What is a news presenter?

Years ago, this position used to be called an "anchorman," since 99% of them were male. The news anchor (who today may be a man or a woman) is the dominant person in the newscast, who hosts the news program and reads the news: on television, the NBC Nightly News is anchored by Brian Williams, for example; the ABC World News is anchored by Diane Sawyer. The anchor will usually have a team of correspondents who provide reports about the individual stories. For example, the anchor would introduce the story: "Today at the White House, President Obama met with the Prime Minister of England, who was visiting America. With more on this story, here is our White House correspondent." The correspondent would then report from the White House, explain about the meeting, and then send it back to the anchor, who will read the next story.

Some anchors, especially in smaller cities, don't just sit in the studio and read the news stories-- they go out and do actual on-the-scene reporting. But in the major cities (like New York or Los Angeles), the anchor is more like the host, and works with his or her team to keep the public informed. While there are some all-news radio stations that have an anchor during each hour's news reports, news radio stations use many reporters and do not focus on just one person. On television, however, being an anchor for the network news is a high-profile position, and one person is the dominant host, often for years at a time. To be an anchor normally requires getting experience as a reporter, as well as having a good ability to read, to write understandable stories, and to be able to clarify the issues of the day for the audience.