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This is over 10 years old at this point, but it shaped the way I was going to approach news design in the future and I think what is outlined here is still relevant today. It made me rethink broadcast design from what was trendy toward designing with a focus on audience experience. Then I left the station I was at and went to an O&O group with a Linear Drift package and all that went out the window.

And here's video of his final words: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/chuck-scarborough-says-goodbye-after-50-years-at-nbc-new-york/6065574/

A real tough day in this business when we lose two GIANTS in one day. Chuck at WNBC and him at KMGH. EDIT: I just learned that Lisa Hidalgo is the new Chief at KMGH. A VERY worthy pick to replace a GIANT legend in Colorado.

oh, yeah i watched chuck scarborough's final newscast, and it was a great closing speech he gave, but, it's disappointing that sue simmons did not appear.

Adding one more... WPXI's David Johnson and yes, Peggy Finnegan was there too. It only made sense for David and Peggy to be together one more time. https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/watch-david-johnsons-final-newscast-channel-11-news-friday/2NS2ROHX7FGI5KERMNEDP3SLCY/?utm_campaign=trueAnthem_manual&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawHJ48ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHQgRq3vty_tkfWhZBJkqgSkRq18ILclpoW4jjD26xJjtNn9FbsUrFFo9-A_aem_RqGjJhyuNimsZph_ZivofA And WTVD's John Clark at 6am yesterday.

WDIV Local 4 evening anchor Devin Scillian has retired tonight after 3 decades in Detroit television news. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aIjIbMO8cY This month so far has been a very tough and interesting one in the news business with plenty of local news legends retiring including Chuck Scarborough in New York, Mike Nelson in Denver, John Clark in Raleigh-Durham, Amy Doyt in Panama City and now Devin Scillian in Detroit and we are still not done yet because Don Postles in Buffalo is still working until the end of the month.

A few departures of longtime employees is happening at WMBB in Panama City, FL. I don't think these are related to the recent layoffs that have gone down at Nexstar stations over the past several days. Longtime anchor Amy Hoyt will be stepping down tonight. She has worked in the market since the early 1980s (beginning at WJHG) and started working at WMBB in 1994, anchoring the news ever since. https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/local-news/bay-county/amy-hoyts-proclamation/ General Manager Terry Cole is also stepping down. He's led WMBB since 2008 when Media General sold them to Hoak Media. https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/local-news/bay-county/wmbbs-terry-cole-is-stepping-down-as-general-manager/ Before WMBB, he was also the GM at rival WJHG and later was the GM at KAKE in Wichita. He even received correspondence from Dennis Rader, who was revealed to be the infamous "BTK Killer" and these messages led to his capture. Also retiring is a longtime engineer, Mark Gilland who has worked for WMBB for 26 years.

Lisa is the perfect fit for chief -- congrats to her and her team and to MIke for his decades of service...

It was actually at 10:00pm. And now Lisa Hidalgo is the Chief that now leads the ONLY all-female weather team (Katie Lasalle, Danielle Grant and Stacey Donaldson) in the entire state of Colorado.

The primary role of local news design is to support editorial content while creating a cohesive brand experience. At its core, design needs to prioritize clear, legible information for audiences, whether they’re watching on large screens or smaller devices across different platforms. A strong, well-defined hierarchy is essential to guide attention and ensure key details can be understood at a glance. While I absolutely agree that design should also be visually engaging, it has to stick to basic principles of layout and typography to do its job: enhancing and clarifying the content, not just chasing trends for the sake of being flashy. This is where I think some broadcast designers—and foamers—lose the thread. There needs to be real intention behind design decisions. In this case, I don’t see that intention, either from an information perspective or even in the overall design. That said, if you’re just into big, shiny 3D shapes, that’s awesome! I’m glad there are still designers out there who can create that for you.

Linear Drift has absolutely no idea how to design a lower third.

Meh.

Chuck's last newscast was good, and he had a poignant commentary at the end. Especially loved his speech from his 50th anniversary dinner in which he challenged his coworkers to absorb the gravity of where they work. There was a distinct lack of Sue Simmons in tonight's newscast. I was hoping for a pre-taped tribute, or an in-person appearance like she did for Gabe Pressman's death. At least we got a full conversation between the pair during his 50th Anniversary Special.

TIL the GrayONE package was not simply just a Matt Quinn job, but was a project done jointly with Tristan Bresnen. Videos of Tristan's work can be found on his new website: http://www.redterror.tv

For those of you that still care and are interested in such things, on this day thirty years ago, the Big Network Switch of the mid-90s came to Milwaukee. Channels 6 (WITI), 24 (WCGV), and 58 (WDJT) were affected, as Fox moved to 6 from 24, 24 spends a month as an independent (again) before joining UPN at its launch, and 58 goes from an also-ran independent to the sixth station in the market (fifth as a fulltime affiliate) to air CBS programming. Even though WDJT was already airing certain CBS programs that WITI was preempting at the time, the affiliation agreement between 58 and CBS came practically at the last minute, days before WITI was to switch to Fox. WDJT's tenure with CBS has been long and by far the longest relationship the network has had with any station in Milwaukee television history; WITI's thirty-year relationship with Fox is their longest relationship with any network in their 68-year history. Channel 6 spent most of its first three years as an independent before starting its first of two stints with CBS in 1959, then swapped with WISN-TV to carry ABC programming in 1961, and then returned to CBS in 1977. With those two stints, WITI spent a combined 19 years with the Eye.

That’s the rumor. At least as of a few months ago.

Nexstar's WPRI has picked up the WPIX package

WBRC barely mentions Fox on air anymore either, which is puzzling since it's a very conservative market overall, but I guess they feel like they don't gain as much as they would potentially lose.