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I just ran across this (which I wrote 21 years ago...). Good for a quick laugh, if you can catch your breath (and try to say it all in one breath!)... Live, Local and Latebreaking, First on NewsChannel 37 Eyewitness News from the NewsCenter, being clear, accurate and to the point with all the news you need from your hometown newsleader, in touch, in-depth and up to the minute, together we're making a difference on your 24-hour Action NewsSource, covering the (Region/City) where the news comes first on your local News Station with your choice for news and coverage you can count on, your number 1 News Leader with today's news tonight. Now with breaking news, live from the NewsPlex X with News, Y with Weather, and Z on Sports, on FirstNews Non-stop 11 at 11. Happy New Year!

Oh great. Now where am I going to find out the latest in vinyl flooring or mortgage rates?

Take a look with TV6 WOC (KWQC)

Speaking of CNN, anyone surprised no one in ATL has tried, at this time, to get Robbin Meade?

With the Comics Unleashed reruns on CBS set to end later this month with the premiere of After Midnight, I have to think the owners and managers of some affiliates must be quietly relieved -- specifically, anyone who owns or runs a CBS affiliate in a market where Allen Media owns a competing station. Sure, the episodes are all over a decade old and yes, we're talking about the 12:30am ET time slot, but the show was hosted by the guy who now owns a station that directly competes with them. At the very least, it must have been a bit weird.

I know. The 9th is this Tuesday. The 16th is next Tuesday. That's what I meant.

Actually, their ratings are still climbing. They beat WXYZ in some major demographics. I would stay away from certain boards who all they do is complain and quite frankly, don’t know what they are talking about. Jeff Skversky had to go imo. He wasn’t that good if an anchor and he was becoming a cancer in the newsroom. This and moving Terrence Friday to evenings is one if the main reasons why the evening newscasts have drastically improved.

Any market that has to deal with a significant amount of severe weather/tornadoes/hurricanes, I can see at most 6. Have 2 in-studio, and instead of using reporters/mmjs, use the other 4 out in the field for reports, so they can give first-hand meteorological reports of damages, etc and fill-ins... I don't know why stations all of a sudden had a need to have a different meteorologist for each damn newscast of the day... No wonder they are starting mets at $15k a year.. there's no work

WCSH NewsCenter at 11:00 (November 26, 1985) WFSB Eyewitness News newsbreaks and open (November 22, 1981) WDIV News 4 NightBeat (December 15, 1986)

There may well be exceptions, but by and large, they don’t need to do that. People are tuning in for quick hits, not long blocks. You can adjust the tone and story selection approach to provide different feelings at different times of day, but people aren’t looking for a local version of the cable primetime shows.

They’ve definitely improved, but it’s not without turbulence. One of their main anchors is gone, their sports anchor was unceremoniously dumped, and the ratings are going nowhere fast. To me, they don’t really offer anything that makes them stand out. Of course, any news is better than no news at all, and I’m glad CBS finally did what they should’ve done years ago and reinstated newscasts, but there is much need for improvement.

True, I was only talking about weekdays. They may purchase more for the fall.

I still don't understand how you only make a two-year deal and call it a 'multiyear' deal, especially when RTC deals are usually on a three-year cycle. The two-year cycle suggests either some acrimony from Comcast that they now prefer bi-yearly deals, and certainly panic on Paramount's side so they can keep the unseen lights on for a few of their zombie networks as long as possible. Going by current year-end cable rankings (the one Variety article I must read at the end of the year), Nick/@ Nite went from being ranked in the lower top 10-top 20 to now #54 by average. There is no literal kid's cable market any longer outside rare events and several series, and by the time any deal for PG is finished, CBS, Paramount+ with Showtime and the library will be the only value left. On another note, that 21% drop-off for The CW versus Ion and Me is concerning. I expected a drop, but not that hard.

It's tangentially related. So much of the music changes and debranding efforts are coinciding with the graphics rollout. It won't last forever, and we'll get back to the graphics in no time.

I heard this from a colleague who works at an NBC Gray affiliate. It's not an NBC thing. It's a "Gray" thing. Eventually all stations will be removing their affliliation from their logos. The reasoning is to distance the stations from the affiliates and to separate itself from the fake news movement that the national media gets. Basically it's so people trust the LOCAL news and to take on their own branding and identity.

This is confirmation enough for everyone. We don't need a station-by-station report on a peacock removal. From here on, said posts will be hidden. Let us know if a station hasn't changed, at all.

And now WMBF News has the GrayONE graphics.

Seeing as how WLUC is the absolutely dominant station in the area by a longshot, there's little incentive to change.

