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My problem isn't with potentially ripping off the news music, which seems to be the main gripe here, though a superficial one. The problem is with the content. There wasn't a single original story and not a frame of newsworthy video he or anyone else shot outside of a studio. If he tried to shoot and put together his own story (or two) like a proper reporter and then put in a few "pacer" stories from police, press releases and other material that don't require too many resources, then he'd probably be able to come up with a decent 15-minute newscast. Throw in a longer interview or two and you might be able to stretch it to 30. That would be a better use of his time and his viewers' time than an hour of old content ripped from other news outlets from YouTube. Go out into the world, talk to people, and do your own story instead of repackaging everyone else's.

Completely agree. I will probably post a follow-up video on Friday to show my audience the improvements he has made, and to be fair. I don't want people to just see the first show, think I was there just to post it because it was bad, and move on. If he's making a true effort, which he is, I will spotlight that. For a one-person operation he is trying. I believe in being fair and equitable in my uploads (as the person who brought attention to this - I doubt we'd all be here talking about this if I didn't make that upload, and to be honest I almost passed on it, so I'm glad I did end up going for it). Not every station is going to be WPVI or WRC — conversely not every station is going to be WBKB or The Delta News. It's important to provide as wide of a variety as possible. Is this product better than what KFSN was providing them? No, but nobody is claiming that either (I don't even like KFSN's product to begin with - too tabloidy for me). This is the same market who has bestowed the world with TikTok/IG stars Caroline Collins and Liv Johnson (KSEE/KGPE), remember. Fresno is not exactly the mecca of quality storytelling. I think Austin is making a legitimate effort to provide a serious newscast. Like I said, he is looking around for a graphics package and so it will start to look more polished with time. If you want to blame anybody here, blame Cocola. They are a notoriously cheap company and have been since day one (they are still using outdated EAS equipment in 2022). I'm surprised they even picked up the KAIL lineup to begin with. I'm not surprised they didn't renew the KFSN agreement. I will give them credit for at least wanting to keep some type of 8pm newscast going when they could've just plugged in syndicated or paid programming (and the Cocola stations air a lot of that). I have seen much, much worse, and I will defend Austin because he is at least taking people's concerns to heart and trying to improve. He is more than aware that his product doesn't look like the O&O in town, but I'm sure if he had the money, he would. I don't think he is doing this for ratings or to make money, but doing it because he is truly passionate about it. And in this day and age when many people are exiting the industry and not missing it one bit, Austin should be commended for continuing to truly have a burning passion for journalism and local news.

Hi all, I’m rather new here, but I figured I might as well start by giving my two cents on this. I commend Austin for being willing to even start an independent local newscast in this day and age. It’s especially commendable that he’s doing so in a market like Fresno, where there are only two competing outlets (and one of them employs TikTok wannabes.) I understand gripes about the music and presentation, but considering that we’re talking about a one-man band on a shoestring budget, these things are to be expected. However, I have two bigger issues with this newscast: lack of local/original content and a limited platform. I understand that the budget isn’t there for a full news department (blame that on the owner of the station,) but I’ll echo C Block’s point about running local stories that don’t take as much manpower to start out. I don’t think people supporting Austin are “apologists and shills” for a non-factor (given the budget, there’s nothing to shill for anyway.) However, the newscast is a non-factor for the same reason that KFSN’s newscast was: the lone platform is a low-power station no one watches. Even if this was the most well-produced newscast with the best graphics/music/etc, this would still be an issue. If this is going to be a serious news operation in the future, there needs to be an online presence (and there arguably should’ve been one prior to launch.) That said, I wish Austin well.

There were at one point standards for production that the industry was somewhat holding themselves to, but those have long since been thrown out the window. A one man band with a YouTube account, iPhone and a ring light pulls in millions more viewers than most local newscasts ever will. And good for them. Here's an unpopular opinion: local news doesn't have to be exclusively delivered to an audience via over-the-air television broadcasts. Fresno seems like a journalism desert, a great place for a digital local news startup. It would be much easier to churn out a few local stories daily for a digital presence than trying to figure out how to make 60 minutes of engaging television. There are fully-staffed newsrooms across the country that can't even pull this off. Honestly... it would probably be easier to find too. Meet your audience where they are. I don't think it's 8pm on MyNetworkTV. But if this is about rebuilding a personal brand, getting one's face out there and building a reel, or having a sandbox to play in - why not? No reason to be jealous about it.

