Salaries fall in local TV newsrooms, spurning recent gains
By Tim Mirabito, Keren Henderson and Akshaya Chandrasekaran
Local television news salaries fell 6.1% on average in 2025, reversing two consecutive years of gains, according to the latest RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University Survey.
The decline comes at a particularly difficult time given persistent inflation and rising cost of living. Median salaries told a somewhat less dire story, with 10 of 18 surveyed positions holding steady or increasing compared to last year; assistant news director, news director and sports anchor saw the largest median declines.
Average salaries painted a grimmer picture, with only four positions — news reporter, sports reporter, video editor and web/mobile writer/producer — posting year-over-year gains, and news writer salaries dropping more than $12,500 on average. Market size continued to shape outcomes significantly: only markets sized 26 to 50 and 51 to 100 saw salary gains overall, while the largest markets (1-25) — typically the best-resourced stations — saw more decreases than increases for a second straight year.
Newsroom staff size showed a similar pattern, with the largest newsrooms (51+) and one mid-sized tier (11-20 employees) posting double-digit percentage salary increases, though researchers caution that inconsistent survey response rates in prior years make some of those year-over-year comparisons less reliable.
Recruitment remains a persistent challenge, with 60.3% of news directors reporting it has become harder to hire, and nearly a third saying they've had to raise pay to compete. Starting salaries were essentially flat this year after a bump the previous year, with median starting pay still well below the average starting salary for college graduates nationally.
Contract status shifted modestly across positions, with meaningful increases for news writers, assistant news directors and digital content managers, and notable decreases for managing editors and news directors.
This annual survey, conducted in the fourth quarter of 2025, drew responses from more than 1,100 television stations and nearly 600 radio stations, and is supported by the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and the Radio Television Digital News Association.