Hofstra Professor Bob Papper says that “with inflation non-existent in 2009, news people really did hold their own.” The research he conducted for the Radio Television Digital News Association in the last quarter of 2009 turns up these median (midpoint) salaries for six different categories: News Director, $32,000. News Reporter, $30,000. News Anchor, $34,000. News producer, $30,000. Sports Anchor, $28,000. And Sports Reporter, $29,000. Salaries vary by market size. A negative trend: Papper’s 5-year and 10-year charts show local news salaries falling behind the rate of inflation, particularly over the last five years. Also, Professor Papper observes that “the starting salaries in radio are the lowest I've seen in several years.” He is the chair of the Department of Journalism, Media Studies and Public Relations at Hofstra University.