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Watching the new CBS News Detroit premiere. I can imagine that things will be tweaked after this premiere and they see what works and what doesnt work. Im sure they will throw everything at the wall tonight. -Clunky version of the open -I like the open to the jib shot, but it was too long and it hovered too high instead of moving toward the center and transitioning to the centre presenter camera. -The camera blocking is strange for the right presenter. You get the strange white wall and part of window mullions. -Strange sound in the background - A/C noise is VERY VERY LOUD! VERY distracting. They need to sorta that out immediately. Seems like the noisy problem that occurs when all the presenter mics are hot. -Odd use of jib over to weather. Kinda of a plain looking weather corner, washed out graphics. Seems like the big CBS logo been seen all the way on the right wall behind the weather computers. Weather is done from a rolling screen against a white wall. You can see the screen cords plugged into the wall. (Looks messy) The sports anchor uses the screen in the greenroom as sort of an OTS. They turn on blue lights in the green room for the 6pm. - The centre camera shot is really nice. -The story selection is strange and nothing ground breaking so far. Lots of national stories off the top. A local story about football coach and then a Narcan vending machine story was presented live from a local university. The reporter had on a boat load CBS Detroit gear. -They did highlight the reporter that will cover a specific beat/region. Which i like. But then going into each break they keep telling you they are watching a specific community and they can watch CBS Detroit streaming. (gotcha) So far going into the first advert break....its kinda ehhh. -The transitions seem choppy. -Umm not getting the point of the sports stories sprinkled thru instead of the main sports bulletin usually toward the end of the broadcast. So far the "Detroit" stories is very very thin. Kinda expected them to have reporters live all over the place for the first outing. I know the they are still hiring but eek. They dont seem to have a full staff yet. - The presenters seem to be a capable bunch, they seem to fit a large diverse market such as Detroit. It has the largest Arabic/Muslim population in the US and a large black population amongst others. I have to say it could be an interesting enterprise. I was expecting a bit more newsroom movement, but it seems CBS didnt throw millions at the wall for this. I feel like this is more of down and dirty operation rather than being ultra flashy.

Is it too small? Or are we just looking at small screenshots of weather graphics that aren't full screen?

These are all good points. I’ve learned to forgive the technical stuff; yes, one could argue that they should clear these things up before broadcast, given that they’ve been preparing behind the scenes for a while, but first day jitters are normal. I’m not really a fan of how they put the logo in a white box, but that might be temporary for all we know. As someone who can be unreasonably pedantic about sets and presentation, I actually don’t mind that it doesn’t look “ultra flashy.” Having the newscast done in the newsroom is rather refreshing, and they did a good job freshening up the WKBD newsroom. What I didn’t like was the awkward story selection. I get that they want to have exclusives, but the top story on your first newscast really shouldn’t be about a fired basketball coach. I also agree on the lack of local reporters. If they wanted to make a good first impression, they should’ve had field reporters on day 1. Still, it’s a hell of a lot better than no news at all.

CBS News Detroit wasn’t the only thing that premiered today. The new O&O weather graphics premiered along with them.

"Why do people want those darn videotape players? It's stealing our content and a chance for us to make even money" -- Perry Sook, found of Nexstar International Telephone, Telegraph and Phonograph

WOIO-WUAB's MyNet contract is the Bobby Bonilla of Cleveland television affiliation deals. Moving the CW to a WJW sub would be smart. Unfortunately, this is Nexstar, and they'd probably wind up dumping the Fox affiliation for the CW.

ie… WUAB could go back to its pre-CW scheduling (CLE43 II: Electric Boogaloo).

What will WFMZ do without WLEX to piggyback off of? Linear Drift posted the answer (though WFMZ isn't using these yet)... https://vimeo.com/789817430

He’s also the father of CBS Weekend News anchor/senior correspondent Jericka Duncan.

I like that second photo; I think they might have to make a rule that the standing desks in the background need to be in the seated position for air. The computer monitors block some of the background. They've alluded to it in the articles, but they're struggling to hire enough people to put more news on the air.

Other than the weather icons, they look great. Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday look like there's nothing there!

I don't think Nexstar is that stupid to put stations like "FOX 8" in jeopardy.... Then again, they lost all those Fox affiliatons about a decade ago (of which they got back the one in Fort Wayne and bought their way back in Springfield) And lest we forget about poor WJMN....

KWWL Mark Woodley, the sequel.

I mean their work has been straight out of the late 2000’s / early 2010’s and has never evolved, so…

It’s real. Although they aren’t using them for news (at least not yet), they are using the show promo and ID seen in the demo video.

Are we sure this isn't a rejected proposal from 2012? These look so incredibly dated it's not even funny.

