A news anchor is responsible for interpreting happenings locally, nationally, and internationally for a wide audience. This entails keeping at the forefront of news that has an impact on the viewing audience. Commentary is often provided to help people understand how the news affects their daily lives. Millions of people get their news from the daily evening or late night report, and come to trust and favour a particular news anchor. Successful news anchors have many followers, and are still remembered years later for covering specific events in history. While the evening news is not the only mode of broadcasting, it is perhaps the most watched and most dependable form. There are also local news programs, 24-hours news channels, and even online news programs, and they are all excellent options for someone looking to become a news anchor.

News anchors can also conduct interviews with people who impact media happenings from around the world. Interviews help to open a discussion or clarify issues that influence the news or media happenings. An interview can help broaden the audience's understanding of a particular issue or begin a discourse on an issue important to the audience. Important skills necessary for a news anchor when interviewing others is the ability to put people at ease, and remembering to be unbiased.