In 1981, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) are married and are both co-anchors for a prestigious news network in New York City. One day, Mack Tannen (Harrison Ford), the most famous nightly news anchor in New York, reveals that he is retiring. He intends to promote Corningstone, making her the first female nightly news anchor in the history of television, and to fire Burgundy due to his continuously sloppy performance on air. Burgundy grows jealous of Corningstone's success and storms out of the house, leaving her and their six-year-old son Walter (Judah Nelson).
Six months later, Burgundy is back in San Diego, but barely able to hold a job due to his depression. After being fired from SeaWorld and botching a suicide attempt, Burgundy accepts a job offered to him by Freddie Shapp (Dylan Baker) with GNN, the world's first 24-hour news network, for the station's official launch. He reassembles his news team, finding Champ Kind (David Koechner), who owns a fried chicken store (that sells bats secretly to cut down on costs), Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), now a famous cat photographer, and Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), who is presumed dead but appears at his own funeral. They are assigned the unpopular late-night timeslot while obnoxious rival anchorman Jack Lime (James Marsden) is put in a primetime slot. Meanwhile, Burgundy finds that Corningstone has started dating psychologist Gary (Greg Kinnear).
As GNN launches, Burgundy decides to broadcast what the people want to hear, rather than what they need to hear. He and his team devise a sensationalist and patriotic newscast. Their new approach proves to be a hit, beating Lime in ratings by a massive margin, and the other news networks scramble to emulate them. Burgundy and his team are promoted to primetime, where they enjoy fame and fortune. Burgundy's success excites GNN's manager, Linda Jackson (Meagan Good), and they begin a romantic relationship. Tamland meets a similarly eccentric GNN office worker named Chani (Kristen Wiig) and immediately falls in love. Burgundy lets his newfound fame get to his head and neglects his parental obligations to Walter, angering Corningstone. He also alienates Fantana, Kind, and Tamland, claiming he is tired of carrying them.
During a party celebrating GNN's success, Lime causes Burgundy to slip and suffer a head injury, resulting in him becoming blind. Unable to read the news, Burgundy isolates himself in a lighthouse, unable to adjust to his loss of sight. Corningstone arrives with Walter for a visit, announcing that she has quit her own job, and Burgundy bonds with his family, gradually overcoming his disability. Burgundy and his son rehabilitate a small shark, naming him Doby before setting him free. Later, Burgundy finds out that Corningstone was hiding messages from his eye doctor about an experimental procedure, since she believed his blindness to have been significant in the family bonding. He leaves angrily, gets his sight restored, and returns to GNN.
Back in New York, Burgundy is once again approached by Corningstone, who pleads with him to attend Walter's piano recital. At the same time, an exclusive news story comes in, requiring Burgundy to cover it. On live TV, Burgundy instead goes on a rant criticizing news networks, including GNN, for focusing on ratings rather than the news. He leaves for Walter's recital but is intercepted by an angered Lime and his team and several other news teams, all of whom want to kill him due to his fame. Burgundy's friends arrive to defend him and a massive battle ensues. Burgundy's old arch-rival Wes Mantooth (Vince Vaughn) arrives in time to save Ron from Lime's news crew, before Brick sets off an explosion. Burgundy manages to reach Walter's recital in time.
Burgundy and his friends later attend Tamland's and Chani's wedding on the beach. During the wedding, Ron spots Doby in the water and tries to greet him, only to be attacked, forcing his dog Baxter to rescue him.
In what year does everything take place?
1981