IF The CW bolts WUAB for WJW 8.2 (or even, heaven forbid, Nexstar buys WBNX to make them a CW O&O)....WUAB would probably morph into 19+, since it's basically been the overrun station for WOIO, and the patent disregard of WUAB itself goes all the way back to Raycom... It's best hope now is to be a news-intensive station to compete against WJW. Then again, if WUAB gets stripped of the CW for WJW, it would leave BOTH WUAB and WBNX without affiliations. The upfronts are going to be REAL interesting this spring....what will Nexstar have up it's sleeve?

...and be sure to put us in your top 8 on Myspace! And for breaking news updates 24 hours a day, call our breaking news hotline...just 99 cents a minute!

Streaming? That’s just a fad. Betamax, that is the future.

Then tell WSYX that.... They been pretty damn successful doing that. A logo ain't going to make or break a news operation... Content however will make or break it.

With all the talk about KCBS & KCAL these recent weeks, let's not forget how it started. Twenty years ago today (1/20/03), the on-air consolidation of these two stations at Columbia Square began...... Videos are from Sloan's YT Page.

Honestly outside the Saudi Arabia stuff, LIV is pretty much just those who would usually migrate to the Senior/Champions Tour just trying to find a new place to play for money, because they have both egos and don't want to make way for new golfers and go gently into that good night and refuse to give up their past glory. Or younger golfers who just want to participate in the big tournaments and hate that they have to play in other tourneys like the St. Jude and Memorial to earn their way, or be on the PGA money list or be eligible for the FedEx Cup. It is 100% the Sour Grapes League and they just found the worst sucker of all to finance it, and the most desperate broadcaster to show it; it says something that Scripps or Ion didn't even bother or Fox let the paper company behind MyNet do so either. I don't forsee CW stations really boycotting it outright, but if they have weekend afternoon programming that already works, they might just bump LIV to overnights if it attracts a really lousy demographic and ratings. Their weekend advertising base is already poisoned enough with Weekend Adventure's geriatric bent, and the Has-Beens and Never Weres of Golf aren't moving that age down any at all.

Their promos are certainly a lot more interesting than anything on TV today. And I'm not talking about the comedic fake shows. I'm talking about production value of that commercial and even the graphics. I don't care about any of that. There are a lot of crappy people around the world, including us. Put it on TV and if people watch it, good for them. Let the people decide what they want.

Think: USFL We'll see. Competition is good. One of these days, one of these upstart leagues will be successful.

Coming this fall to U Sixty Tw.....er.....THE CW!

Okay... now I feel like we're just throwing crap at a wall to see what sticks... and I don't like it.

Well that's a way to get up to ah, 150,000 viewers maybe? Throw in Bozo for 25K more. Tom Skilling for another 25K. Ah to heck with it, Pat Harvey would bring another 10,000...

If Jerry Springer teamed up with a wrestling company to put on a news discussion show, I give you.... BEAT THE PRESS!

Sounds like a reheated version of The Soup, which was one of my favorite shows so it sounds interesting

I've only watch News Nation once. It seemed like a decent product and it looked very professional, but there was no kind of a hook to get me to tune back in. At the end of the day, I need something a little over the top to keep my attention and there was nothing there to get me to tune back in again. My ideal news channel would be a Jerry Springer News Channel. That is, Jerry Springer with the fighting, not the new and improved Jerry Springer when they toned it down. I'm only half kidding here.

I can see WOIO/WUAB carrying that show. Having Robin with Gray makes more sense than with Nexstar/NN.

Would Nexstar be able to accommodate her with an Atlanta facility? tbh I wouldn’t be surprised Gray hired her for WANF-WPCH once her noncompete ends. She’d be ideal for an old-school lifestyle talk show that can be syndicated throughout the chain and they’d have the facilities for it.

I wonder if they've been considering getting Robin Meade?

They're partying like they just won that crisp $50 bill on Bozo's Grand Prize Game, that's for sure!!!

They put up a SIGN too for this "win"? From everyone's favorite site:

Thank you for mentioning the atmospheric river term. It seems like in the past 1-2 years, everything is suddenly an atmospheric river or a bomb cyclone.

I've lived in California 40+ years and it's hilarious to hear the term 'FIRST ALERT ACTION DAY' on some rainy days... So much so, that I actually laugh out loud at the TV. What actions am I supposed to take? Make sure the car windows are rolled up because of the drizzle? Granted, there can be snowy conditions in higher elevations... But nothing that requires immediate 'action' of some sort. California is not hurricane/tornado territory and the 'FIRST ALERT ACTION DAY' terminology screams as if some clueless idiot from corporate back east came up with it. It just doesn't fit in this part of the world. And don't get me started on the term "atmospheric river". It sounds like I'll need a lifeboat if I'm gonna go skydiving or something. SMH. They're called storms... and used to be referred to as a line of storms. So tired of these gimmicky terms trying to sell me a forecast that I can instead bring up on my phone in half a second.

