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Broadcast graphic design has trended alongside popular web app/mobile phone UI for a while now, and that's also stagnated quite a bit from where it was 15 or so years ago. Remember how news graphics always had to be "shiny" when that was the Apple iOS look? That slowly died off as Apple and Google shifted away from that design language. The Apple design language itself has become a broadcast graphics package. The corporate design world has a lot of weird stuff going on right now, the kind of abstract 3D ribbon-y stuff and flowing photorealistic materials is popular, along with funky fonts (more the design in the article than what it's talking about), but I'm not sure how any of that actually translates into the apps that these companies using them make, let alone local news. There is a lot of reasons why news graphics have trended this way, and I think we're more or less stuck here for the time being. Money and talent are two major factors at the local level. You can't have the talent without money, and you don't make money if your expensive talented designers are constantly making news graphics, so templates it is! Go find an agency to develops a template-driven "design system," then keep it for a long time because it was expensive, and nobody's doing anything wildly different anyways. TL;DR: The era of "unique" broadcast design died when motion graphics stopped being almost exclusively broadcast-related. It shouldn't be surprising this happened as video ads on the internet became commonplace.

One Week From Today.

It looks like KBTX will be switching to grayone later this week I found this on a zeam thumbnail for a kbtx newscast. Also a modified logo appears keeping the longtime 3 with a star logo

I agree on Toni Yates. Maybe WABC wants to utilize her more as reporter, but I think she is perfect next to Michelle (and I think she should have gotten that seat a long time ago).

I just checked, and last Sunday and yesterday, it was Toni Yates. They should give her the weekend morning gig. She's been their fill-in a lot and seems worthy of doing so permanently. Plus, it wouldn't be her first permanent anchoring gig of her career (she's done WPHL when it was WB 17).

Was that wmtv 15?

Jaysha Patel, formerly from KABC, has joined the station: https://www.instagram.com/p/DKHqPa2Abzj/

Just found this, and glad to chime in on the FACTS. True, I composed the original theme for KCRA-TV whose slogan was "Where The News Comes First". My signed contract with the Sacramento based NBC affiliate clearly protected me as the Copyright owner of the theme notation and prohibited any rearranging or adaption related to the theme without my permission. Unfortunately, after many years of successful use of my composition, the copyright was violated, which led to litigation. I can also set the record straight on my involvement with VTS Productions (86-90) and the related drama. Let me know ... thanks! Hi. Earl Grizzell, here. Just happened on this site ... Thanks for the compliments. Would be happy to update all here and relay the FACTS on some issues in the wake of my original composition and production of the 5 note theme I wrote to compliment the spoken ID "Where The News Comes First". Let me know, thanks! Earl Grizzell, composer/producer THANK YOU! That's me and I have much to clarify for anyone who is interested.. Let me know, Earl Grizzell, Composer/Producer

Expect the next ones to probably have some sort of AI tie-in to replace human L3s with summaries (and trouble to ensue if it screws up). All media design seems stuck in the same aesthetic lately, too simple and too unadorned.

Even if anyone did introduce a new look, I think we all know it'd just be a slightly (and I mean slightly) different spin on the same flat, minimalistic and boxy look that everyone else has been using for the past decade.

The big problem is definitely the security needed these days; as Weeters said, it was interesting in 1994 when the worst folks you ever encountered usually posted their manifestos via the mail and everyone self-policed themselves. But once Columbine and 9/11 happened along with the Internet, stalkers, then just general distrust of mainstream media setting in, you had to block out those folks from getting on camera as a threat to the safety of others, so now outside set parts of the day you're looking at an empty window outside the Today studio where unless you brought the right sign or sob story to get in for a game or makeover on the 4th hour (or now, well pre-vetted ahead of time), there's no way you're appearing on-camera. It's why the concept has just completely died locally outside of controlled weather decks and balconies; those stations just don't have the budget to provide security that NBC has, along with any idiot ready to yell 'FHRITP' and attack the talent. Who would want that headache? Add to that the pointless 1515 move that still stuck CBS in a windowless studio and ABC eventually retreating to the safety of the second floor, because pedestrianization of Times Square now means you have to deal with multiple headaches outside the Naked Cowboy, the cavalcade of unlicensed characters and the 'unwashed masses', which especially after Tony Dokoupil's interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates...yeah, you'd be questioned deeply if you wanted to send him and Gayle out to do a cooking segment on the Square. It's also so damned bright now with all the signage and is probably a nightmare to light/shoot around because ad screens are on 24/7 rather than just still images lit only at night (my trip to Times Square last year was on a drab and rainy day and it felt like that block was lit like 30 car lots), so that was another reason CBS had to cover the windows and ABC's only Times Square shot is now just that one generic shot of the big screen. All of that is a reason TRL is no longer a thing too; it used to be you tolerated Limp Bizkit to get to see Britney Spears, but today's music 'stans' will try to derail a free event with an artist they hate in any way they can (and the reason for the hate is probably very banal). Finally, most people are there just to get a picture with the talent, so once you get it...well, you're done. It's not 1998 any longer where it'll take a bit to get that picture from the lab. You got your TikTok/Instagram moment. Instant gratification. Why stick around? Outside the concert series, who wants to stand around watching a morning show backwards through a window you probably can't even see through, probably through loudspeakers which sound awful, and an outdoor uncovered plaza subject to rain, snow or cold? You'd be better off waiting for winter to get facetime on the skating rink wide shot or under the tree, where you know you won't get hassled by regular cops and side-hustle security guards.

