Christiane Amanpour is British-Iranian and spent her childhood in Tehran until she was 11 when she was sent to a boarding school in England. She moved to the United States to study journalism. Her first job in 1983 was in CNN as a desk assistant. Because of her international background, she was a natural at reporting foreign affairs. Her first major coverage was the Iran-Iraq War, and in 1990, her reports of the Persian Gulf War gave her prominence and took CNN to a higher degree of news coverage.
Amanpour has hosted other series such as Amanpour, This Week, and Good Morning America. She is now the Chief International Anchor for CNN as well as the host of Amanpour & Company on PBS and the Global Affairs Anchor of ABC News.
David Muir – $7m
David Muir first joined ABC News in 2003 as an anchor for World News Now. He was also the main substitute anchor for World News with Diane Sawyer, which he eventually succeeded on September 2014. He was also a co-anchor of the ABC News magazine 20/20. He now hosts his own program World News Tonight with David Muir.
Muir has received multiple Edward R. Murrow and Emmy awards for his national and international journalism. According to the Tyndall Report, he is considered as one of the most visible journalists in America in 2012 and 2013. His World News, Tonight with David Muir, is currently the most-watched newscast in the United States.
Al Roker – $8m
Al Roker is currently the weather anchor on NBC’s Today, and sometimes, he sits as the co-anchor on NBC Nightly News. But he was first a professional meteorologist with a degree in B.A. in Communications at the State University of New York at Oswego in 1976. In fact, he has an inactive American Meteorological Society Television Seal #238.
Roker had his break in 1983 when he regularly substituted on NBC News at Sunrise, and then he filled in for different anchors on the Today Show from 1990 to 1995. It was only after the retirement of Willard Scott that he began doing Today’s weekday weather full time. On December 14, 2018, Roker was honored for his 40 years of work at NBC.
Scott Pelley – $5m
Scott Pelley is a prominent figure in journalism and has worked as a correspondent and anchor for CBS News for almost three decades. His first work as a broadcast journalist was at KSEL-TV (now KAMC) in 1975 before moving on to KXAS-TV and WFAA-TV. His 1985 report on Guatemalan refugees captured the interest of CBS News executives, in which he moved to four years later.
Pelley was the Chief White House Correspondent for CBS News from 1997 to1999. He was often the first to break news while covering the investigation of President Clinton. In 1999, he joined 60 Minutes, and until now, he is still a correspondent for the program. In 2011 to 2017, he served as an anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News where they earned the highest audience ratings after more than ten years.
Sam Ryan – $300k
After graduating from the New York Institute of Technology, Sam Ryan worked her way up and got herself an extensive experience by working for several news broadcasters such as ESPN, ABC, and CBS Sports. Her first few experiences were with WBAB Babylon New York, WFAN New York, and WVIT Hartford.
She joined ESPN in 2003 and CBS Sports and WCBS-TV in 2006, and eventually in MLB Network as a studio host and reporter. She appeared regularly at their productions including Quick Pitch and The Rundown. In 1999, Ryan received a local Emmy Award for “Outstanding Series Feature-soft” and another local AP award in 2000.