What is the difference between "reporter" and "anchorperson"?

Question

I'd like to know the difference between reporter and anchorperson. They are listed as synonyms in some dictionaries. (For example, the Online Oxford Dictionary lists "reporter" as a synonym of "anchor" https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/anchor)

In addition, the Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary defines reporter as follows:

reporter: a person who writes news stories for a newspaper, magazine, etc., or who tells people the news on radio or television

http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/reporter

But an anchorperson also tells people the news on TV. Would that mean an anchorperson is necessarily a reporter?

Answer 1

In TV news, the "anchorman" or "anchor" (or "anchorperson" I guess, seems a pretty awkward word to me, I'd go with "anchor") is the central figure in a news broadcast. He relates some news stories himself. But he also introduces most of the stories related by other reporters.

So for example, a news broadcast might begin with the anchor saying, "Top news story tonight: The president has proposed his new tax bill to Congress. This bill will ..." And then at some point he may say, "And now for reaction to this bill from business leaders, here's Sally Jones in Detroit." Then the broadcast switches to Sally Jones. When she's finished, we come back to the anchor. At that point he may say something like, "In other news, astronomers from Oxford University have discovered blah blah blah. Here's Fred Miller in London with the details." Etc.

The idea is that the anchor helps to tie the whole broadcast together. We're not just aimlessly jumping from one reporter to another. We have one person who acts like the traffic cop to keep everything looking orderly.