Looks like it is the same package KPLC in Lake Charles (and others) have. Not very impressive, sadly. Considering how dominant WVUE is, you’d think they’d get something special.

"Business decision" sounds like either "too old" or "too expensive"

Thank you, @ABC 7 Denver. One thing I noticed is how absolutely hyper-critical this fandom tends to be without actually taking a step back and trying to understand the "How"s & "Why"s behind changes in news products. Are some graphics actually bad? Yes. Some are. Is EVERY SINGLE aspect of a graphics package bad simply because you personally don't like one aspect of it? No. That's absolutely not the case. These absolute statements and severe judgements based on a few minutes of witnessing something new just leads to drama, and I'm personally getting kind of sick of it. It's not everybody, but I just find the irony kind of amazing that the whole thing behind news is being objective, yet we let our personal feelings dictate definitively that something is "bad". Not everything is 100% "Bad" MY53's news department is a one-man-band with the budget of $12 and a ham sandwich. The product will get better over time. There will be a lot of testing & figuring it out, and he deserves our support for taking on a project like this. Bottom line is, Austin is one of us. He's a total news nerd just like we are, and he's a damn good journalist. He has a challenge ahead of him that he willingly took on. We really should, as a community, be in his corner to support him, and not completely rip apart his product on the first night. In fact, we really need to learn how to sit back and observe things for a few nights before we draw our conclusions, weighing all pros & cons of certain things instead of just crapping on something the first time we see it just because it's different. TLDR: Guys, we really need to step it up and do better, instead of turning everything into a bitch-fest.

I don't think GMA is all that great of a news/entertainment program anymore --- neither is modern Today. GMA's news product feels hard to sit through as half their stories go beyond the typically hyperbole. Basically, Inside Edition Lite. The only reason I suppose GMA is still number one is because ABC has strong local stations. The Robin/George/Lara/Josh/Sam period was strong. The addition of Strahan (however unnecessary) has as made their anchor line up even more recognizable. GMA is better at pop and out of studio segments like when they went to a school to promote Abbott elementary. Edit: To me, GMA has stronger personalities. Michael and especially TJ have great energy. Add them to George as the hard news man and Robin who's a great bridge between the serious and light stuff. Today however is better at news and feature stories, but it hasn't fully recovered from the Ann Curry debacle. The program has been significantly dumbed down since the fourth hour was added, even more so following Meredith and Ann's departures. Katie Couric said it herself in her biography: the hard news segments got shorter and true crime stories increasingly appeared in the 7:00 hour.

Likely would be a WGCL satellite for the NW corner of the market. (If Gray acquired a station in Chattanooga such as WRCB, they could shoehorn it on there too...)

LOLOL at all the apologists and shills on here (and you know you are) for something that is in reality a non-factor in the Fresno market and never will be a factor. It’s almost like you want Austin to credit you as a “Consulting Producer” at the end of his newscast. I don’t think anyone at KFSN or KMPH is even aware this newscast even exists, let alone thinking it poses anything close to a “threat”.

I'm telling you guys, it's only going to continue to improve. It's not about ratings right now, it's about establishing a product, and allowing the audience to grow with that product. Hopefully this will continue to grow into competative news operation. In a time where big companies are shutting down newsrooms and outsourcing the newscasts to be produced from stations in neighboring markets (sometimes markets from all the way on the other side of the country), it's extremely rare to see a start up news operation, especially from a small broadcaster that doesn't have the resources that a big corporation does. Once again, there really should be nothing but support here. I think it's easy to forget that local news at its core is a public service, and that';s exactly what's being provided here; a public service.

I'm sure THIS is finally the time a WBBM anchor change will make them #1.

Three days in and you want to say that? This is what bootstrapping a newscast looks like. Ctmajka shared this great video from '98 for Floyd Kalber's retirement from WLS. He launched KMTV's news department. What Austin is doing is similar. It's even more impressive and gutsy in a market like Fresno.

Both Jarvis Greer and Cassie Carlson are leaving WMC in Memphis. Cassie's last day will be this weekend; Jarvis will retire after 43 years on New Year's Eve. I wonder what will become of the sports department after this. https://www.actionnews5.com/2022/03/28/sports-director-jarvis-greer-retiring-action-news-5-after-43-years/