He promotes Corningstone, making her the first female nightly news anchor in television history, and fires Burgundy due to his continuously sloppy performance on air.

After being fired from SeaWorld and botching a suicide attempt, Burgundy accepts a job offered to him by Freddie Shapp with GNN, the world's first 24-hour news network.

They are assigned the unpopular late-night timeslot and make a bet with obnoxious primetime anchorman Jack Lime that they will beat his ratings.

Corningstone arrives with Walter for a visit, announcing that she has dumped Gary and quit her job because Burgundy's GNN antics ruined everything she loved about the news.

Burgundy discovers that Corningstone was concealing messages from his eye doctor regarding an experimental procedure, as she thought his blindness had been significant in the family's rekindling.

However, on live television, Burgundy says that news should inform, not entertain, delivers a two-sentence summary of Fantana's airline story, and leaves for Walter's recital.

[14] By June 2012, parts of the story had solidified, including a move of the location from San Diego to New York,[15] and a focus on the onset of the cable news era in the 1980s.

[29] According to the Los Angeles Times, the decision made Paramount the "first big studio" to stop releasing its major movies on film in the United States.

[31] On March 28, 2012, actor Will Ferrell officially announced the sequel dressed in character as Ron Burgundy on the late-night talk-show Conan.

But it has moments of howling hilarity and the improvisatory spirit that gave Ron Burgundy's origin story its shaggy, ramshackle charm.

"[64] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, writing, "It's bawdy, on-target in its take on what's become of TV news, and packed with wacky performers.

"[65] Alonso Duralde of The Wrap gave the film a negative review, writing, "It's a constant barrage of joke-joke-joke, but they're all gags that take place in the moment and are immediately shoved aside for the next one.

"[66] Tom Huddleston of Time Out gave the film three out of five stars, writing, "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is not the disaster some feared it might be, but neither is it the endlessly quotable, deliciously idiotic follow-on so many of us were optimistically anticipating.

"[68] Stephanie Zacharek of The Village Voice gave the film a positive review, writing, "With those eyes that are a little too close together, and that confident swagger that looks as if it could disintegrate into a pratfall at any time, Ferrell makes a grand ringleader for all this nonsense.

"[69] Richard Roeper gave the film four out of five stars, calling it "one of the funniest movies of the year, and in its own loony way, it's a sharp, dead-on satire.

"[71] Joe Williams of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch gave the film two out of four stars, writing, "The movie lacks an effective comedic structure.

"[72] Rene Rodriguez of the Miami Herald gave the film one out of four stars, writing, "Fans have been clamoring for a sequel to Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy for so long, Will Ferrell (and financier Paramount Pictures) finally decided to give the people what they wanted.

"[73] Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film three out of four stars, writing, "It's clear that the people who created the first Anchorman wanted to hang out on a set again together.

"[74] Stephen Whitty of the Newark Star-Ledger gave the film two and a half stars out of four, writing, "Ferrell and director Adam McKay pushed things even further, raunchier and weirder.

Scott of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, writing, "The sheer density of the jokes guarantees a few laughs for every taste ... and the loose, improvisational energy of the performers keeps things lively.

"[77] Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film three out of four stars, writing, "The movie cleverly spoofs the 24-hour TV news cycle, as well as sexism and racism in the workplace.

"[79] Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film three out of four stars, writing, "Burgundy and his goofball buddies are faced with dramas and dilemmas that may seem arbitrary and contrived on paper but have an urgent puissance onscreen, as Ferrell and company act their little hearts out.

"[80] Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B, writing, "Comedy sequels generally follow the law of diminishing returns.

"[82] Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic gave the film three out of five stars, writing, "For almost every aspect of the movie I want to criticize, there is a corresponding defense.

"[84] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post gave the film two and a half stars out of four, writing, "Considering the improvisatory talents – even genius – of Ferrell and his co-stars, it's no surprise that laughs abound in Anchorman 2.

"[85] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three out of four stars, writing, "When is a movie fall-down funny even when some scenes fall flat on their fat ones?

"[86] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film two and a half stars out of four, commenting, "At two hours, Anchorman 2 overstays its welcome by at least 20 minutes, if not longer.

"[87] Ty Burr of The Boston Globe gave the film a positive review, writing, "See it with a crowd, laugh yourself silly, and feel slightly ashamed in the morning.

"[88] Scott Foundas of Variety gave the film a positive review, writing, "A modestly less quotable but generously funny new adventure for scotch-and-mahogany-loving 1970s newsman Ron Burgundy, here catapulted into 1980 and the dawn of the 24-hour news cycle.

"[89] Rafer Guzman of Newsday gave the film a positive review, writing, "This sequel may not produce any quotable lines, but to borrow one from the original: Don't act like you're not impressed.