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Longtime WRAL anchor Charlie Gaddy has died.

Meanwhile, fun throwback the last few days, as Michael has been off, but they've opted to keep Robin & George as a duo.

They showed a teaser timelapse of the new studio, and it obviously doesn't show much, but don't be surprised if some general concepts carry over from Times Square. You get an idea of the size of the space in the first image. It's apparently the same size as The View's and Live's studios, but should feel even more open with no audience risers. In the second pic, you can make out wood-tone beams across the ceiling, a large, possibly L-shaped video wall to the left, and a curved desk against a video wall in the foreground. The desk looks like a stand-in for the final product, but it's thankfully a lot smaller than the outgoing model. In the back corner, you can make out some kind of non-video wall feature, though the short end wall (top right) is likely to be a giant screen. In addition to Charlie Gibson voicing a new team promo as the 50th anniversary festivities start to pick up, Diane Sawyer is likely to be in-studio on Monday, promoting a new sit-down interview she did with an actor.

Yep. They're the same team for the most part when they were still Vivid Zero. Just under a different name after splitting from their parent company SmithGeiger.

I wonder when/if Jessica Kartalija will anchor a newscast. I don't know if it's her decision, the station's decision, or there's some kind of non-compete clause at play. There's been plenty of times she could have filled in here and there.

Not a big fan of that desk, but props to WPSD for providing renderings.

Looks like they've done a lot of work for ABC.

I'm split on this because as an objective journalist you can't rant personal political opinions on social media. This would be less consequential if it were an MSNBC or Fox commentator. That being said, it's tough not to rant. Trump is unique in that we've never seen a president and his administration blatantly lie, bully journalists, threaten democracy and form a cult of perosnality to this degree. How can journalists tow the line of calling this out while staying objective in reporting and minimizing personal biases? It's hard! Doing what Moran did however serves no one. Losing your job to rant against Trump, Miller, or anyone else in the administration on social media isn't worth it when there are thousands of opinion commentators who can do that for you. I think this warranted a conversation and a social media break not a firing however. It's a shame because Moran was very good. His political analysis always did tow the line of commentary however, so it's not surprising to see him take it a step further on social media.

Whoops just saw this discussion in the Out & About chat.

Looking at the renderings of the new set, I'm surprised they went with Michael Wright on this job as he mostly did sets for the Graham stations.

Four anchors, though realistically it’s seldom even three as it is, for one hour seems needless.

I assume he was fired not because ABC wanted to fire him, but because they feared repercussions from Trump.

Could do like the morning program and have one person stand off to the side, but in this instance Karen standing would make the most sense.

SAM was good with their pre-2006 packages. It's not the packages themselves, it's just their flagrant overuse by certain groups like Nexstar. I swear if I hear Guardian one more time... Mostly it was the whole SESAC thing which caused many stations to drop them with the rise of licensing fees. In subsequent years, with the consolidation and group-branding of stations, sameness prevailed and a good SAM theme could get maligned by a station or group that ran with something, or even used a theme to the point or boring-ness....

Where would she sit? They don't even have a seat for Nydia.

Wonder if Alyana will remain at 10am?

If you like the team, the presentation, etc, not hearing “live from Times Square” is not going to change your viewing habits one iota. No one who watches and likes the program is going to think, “wait, they’re not in Times Square? I’m out.” No one gives the show more credibility or likes the team content better because of being in one location or another. It made for an interesting backdrop at one point, but it’s not like they use it all that much, in any meaningful way.

Changes coming to the morning newscasts. Tamala Edwards moving to 10 am After 20 years of the dawn patrol, and overnights on ABC before that, sleeping in will probably be a welcome change.

I feel like the Hudson Square move might hurt GMA in the long run Mainly due to the branding that they are live from Times Square for this long

Similar opening and transitions to WTEN.

I get it but it seems there no one thinks that sounds terrible they havent come up with a solution. Its crap.

I'll put this here as Terry Moran frequently contributed to WNT: https://ew.com/abc-news-terminates-terry-moran-for-calling-donald-trump-world-class-hater-11750339 The anchor was suspended then fired after posting the Tweet (not used to saying X) at the end of this post. This is tough because Trump and his team habitually bullies journalists and spreads disinformation, so it's understandably difficult for journalists to remain objective. Doing what Moran did however serves no one. Losing your job to rant against Trump --or in this case a member of his administration---on social media isn't worth it, when there are thousands of opinion commentators who can do that for you. I question if this warranted a firing however. It's a shame because Moran was very good. His political analysis always did tow the line of commentary however, so it's not surprising to see him take it a step further on social media.

I'd imagine they could do concerts on their roof, not sure about that space accommodating an audience however.

Yup! News is a very copy and paste industry.

The technology is neat, but I don't really grasp how it improves upon forecast delivery as opposed to a nice physical set. Different cameras being used as the "window" in the rear of the set? Neat, but nothing that can't be done with a monitor or screen (and is already used on a fair number of sets as a backdrop). Weather conditions on the floor? Neat, as long as my location isn't obscured by someone standing on it. Also, even with the graphics, it still looks to me like the weather person is walking around a big empty warehouse.