National Hug a Newsperson Day
Recognizing the efforts of those who keep us informed, shedding light on stories that shape our understanding and perspective.
Celebrate journalism and media professionals with appreciation campaigns that reinforce brand values around transparency, trust, and community engagement.
- Behind-the-scenes spotlights on local newsroom teams and their impact on communities
- Employee appreciation tie-in: recognize your own communications/PR teams as 'newspeople' of your brand
- Partner with journalists for thought leadership content or media interviews to show mutual respect
Newspeople, including journalists, reporters, editors, presenters and folks with other roles in the newsroom, have been around for many years.
Starting with the town crier who would deliver messages, and then turning to the newspaper once the printing press was invented, spreading information has grown over the centuries.
By the 20th century, radio and then television became the main space for news, leading eventually to the internet in the 21st century.
People who bring news, whether locally or from around the world, offer a service to communities by informing them of current events and educating them on global happenings that they wouldn’t know about otherwise.
National Hug a Newsperson Day was founded to show appreciation and care for the people whose job it is to make the world a more informed place.
Originally called Hug a Newsman Day, the name of the day was changed a little while ago to be sure to include people of all genders in this important day.
Hug a Newsperson
Those who have friends or family members who work in the news industry might want to take National Hug a Newsperson Day as an opportunity to give them an extra big bear hug in celebration of the day. Of course, any time there is a day based around hugging someone, it is important to get their permission first. So don’t think it’s a good idea to be waiting outside the news channel office to attack a random newsperson with a hug! It’s best just hug the ones you already know, and perhaps offer a handshake or a wave when coming across a newsperson you don’t know.
Watch a News Show
Perhaps it has been quite some time since turning on the television (or heading to a news website) to simply watch a classic news program. National Hug a Newsperson Day might be just the right time to show support to the news stations and the people who work for them. Catch some news that comes straight from a TV presenter, whether it is someone who is a local or it’s a nationally-known news personality. With more than fifty free-to-air television news stations in the United States, and many more available through paid networks, there’s certainly no shortage of newspeople to watch! Try some of the nation’s most popular news presenters like Anderson Cooper, Christiane Amanpour, Lester Holt or Shereen Bhan.
Thank a Newsperson
Some folks who don’t run in the personal circles of newspeople may not have an opportunity to thank them in person. But that’s okay! Perhaps National Hug a Newsperson Day would be a good time to write into a favorite news station or make a comment on a social media page, thanking a newsperson for their contribution to the world. Or, just for fun, go a little bit old school and send them a card through the postal service!
Watch Some Comedies About Newspeople
One way to have some fun and be entertained in honor of National Hug a Newsperson Day might be to watch (or re-watch) some classic shows and movies that feature the comedic side of newspeople. Check out a few of these in celebration of the day: Anchorman (2004). This comedy film starring Will Ferrell shows the absurd side of being a newsperson. SNL Weekend Update (1975-present). Part of the Saturday Night Live weekly comedy show on NBC. News Radio (1995-1999). Dave Foley, Phil Hartman, Maura Tierney and Vicki Lewis lead out in this sit-com about a radio news show. Broadcast News (1987). This film is a satire about American television news, starring Holly Hunter, William Hurt and Albert Brooks. For other days centered around the idea of hugging a person of a certain profession, consider celebrating National Hug a Plumber Day in April, National Hug a G.I. Day in March, or National Hug a Musician Day in November. How the Role of the Newsperson EvolvedThe role of the newsperson has changed dramatically over time, shaped by new technologies and evolving ways of sharing information.The facts below explore how early town criers, the rise of printed newspapers in Europe, and the emergence of television anchors helped define modern journalism and the trusted voices that guide audiences through the day’s events.The First Television “Anchorman” Helped Define the Role of News Presenters In the late 1940s, television news began to formalize the role of the studio presenter, who would “anchor” coverage and link together reports from different correspondents. John Cameron Swayze, who fronted NBC’s “Camel News Caravan” starting in 1949, is widely cited as one of U.S. television’s first true anchormen, helping establish the model of a central, trusted figure who guides viewers through the day’s events. Town Criers Were Once the Original Local Newsperson Before mass literacy and cheap printing, many European and colonial towns relied on an official “town crier” to deliver news. Appointed by local authorities and often paid in part with ale or food, town criers would ring a bell and shout proclamations about new laws, market days, and even lost property, making them a crucial information link for populations who could not read. The Modern Newspaper Emerged From 17th-Century Europe While handwritten news sheets had existed earlier, regularly printed newspapers as we know them developed in the early 1600s. Titles like Germany’s “Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien” (first printed in 1605) and England’s “Oxford Gazette” (1665, later the London Gazette) created a recurring format of dated issues and standardized news columns that shaped how professional journalists and editors still package information today. Radio Turned Breaking News into a Shared Live Experience The rise of radio in the 1920s and 1930s transformed news into an immediate, communal event, with announcers’ voices becoming familiar fixtures in people’s homes. Landmark broadcasts, like the coverage of the 1937 Hindenburg disaster and World War II updates, illustrated how radio newspeople could convey not just facts but also the emotional weight of events to millions of listeners at once. Television News Anchors Became Symbols of Public Trust From the 1950s through the 1980s, evening network newscasts in the United States helped turn anchors into some of the most trusted figures in public life. Surveys in the 1970s and 1980s often found that anchors such as Walter Cronkite ranked among the most trusted people in the country, illustrating how viewers came to associate a single newsperson’s demeanor and credibility with the reliability of the news itself. Journalists Face High Rates of Threats, Violence, and Psychological Strain Behind the polished delivery of news, many reporters work under significant danger and stress. The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented hundreds of journalists killed in connection with their work since 1992, while surveys by groups like the International Center for Journalists show that harassment, online abuse, and trauma exposure contribute to elevated risks of anxiety, depression, and post‑traumatic stress among news professionals. Public Trust in News Is Declining in Many Democracies Despite their central role in keeping communities informed, journalists today are working in an environment of eroding public confidence. A 2023 report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found that across 46 countries, only 40 percent of people on average said they trust most news most of the time, with trust falling sharply in several major markets compared with a decade earlier.