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That's their Investigative unit package. They've had it for a while. From what I've heard from people "in the know": -The weather graphics were only changed to the CBSN local package because most stations don't have the resources to maintain two looks. -Any plans for new graphics are indefinitely on hold due to the Viacom takeover and COVID. I'm considering closing this thread, it's becoming a "graphics speculation" thread where people just point out any random oddity as a "sign" of new graphics.

Here's another clip from the same station.

We got a 1984 KIRO news open (jump to 7:52)

It was the other way around. WRAL-TV dropped CBS.

Oh, I’d almost bet actual money on it, especially considering that KICU used Telesound’s “You Should See Us Now” promo campaign concurrently with that news package.

Uh here's the problem with the market, it's the Birmingham DMA. The degradation of the branding of the local TV news operations is one of the reasons why most don't even respect Birmingham as a major US city now. It's in the top 50 largest metropolitan areas in the US for Christ sake. Nobody should be calling the ABC affiliate for Birmingham "ABC Alabama" . Yeah it's a legacy brand nowadays.

SF Mayor London Breed expressed her support: I have to wonder if he's getting to be senile or something. He is making less and less sense as the years go by, and he continues to write things that are clearly made up. The other person who doesn't look good coming out of this is Chuck Barney at the Mercury News. He wrote that story about Kimberly Guilfoyle reportedly going to KTVU using Lieberman as his only source. He didn't even bother to reach out to KTVU or Guilfoyle's rep. Then, once there was a ton of blowback, he tried to cover his tracks by reaching out to a handful of KTVU people after the fact to see if there was any truth to Lieberman's story, which of course there wasn't. He should be held to a higher standard given that he's a supposed journalist and has a much higher platform than blogspot.com.

It's 2AM. Time for Night Beat.

Now that I"m reading James Spann's post about the 33/40 anniversary, he is grateful for all Allbritton has done for the station and his ability to broadcast severe weather. I have to wonder.....how he feels about Sinclair...

Today marks the 24th anniversary of the launch of ABC 33/40 in Birmingham. At the time, it was a merger of WCFT TV-33 in Tuscaloosa and WJSU TV-40 in Anniston, coupled with a low-powered station in Birmingham, WBMA-LP. This also merged the two markets into Birmingham, and eventually made WBMG (now WIAT) the sole CBS affiliate for the now-combined market. WNAL was supposed to be the "second" station, but that went to WJSU instead....they served as the CBS affiliate for the remaining tenure of Anniston-Gadsden's time as a separate market. Allbritton would continue to run the stations until their merger with Sinclair. "33" and "40" were sold off to Howard Stirk at the last second after Sinclair tried some antics to "own" them outright, but decided to give up the licenses unless a buyer was found. Today, the station is avaiable on WBMA-LD, WABM-DT2, WDBB-DT2, and is still simulcast on Stirk-owned WGWW-DT2 (the former WJSU or "40") Several staff members are still there today, including anchor Brenda Ladun, and of course, the venerable James Spann who had departed WBRC for their switch to Fox as part of this launch.

From 1983, the Chicago Emmy Awards, aired on WBBM. Not particularly notable, except for the conductor of the event's live band, conducted by THE Dick Marx. Less than a decade earlier, Dick created the CBS station's iconic theme song.

Brand new KTBC open!!!!!! Also KHOU used that “ei8ht” logo for their morning news?

Various Clips of TV Stations from Texas.

We got a circa 1984 WLWT news open And a 1998 WKRC open (jump to 11:22)

WCBD TV2 Action News 1989 11pm Close: Hugo's Arrival. Oprah and TV2 Action News promo at the end.

No open here, but still glad its here, a KOLR newscast from December 23, 1977.

Promo from KRIV, circa March 1988 featuring longtime anchor Mike Barajas during his time as anchor of the weekend newscasts on the station.

WRGB circa May 1986: Later that year, they would upgrade their set, graphics and hire a new meteorologist (John Cessarich).

What you are about to see is a video containing reports done by Joe Collum who reported on the county commission in Tampa. Throughout the video, you can see some WTVT opens starting with an 11pm news open at the beginning, a Pulse 13 First News open at 8:06 and a 6pm news open at 12:34. And we take you back to the mid 1980s where WYMT in Hazard, KY used this news theme until the mid 1990s.

PBC5NewsUnova Is gonna be jealous as to what i have uncovered.

WTRF Channel 7 (CBS Wheeling, WV), 6/21/85, partial broadcast (opening uses CBS Evening News music of the time; title at the time on WTRF was The News)

KTVX snippet from 1980:

Another reminder of how good CNN once was: a 1981 promo for Prime News 120:

Rare outtakes and raw footage with Leslie Nielsen for the classic KTXL TV40 Sacramento "Beyond the Nut Tree" promos. The two finished versions:

Here's ANOTHER WRAL promo with the VTS Place to Be/CBS We've Got the Touch combo mix promo. Indeed, a kick ass combo for WRAL. Taking elements from the CBS 1985-86 promo, and incorporating them into VTS The Place to Be package. LOVE IT! As you saw, WRAL wasn't the only station with a promo, which had a kick-ass combo mix of a news theme package (The Place to Be by VTS) with a network promo theme (CBS's 3rd and final season fo We've Got the Touch). Take a look at the promo for the Dallas NBC O&O station KXAS. It too had a combo mix of (a) Wall to Wall News by Stephen Arnold with (b) NBC's 1984-85 campaign Let's All Be There.

Right at the beginning of this video, here's a cool mix of the CBS '85 "We've Got The Touch" campaign theme w/VTS' "The Place To Be" campaign for then-new CBS affiliate WRAL in Raleigh (now NBC):

Some KRBK updates from 1986 using The Image Leader, plus Christine Craft (she of age discrimination lawsuit fame), Pat Flanigan weather tease and Rich Gould sports tease (looks like Koplar transferred him to St. Louis in 1988):

We got a 1997 WMDT news open (Jump to 14:51) And a 1998 WPVI news open (jump to 16:16) And a 1993 WPVI news open (jump to 17:51)

KNXT (KCBS) Channel 2 News brief with Pat O'Brien (before he wore glasses) from October 22, 1980:

Two more of my favorite sets from then, both from ABC News on WNT-- the then-new Washington bureau w/the late Frank Reynolds (here seen on its debut broadcast, Mon. Nov. 2, 1981), and the Chicago bureau w/Max Robinson (one version that started in 1981, from the broadcast of May 23, 1983; and the other from the broadcast of July 13, 1983); also includes a shot of Ted Koppel in Washington on Nightline from 1986...

The 80s TODAY living room set was kind of in house There's a clip on YT where it debuts and Willard Scott mentions the two people who led it - one was the director of the show - the other was Carole Lee Caroll - a scenic artist who did work for Letterman and some Broadway shows - maybe she was retained as defacto for NBC around then - but no agency / set design specialty firm involved.

Here's a photo and background information on WXYZ's version of that set: as well as some photos of KPIX's version of that set:

WABC had a bunch of sets in the late 70s/early 80s that were designed in house by Gene Fabricatore... I especially liked the one used from 1982 to 1985 - very curvy and stylish for that era. Unfortunately it lost a LOT when it was painted blue in early 1985. They replaced that set with the one used on KABC since the late 70s (also used on WLS)...

Rest In Peace to an actual legend in the weather business.