WNWO is the poster child of an also-ran station. Aside from it's days as Malrite/Raycom station, it's been the 5th station in a 2 station market. Also in a place like Toledo, it's quite telling when descendants of a single company have circled through EVERY station in the market. Raycom dumped WUPW for WNWO (Malrite merger) Raycom sells WNWO to Barrington for WTOL (Liberty merger) Gray dumps WTOL to Tegna to keep WTVG (Raycom merger) Securing NBC at the time may have been a bright spot, but that may have made it more vulnerable to outside competition from Detroit and Lima. As an ABC affiliate, and the Detroit stations on cable, WDHO/WNWO didn't have a prayer. And lest we forget Sinclair's extended blackout with Buckeye Cable that even extended into the 2014 Winter Olympics. With CBET and CBC coverage readily available, there were plenty of nails in the coffin already....

Steve Harvey: Name a show that's replacing NBC 15 News at Noon and Gulf Coast Today. The National Desk! (Nope, another hour of Family Feud on top of the hour at 4: 00pm AND the 6:30 airing on WEAR!)

WBBM-TV also does not have anything close to a reputation or heritage that WGN-TV or WLS-TV have… or even WMAQ-TV, certainly not since Bill Applegate left in 1993. They’ve had the negative connotations of being a laggard or bottom-dweller. It’d be insane to think of WLS-TV becoming “ABC News Chicago” and stripping themselves of the circle 7, but WBBM-TV literally has nothing to lose. And it speaks volumes about how much of a project this actually is for CBS, we’re not talking about just mere brand architecture, but systemic changes in multiple news operations (or in the case of Detroit, literally building up from nothing).

That and 780/105.9 has all the news tradition; best to leave the calls with them and just try to get away from any call/numerical branding and wipe the slate; don't forget there the channel number and reception issues have been a curse, along with there being a UHF WMEU simulcast, since the 2000's management and NY decided to stick them digitally on miserable VHF 12 (and even worse 3 pre-2009).

I’m thinking CBS News Chicago is in the future for WBBM, as “CBS 2 News” doesn’t have much history in Chicago. I also think they’ll dump channel number and do the call-letter box.

KYW-TV is CBS's pet project in more ways than one, it's fully repudiating and excoriating the past Dunn/Friend regime. Making Ukee Washington the literal face and voice of the station (in more ways that one) speaks volumes. If you didn't see Ukee deliver KYW's new mission statement during the 5pm newscast, you really should seek out the airchecks. What if the varied color palettes are intentional? What's to say they want the O&Os to try various color schemes and this is being worked out open-source between the stations? Of course I'm a Browns fan, so Eagles green >>>>> Steelers black-n-yellow, sorry yinz all lmao

New 3, for sure, with no CBS eye attached during the news. The flair of the new numeral is lost when at such a small scale, in the box, with the eye.

This is a long one, so my apologies in advance. TLDR, Nexstar isn’t the future, local≠always better, and accessibility is paramount. I’ll have to disagree on quite a few of your points. First, Nexstar is not handling change in the industry well at all. They don’t have many other assets other than a mammoth amount of TV stations, which, in an industry that’s on the downswing, is like being the king of the coy pond. They’ve also put all their eggs in the proverbial basket of a floundering cable channel that has been hampered by distribution from the start. Also, it certainly doesn’t help that Nexstar actively restricts local streaming in order to “fulfill obligations to cable providers” or however they spin it. When you still live and die on retrans money, to the point where I can’t live stream a newscast, you aren’t handling change in the industry well. Also, where did you get the ratings info for the stations you cited? I find it rather surprising that KRON was able to beat KTVU. That said, if they did, I doubt it’s because KRON has more of a local brand; on the contrary, I would credit the amount of upheaval and turnover at KTVU more than anything innovative KRON has supposedly done. Also, no offense, but KUSI is a joke. Appealing to angry boomers is not a sustainable plan that anyone should follow. Granted, if WGN decided to call themselves “NewsNation Chicago,” people would notice. However, just because a station slaps on a local brand doesn’t mean they’re a better station, or one that has an advantage in the market. There are some stations that have enough legacy and clout to have a unique local brand, but those are the exceptions, not the rule. Most TV stations are bland, boring, and stuck in the 1990s in terms of branding, accessibility, content, and relevance. To get back to what this thread is about, what CBS has done is an effort to future-proof the company’s local newsrooms. Their stations are far more accessible than ever before; I can go on the CBS News app and see any CBS owned station’s local news, plus additional local content. It’s the best approach to accessibility that any station group has implemented so far. Compare that to your example, Nexstar, which does absolutely nothing on this front. That said, if some successful stations hold on to legacy brands either temporarily or permanently (like WBZ or KDKA, for example), I don’t think it matters as much as we think it does, especially since every station so far (except KCAL) visually emphasizes their presence on the CBS News app. Conversely, if most CBS stations drop their channel number, I don’t think it will either positively or negatively affect their ratings or viewer trust; there was neither outcry nor excessive curiosity among most viewers when KPIX and KCNC switched over. While *some* stations don’t need to drop legacy brands that are already working for them, they do need to reinvent themselves a bit, and prioritize accessibility in order for both older viewers and people in my age group to consider them relevant. So far, while the implementation hasn’t been perfect, CBS has done a decent job of that.

