
What an anchor earns, whether they have an agent, what the contract says and what the station allows on personal accounts differ by employer and by place, and some of it they may not be free to discuss. Ask how it works where they are and where a student could find out more, and accept a general answer.
Slips that waste the visit
Asking only about bloopers
One question about an on-air mistake is welcome. Three in a row tells the anchor you think the job is a reel of errors, and the answers get shorter. Follow each light question with one about how the work is done.
Asking what they think of the news
Many newsrooms expect anchors to keep their views on political and controversial stories to themselves, and asking for one puts them in a spot. Ask how they keep opinion out of their delivery instead, which they can answer freely.
Treating the anchor as the whole newsroom
The person at the desk is the visible end of a team. Questions about who does what, such as who writes, who times the show and who confirms a fact, get fuller answers and sometimes an introduction to those people.
Running past the clock
A newscast starts on time whether or not your interview is finished. Agree on an end time at the start, watch it yourself, and stop when it comes even if the conversation is going well. Send a short thank-you afterward that mentions one thing you learned.