With the CBS-mandated Next/First alert, it seems a 'yellow alert' is issued for weather that will have some form of impact on a person's routine, with a 'Red alert' as weather having a major impact on a persons routine. I would like to think that it's the meteorologist/weather producer who issues/decides these and not the ND, because otherwise they would totally overhype the yellow/red alert days for rating purposes (next thing you know there would be green alert days for good weather days ). From what I've seen so far, WCBS (at least here in NY) doesn't 'over-issue' these alert days and they do seem warranted. The 7 day then just gets colored red or yellow on that day. Hopefully people are able to recognize that a "red alert" or "yellow alert" is not an actual government warning lol. But yeah I've definitely had this thought in my head about it confusing people with actual necessary government alerts (and I definitely wonder what the NWS thinks of this new trend and if they also share this fear of confusion).

WTOL in Toledo has had alert days for a few years now. They do it for severe T-storms, tornadoes, extreme heat and cold, high wind, and accumulating snow. WTVG has done it since earlier this year too. I don't mind it myself.

It's marketing. That's it. An attempt to make them look like they're way ahead of the game with weather. An argument can be made that they're beneficial in the sense that it's very visibly labeling a day as one to be aware of because inclement weather may be a problem.. There has been a push among meteorologists the last few years (in conjunction with NWS) for the public to be more "weather aware." The problems with out some TV stations do it, however, is it's often subjective and sometimes not even a decision made by the meteorologist. NDs will hear a forecast for rain on Tuesday and might decide it needs to be an "alert day" even though it's just plain, normal rain. No thunder, nothing severe. Hearst does this under "impact days" which is supposed to be super broad - weather that's different than dry and temperate. They also run the risk of being over used. Like breaking news, if every drop of rain is an alert day, nothing is an alert day. If you're in a market where more than one station does this, Station A might say Wednesday is a whatever day because of x forecast, but Station B might have nothing because it's nothing dangerous. "So how important is it?" a viewer might ask if they see multiple forecasts. Another big problem is that they have to be explained. Hearst stations have a label on their 7-day to explain what each impact icon is supposed to mean. I've had people ask me what they mean. If you have to explain it or the viewer is confused/distracted by it, it's too complicated and not serving a purpose.

This probably explains why WITI or KCPQ hasn't switched weather graphics from their Trib packages; why do it when the Fox Weather package would be coming after a few months anyways?

Butchering local town & landmark names while a tornado bears down on the viewing public. Anybody wanna take a crack at pronouncing "Schuylkill River"? Yes, 3000 miles away they will still be able to harness the technology to pinpoint the path of a storm and give viewers pertinent information, but when they can't pronounce your town, I get the feeling that some folks will turn the channel. And this is even IF they actually start hubbing weather. I see it more from the angle of "well, there's CBSN, ABC News Live, NBC News Now... what news-y angle ISN'T someone taking a stab at?"

NewsCentral was before its time. Technology has changed so much that it's impossible to compare with what we can do today. We have meteorologists working from home covering severe weather. What's the difference if they're 30 miles from the station or 3000?

I'll summarize my thoughts from the Discord: I don't think this is an attempt at a new OTA weather channel or anything close to WeatherPlus. I think this is a vehicle to enable the hubbing of weather. The press release says "Fox Weather will feature local, regional and national updates... [Drawing] on more than 75 meteorologists across 17 stations and Fox News Channel’s news gathering teams." and makes no mention of affiliate stations. This is a project that involves only the O&O group. Rebrand all the local weather departments under the "Fox Weather" banner (Which would be similar to WeatherPlus) and now you have a unified brand that anyone can appear in front of. Do you really need weekend meteorologists at both WITI and WFLD? Or can you just "regionalize" these markets and do both out of one station from time to time? Oh no! A Tornado warning has been issued on a Sunday morning, and nobody's at the station! Not to worry, the Mothership in NYC has somebody on duty, and they were going to cover the Tornado warning anyways, so they might as well just simulcast Fox Weather on the local FOX O&O. I would not be the least bit surprised if midway through next year, they announce they're "streamlining" the O&O's and are taking advantage of "operational efficiencies" presented with a network of meteorologists and suddenly some stations lose their weekend/fill in mets. I've said for some time now that Weather and Sports were ripe for hubbing, and I think this might be the start of that.