Charissa Thompson always wanted to be a broadcaster, and she wasted no time learning the ropes. She has worked on different networks including ESPN, GSN, Versus, and The Big Ten Network. She co-hosted Sports Nation with Marcellus Willey and was the host of Fox Sports Live on the new Fox Sports 1 on August 2013. Thompson also hosted Ultimate Beastmaster and was part of Top Rank’s broadcasting team for the pay-per-view event of Manny Pacquiao vs. Jessie Vargas.
In 2014 until 2017, she joined Tracy Edmonds and Mario Lopez as a co-host on the entertainment news show Extra. She then went back to Fox Sports and is now the host of Fox Sports NFL Kickoff Show.
Ginger Zee – $125k
Ginger Zee obtained a degree in Meteorology with a major in Mathematics and Spanish at Valparaiso University. She wanted to be a meteorologist on The Today Show by the age of 30, and that dream actually came to life. But Zee had to work through various media outlets before fulfilling that goal. Zee initially guested as a meteorologist on the weekend edition of The Today Show.
In 2011, she joined Good Morning America Weekend and has appeared on other ABC programs such as ABC World News Tonight and Nightline. By December 2, 2013, Zee became ABC News’ Chief Meteorologist and weather editor.
Cari Champion – $1m
Cari Champion has made a name through tennis, not by playing the sport, but through reporting about tennis. She earned a degree in English with a minor in Mass Communications at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). While there, she wrote for the Daily Bruin. She then moved to West Virginia for her first job as a reporter. Eventually, she moved to Florida to cover human-interest stories.
While working in Florida, she discovered that she had a passion for tennis, especially after she covered Serena and Venus Williams. Champion was then hired to be an anchor and reporter for the Tennis Channel in 2009, and later on, she became an anchor for ESPN’s Sports Center.
Tom Brokaw – $8m
During the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, Tom Brokaw was one of the “Big Three” news anchors in the U.S along with Dan Rather at CBS News and Peter Jennings at ABC News. They all hosted flagship nightly news programs for over 20 years—22 for Brokaw. He was the anchor and managing editor of the NBC Nightly News since 1982 until his retirement in 2004.
Brokaw is the only person to host all three major NBC new programs: NBC Nightly News, Meet the Press, and The Today Show. He now works on documentaries and is also a Special Correspondent for NBC News. He has also written a number of books about American history and society in the 20th century.
Leslie Stahl – $1.8m
Lesley Stahl has been connected with CBS since 1972 and is the correspondent for 60 Minutes since 1991. She began her TV broadcasting career at Boston’s Channel 5, WHDH-TV, as an on-air reporter and producer. Two years after joining CBS, she became a correspondent, and her name gained more attention after she covered Watergate. She then became the White House correspondent during the presidencies of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush.
Stahl hosted Face the Nation between September 1983 and May 1991. She also anchored 48 Hours Investigates from 2002 to 2004. She is an author of two books, Reporting Live and Becoming Grandma: The Joys and Science of the New Grandparenting.