This constant debate is getting nowhere. The gaslighting and ad hominem attacks aren't constructive. Both "sides" here are making compelling points, but some are less rooted in the reality of the situation than others. Folks, we can sit here and scream about "market research" and "freedom to brand as they want" until we're all blue in the face, but that doesn't change the material facts being offered up at this point in time. Every station (with the exception of KCBS/KCAL, using a modified variant) has adopted the "CBS News [location]" co-brand, which is, in essence, the dominant brand in the graphics. Most, but not all of the stations, have also begun verbally using only the "CBS News [location]" brand, with the co-brand being regulated to nothing more than an image on the screen. If there was truly as much freedom being offered to the stations as some claim, I cannot imagine a world where every single station has adopted the same exact branding strategy with minimal to no variation. The rumored KYW co-brand is the first one that seems to have been designed for the branding scheme developed here, however even it is confined to the co-brand box. Either every station is on-board with the strategy CBS has developed (likely!) or there's now a real "CBS Mandate" that they stick to the one size fits all "cram your co-brand in this square" strategy. Otherwise, I'd suspect we'd be seeing stuff like this or this. "Brand equity" and "market research" is just a snapshot of consumer sentiment at one point in time. Many of these stations, with a few exceptions, are only visually co-branding. KTVT may still show the old CBS11 logo in their bug and certain graphics, but every single on-air mention, every promo, every reference to what the station is, calls it "CBS Texas". What's that mean for "brand equity"? It means that, over time, more and more people will connect "CBS Texas" to the station than the "CBS11" brand. This could happen six months from now, or maybe six years from now. Who knows! In the case of KTVT, the SVP of Brand Strategy and Development for the CBS O&O group is on record as saying "I think it was a no-brainer that while you’re trying to make a position around CBS New[s] Texas, that [the CBS11 logo] remained.” A very interesting choice of words, as "while you're trying to make a position around CBS New[s] Texas" seems to imply that the CBS11 logo will stick around as they build up the CBS News Texas brand, but not forever. Yes, older generations are going to refer to these stations however they damn well please until they ultimately depart this mortal plane. I still have family members that call WITI "TV6" despite the fact they haven't branded as such for almost thirty years. WITI smartly used the long-dormant "brand equity" for the TV6 brand on their Antenna TV channel, which appeals to those same people. This same demographic has also long aged out of the demographic these stations are largely trying to appeal to on their primary channel. All of this, all of it, is at the whim of a few managers at each station and a few people at corporate. The understanding is that the News Director at KCBS/KCAL fought for the "KCAL News" brand. What happens if he leaves? What if viewership and impressions decline? Whoever comes in next could easily blow up the whole branding strategy and decide to brand as "CBS News Los Angeles" in an attempt to change things up. To claim any of this is "permanent" is disregarding how this industry has worked for the past 40+ years. Nothing is permanent in this industry. There's been graphics packages that have lasted less than a year (some that have never even launched!), sets that get re-worked within months of debuting (look at what became of the very expensive WBBM Streetside Studio set...), brands like "Ei8ht is News" that lasted all of a handful of months. NewsNation launched with a bright "WGN America" plexiglass panel on the front of the desk. Surely, someone at Nexstar knew that the channel would be renamed "NewsNation" in the future, yet they paid for that WGN America panel anyways. @Myron Falwellis free to have his own opinion as to when this will happen, so is everyone else. I'm a bit more conservative with my guesses, I think it could take some stations years to move away from their co-brand, and I think a handful (KCAL, maybe WBZ) could keep their co-brands indefinitely (though the co-brand box is super awkward for a long-term brand.) Fighting about it isn't constructive. It doesn't have any effect on anybody's day-to-day life, unless you're in one of the aforementioned positions making these decisions. My opinion? Folks, we're not in 1995 anymore. The local broadcast TV industry has long resisted necessary changes, and we're now on the precipice of needing to do some once "unthinkable" things for it to remain viable. People who actually work in it were telling me 6 years ago that they expect it to utterly collapse by 2030, and that was before we had a global pandemic that showed these companies that you can have your reporters file packages out of their home and pipe in newscasts from the other side of the continent. Nothing lasts forever, and that includes retrans fees (which, I should add, largely became a "thing" when stations started seeing ad revenue fall off a cliff) and political ad dollars. At some point, the proverbial gravy train is going to come off the tracks. These station owners, large and small, are going to have to cut costs more than they already have, and that could come in the form of working with the networks to have more national news programming with local opt-outs (Similar to how the BBC handles regions, which the US morning shows kind of already do, and NBC News Daily does precisely) or the companies will just opt to do it themselves (Nexstar is in a position to do this with NewsNation, Scripps with Scripps News, etc. Why pay for a network news service when you already have your own?) The "CBS News [location]" strategy accounts for this while also giving each station a unique brand, which is more important in the digital age than ever before. There are a lot of "CBS 2"s out there, but only one "CBS New York"/"CBS Chicago"/"CBS Los Angeles". If the local media landscape looks the same in 2033 as it does now, some terrible mistakes were made.