Having been to that area, like you said, police shoe people away from that view of the window (W 49th Street) and everyone is told to stand behind the barricades on the side of studio (Rockefeller Plaza), so it's comparatively empty today. Having gone to the Plaza myself, the audience experience is pretty lackluster. The anchors barely come out onto the plaza except for the 8 AM introduction and an occasional weather hit from Al. I think an outdoor audience presence is still cool if utilized properly which Today doesn't really do anymore.

The streetside studio was an interesting concept when NBC brought it back in 1994. But, it's no longer 1994. It says a lot that everyone else has abandoned/is abandoning their streetside studio concept. It doesn't magically make the show better, or increase ratings. It has become a magnet for weirdos and people with an axe to grind, and that can be seen by how the area outside 1A's home base has been filled with a bunch of giant planter boxes over the last decade. The only way you can end up on TV now (and that seems to be a lot fewer people clamoring for that than before) is by being in the area that their security and/or the NYPD can shoo you away from the window. Look at the stark difference between this pic from a 1999 wild feed and nearly the same anchor position from this morning, and another similar one from this past week. You can't even see across the street anymore. Are they in New York City? Can't tell, it's entirely obscured by plants (and not even an actual plant in half of the second image, it's a screen showing a plant). The shots have all been adjusted too, go back and look at late 90's/early 2000's clips and match them up with the modern look... New York City is hidden from view. So, I ask, what is the point?

Stephanie Ramos from ABC News sat in last Saturday.

IMO it's no issue that they share a set, the problem is that the set sucks.

I’ve sampled a Gray station which was formerly heavily integrated with their network for graphics, music, promos and all. It’s been that way for decades. No mention of the network at all now. They are a top-notch station with exceptional quality. But the thorough flushing of the network feels abrupt and almost orphan, in my opinion, especially after so many years of identifying with it.

There's definitely intriguing logic here. However, my guess is that TODAY will stay put at 10 Rockefeller Plaza. With ABC moving GMA downtown and CBS returning to that old milk factory in Hell's Kitchen (not that they have ever leveraged their Times Square location), it could be a bit of an advantage for NBC to keep 1A operating, especially with the ability to continue outdoor concerts. I think the smarter play would be to rent out one of their empty studios to a third party. This would bring in rental revenue, and 3A and 3K are able to hold audiences. And if rumors are to be believed, 6A might also be open if Clarkson winds down her show at the end of next season. (But seeing that it is a rumor the NY Post continually publishes, I'm not giving it a whole lot of weight) I know there aren't a ton of productions looking for space right now, but it is something to consider. Speaking of renting, I'm guessing MSNBC will rent their current space from NBC until their new studios are completed. So it might be status quo for 18 months or more.

Honestly, it would not surprise me in the least if this hypothetical new 3A set ended up being for Nightly, NBC News Now, and Today. Not only is a bunch of studio space and newsroom space about to open up, but technical spaces as well. It would not shock me at all if NBC chose to consolidate everything inside 30 Rock. The streetside studio thing has to be becoming more trouble than it's worth, and they're about to have at least two full control rooms open up.

WTWO announced today it has hired former WTHI anchor Patrece Dayton as a part time reporter. Dayton was part of the massive layoffs at WTHI/Allen Media earlier in the year.

Here it is on YouTube recorded via off-air by WTVM Columbus, Ga. (which airs the program at 4:30pm ET/3:30pm CT) from this YouTuber.

So, she's outside now?

Deborah Norville wrapped her final episode on Inside Edition.

Not that I would watch either show, but neither one of these shows airs here in Los Angeles (it hasn't in the last couple of years), as KTLA's continual news expansion and the late-night lineup of sitcoms, not to mention KDOC going all-religious, displaced Wilkos and Karmano locally. NBCU is better off shopping to the shows to other stations, namely either KCOP or KCAL+.

