Salary of an On-Camera Weatherman
- Newscasters who work for network television stations may specialize in reporting a specific type of news on camera, such as weather information. Weathercasters report weather conditions based on information they gather from national and regional weather services. Some weathercasters are meteorologists who have studied processes in the atmosphere that cause various weather conditions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics includes salary information for on-camera weatherman and all weathercasters with its data on broadcast news analysts. On-camera weatherman and other television news analysts earned a mean annual salary of $75,720 in 2010.
- Weathercasters and other news analysts who work for cable television stations may earn slightly less than their counterparts who work for television networks do. BLS data show cable news analysts earned a mean salary of $73,910 in 2010. However, the BLS predicts the overall employment of news analysts and others in similar professions will drop 6 percent through 2018, reducing available jobs in the sector by 4,400. The bureau links the expected decline to the consolidation of operations throughout the broadcasting industry.
- California and New York are among states that employ the largest number of weathercasters and other newscasters. Nearly 600 newscasters worked in Californian in 2010, and they earned a mean salary of $72,960. Close to 400 newscasters worked in New York that year, but they generally earned significantly higher pay of about $81,350. The BLS notes that television stations depend heavily on advertising revenue to earn a profit. Therefore, the employment of weathercasters and other newscasters may drop during economic downturns when companies tend to cut back on advertising.
- Weathercasters may earn some of the highest salaries for their occupation at television stations in Florida, Massachusetts and New Jersey. News analysts in Florida earned a mean salary of $119,680 in 2010, based on BLS data. Massachusetts and New Jersey newscasters earned significantly less that year, but their salaries were still much higher than the mean wage for the occupation were. Massachusetts and New Jersey newscasters earned 2010 mean salaries of $108,760 and $91,940, respectively.