Let's please dial back the desire to make everything feel like a personal attack and to become angry at someone's opinions or guesses that do not align with yours. Stay on track and have fun. Thank you.

I agree - there’s a reason WSAZ hasn’t changed their Microgramma logo in decades. It’s timeless.

Staggered launch..not sure why Gray did it this way, but looks promising. I haven't been a fan of the logo in a LONG time. Wish they would have brought this one back.

I don't understand. DMAs still exist. It is how programming is sold, how broadcast coverage is defined, how ownership within a market is limited, etc.

That new 12News logo would be great if this was 1986. The lack of spacing between the circle 12 and the N bothers me, and the typeface used for the NEWS part leaves a lot to be desired. The 2 is overstretched. Honestly this is a huge downgrade. Don't knock the logo it replaced, the red crescent 12 was actually very decent. Also that set is terrible, that feels like it should be a temp set. The fact that only three other former MG stations/sister stations still use their crescent logos (WMBB, WBTW, and WJBF) doesn't mean that KWCH's logo made them look like a Nexstar station. Honestly, Gray probably left it up to the station since they had used their old MG logo for so long and it had become an identifying mark for them they decided to keep it. Now, it seems they're looking for a refresh to something else. There's three existing former MG stations with crescent logos still, WMBB, WBTW, and WJBF. Those three stations still have their crescent logos likely because, just like KWCH, it became their most identifiable logo mark, and if it ain't broken don't fix it.

Excellent choice by KWCH. They needed to get rid of the Media General-era logo, which made them look like a Nexstar station.

Well, which one of us called into WNEP TalkBack Feedback, as a 80-year old person complaining about the word NXT? LOL

My guy, your attitude about, and position on this topic is absolute trash.

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.

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”.

This really makes Ed Agre's work at KXGN all the more impressive. He was a literal one-man band with no computers and barely any internet access and yet he put out a damn good product, good enough to get that Real Sports shout-out. It's also easy to mock WSVI over their No Budget News but in those videos I linked above, it's also evident that Jerome Agean and Wes Small made an effort. I can absolutely respect them for that. This debut newscast should never have gone over the air. It should have been one of many audition tapes so technical issues could be ironed out prior to the debut. In this case I absolutely fault the station over Austin.

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.

Royalty-free production music CDs and digital downloads exist. Many of them are actually very good. There is no reason why this had to happen.

That erection has lasted much, much, much longer than 36 hours. Someone may seriously need to consult their medical professional posthaste, because something may be very wrong.

It'll be a three hour special in prime time two weeks from now and cause all life in SWB and the Lehigh Valley to come to a halt.

I'm not going to lie, part of me was hoping they'd adopt the Sixeme Son "oohs and ahhhs" just to watch the world burn.

Right now, this guy is probably sitting in his chair singing to it.

That's cruel and unusual punishment there!

I regret I can only like this just once lol

Please forgive me ...I have committed many sins and many felonies.... Grrrrr....I'm a tiger burning up with your love...Grrrrrr!

This is much worse than the Evansville situation where WTVW had to step in as WAZE's utter incompetence forced the CW to put the affiliation there ASAP. At this point I see only one fate for WBNX; DTV America or CNZ buys it and turns it into the market's place for subchannels of last resort (like WIWN and WTSJ serve in Milwaukee) while burning off the syndication contracts for a year or two (WUAB just grabs a bunch of the better stuff and ditches their bottom feeder shows). They're the only ones who would pay whatever Angley wants for it; the other three would pay much less and likely use it for something more inane like giving the Justice Network full-market coverage.