Karamo renewed for season 4. https://deadline.com/2025/05/karamo-renewed-season-4-talk-show-1236402273/

Not to get off topic too much, but my sister avoided the Dorr tornado by a mile, and my parents avoided the Lansing one by 1/2 mile!

So, they'll be sharing space with iHeart Media in that facility, even though they'll basically have a floor all to themselves.

Looks like it's across Highway 64 from the St. Louis Zoo and Forest Park.

WOW. WNBC got the shaft with their new studio ... The Telemundo studio looks NICE!! -- Matt

I recommend that this thread be re-titled, moved to the Speculatron, or merged into the Nexstar thread. (Also, I noticed that the original poster is brand-new, so maybe one of the moderators should send them a private message explaining what happened to their post and why.)

A low-power broadcaster in TV8 Vail, officially K34QB-D Vail on Channel 45, cable channel 92 (but used to be on 8, hence the branding) is shutting down on Friday after a 27-and-a-half-year run. Why do I bring this up? Because this station is owned by... Deerfield Media. Yes, the same Deerfield is mainly a Sinclair sidecar but has no involvement from Sinclair in this station. It produced its own morning show, Good Morning Vail as Emarsee demonstrates in this video: https://www.vaildaily.com/news/local-vail-valley-channel-tv8-will-shut-down-following-its-last-broadcast-on-march-28/

100 Days To Indy moves from The CW to FOX Nation for season 3, since FOX has the Indy Car rights makes sense they get the doc 100 Days To Indy.

Is there a story behind that?

And I insist I will have the same hairline and waistline I had back in high school in 2026. Godspeed and good luck to us both.

A stupid idea would be to cut the local stations out of the CW. They should just go the UPN route and sell off any station that does not have a CW affiliation if they want to go that far.

I"ll post this here since it does involve our new FCC commissioner, Brendan Carr. He visited Spanish Fort, Alabama today to climb to the top of WKRG's broadcast tower. https://www.fcc.gov/document/carr-visits-alabama-tower-workers-public-safety-officials-tv-station https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEld4LA7f4U (The above links don't reference WKRG, but it was confirmed by WKRG reporter Debbie Williams that it was their tower) Perhaps he should have visited WEAR/WFGX and WPMI/WJTC to see what four stations under common management looks like!

The dispute between MSG and Optimum is over: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/optimum-and-msg-networks-agree-on-carriage-deal-302382817.html

From what I remember, Earl Grizzell did the original 1983(?) iteration without any involvement from VTS, then did the more well-known 1986 "symphony" update at VTS (where he worked from 1986-90). Since he's the guy who wrote the theme, perhaps he'd know more about the later themes which used the melody. There's a 1995 copyright assignment document referencing Grizzell's original 1986-87 WNTCF registration, with Grizzell as party 1 and Kelly Broadcasting as party 2. So Kelly could have had some kind of rights to the melody and commissioned the themes from unrelated producers. (Granted, that document is dated 1995, several years after said mystery themes, so who knows?)

Wow what a story - too bad for all involved Was hoping some of the KCRA Where the news comes first mystery could be solved via VTS but maybe it was other shops

From Houston...José Griñán from FOX26 has passed at 72. https://www.fox26houston.com/news/former-fox-26-houston-anchor-jose-grinan-dead

BTW how do you know that much about these graphics you predicted walb and wilx?

Looks like they're taking a page from WCBS with national personalities filling in on the weekend. Unless Yates doesn't want it, it's beyond past due for Toni to weekend anchor. She's got the perfect personality and she was great with Michelle, and she was great whenever she filled next to Rob Nelson.

Longtime WSFA-TV anchor Bob Howell, who anchored at WSFA from 1976 to 2012, has passed away. https://www.wsfa.com/2025/05/24/longtime-former-wsfa-news-anchor-bob-howell-has-died/

ABC and FOX are now gone in Guam. Sorensen Media Group has filed with the FCC to cancel the licenses of both KTGM and KEQI-LD. All that Guam has left is NBC (KUAM), CBS (KUAM.2), PBS (KGTF), and, oddly enough, The CW (KTKB). KTGM: https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/draftCopy.html?displayType=html&appKey=25076ff394e080a001951a1c648e4791&id=25076ff394e080a001951a1c648e4791&goBack=N KEQI-LD: https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/draftCopy.html?displayType=html&appKey=25076ff394e080a001951a8a48a44902&id=25076ff394e080a001951a8a48a44902&goBack=N