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Between here and the Discord, we've seen multiple people confirm that this is a new package for the group, so there's been a thread title change.

At least Larry Tisch managed to give CBS the image of a pristine broadcaster. CBS looks so much like a network that rests on its laurels, just like all the other networks that Paramount Global owns. I really believe CBS will be the first broadcast network to cease operations at this point, especially considering the turmoil that every department in CBS is going through. CBS News has always lagged behind it's competitors but never has it been this desecrated and ruined. There's no "pride in it's coverage, history and integrity" anymore, all because Paramount Global couldn't manage itself to save it's own life and now needs to merge with Skydance to survive. ABC and NBC have been affected by Trump but never have I seen so much damage done to them than CBS. Disney and NBCUniversal have made wise decisions when it came to cable negotiations and shutting down cable networks that dragged down the company in the US at least. NBCUniversal also made the wise decision to spin off their cable properties except for Bravo as Versant. Paramount Global has not bothered to shut down any of it's vast amount of cable networks that barely matter or do well at all. Even flagship cable channels like Nickelodeon are not given the care or attention they need at all. I don't think any of the new shows that Nick has announced will make it to a second season, it's all SpongeBob now and that has been milked to death but it refuses to die. Sure there's The Loud House and various preschool programming but how long can they milk it for really? Even Warner Bros. Discovery is highly considering spinning off their cable networks as well. Never have I seen a company so grossly incompetent and mismanaged than Paramount Global. I don't think Shari should of taken on the job at all.

The design has VividZero/Defiant vibes ?

I can't wait until WXYZ gets this package

While a bit generic, the graphics are an upgrade from the Powerpoint package they've had. I'd be interested to hear what other cuts the music package has because that one was quite underwhelming and forgettable.

Better than the current Scripps package! Would be nice if local markets can customize color though... I've always associated WFTS with reds and whites, not blue.

Apologies for pushing up this thread but "The Source" has debuted new graphics and moved into a "new" set, made out of CNN's Washington Newsroom. The new package features Collins and her work at the White House prominently, a departure from the city imagery of the last package, it kind of reminds me of their packages for Chris Wallace.

I was told by the assistant news director at KJRH back in April that Scripps was working on a new graphics package and looks like Tampa Bay is the first to get it.

You read that right. KWQC commissioned it (thanks to Cyle Dickens' help nonetheless) and will debut on June 10th.

Wow he's come a long way since reporting traffic on the radio - He was the first person to report on the 9/11 incidents.

These graphics are a huge upgrade from what she previously had. The tight shot on her is also framed incredibly well.

We’re veering off topic here but I’ll add that I think a lot of these points are extremely valid and the primary one is just that the window on the world doesn’t attract the same hype it once did, similarly to the morning shows themselves. I walk by Today pretty often on my way to work and the size of the plaza crowd these days vs 5-10 years ago is a stark sign of the times.

I think the boat sailed around the time when Ann Curry was gaslighted out of Today and when Trump became president in 2016. The peak of the plaza was in 2012 during the 60th Anniversary of Today. That was the last time the show really valued the plaza and the initial legacy of the streetside studio. I don't think anybody really values or cares about the plaza anymore except for the diehard Today fans. The main show has been split into 3 distinct shows. The main show, the 3rd hour and the last hour. I understand that morning shows aren't really the hot commodity they used to be but damn I can't believe Today is just two hours long now. How is Today with only two hours, 3 distinct versions, significantly low viewership compared to even 2012 and a lower budget supposed to incorporate a plaza of people, the sole thing that was a defining feature, into its format? Al Roker doesn't even interview random people in the plaza anymore so what's the point of keeping the plaza and incorporating it into the Today show? As much as I want the plaza to stay, I feel like there will come a point in time where the plaza will be retired. I know they will celebrate the plaza's history and final day with a bang at least considering how important it is to the show's history in the 50s and 90s but after that, will anybody really miss the plaza?

YES. This one (attached) is one of the arrangements (over a number of years) I did for my original 'WTNCF' theme that I composed for KCRA-TV Kelly Broadcasting in late 83 ... Thanks.

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.

Cool, what was the story / process / inspiration that got you to that arrangement? Pretty iconic, nailed the newsy urgency and authority with some ebbs and flows. I remember it being used for many years.

Definite upgrade -- looks like the font from the Cox graphics package

Even sadder if they cave towards the Trump administration by "bribing" them the 20 million dollars in his frivolous lawsuit against their news coverage. If that happens, CBS may as well be done for as a credible network and news organization. Even though ABC caved as well, Disney is in far better shape overall.

It won’t happen again. WABC will forever be known as Channel 7. The rebranding of years ago was disastrous - not that people stopped watching, but no one ever referred to WABC as ABC7. Btw - for those who didn’t know - Lee Goldberg is an ABC news meteorologist now. He does WNT W-F and prerecords the AM weather for WNN and GMA First. The move to 7 Hudson has allowed much more integration between network and local. It has been playing out as had been hoped. GMA moves next month.

I understand some of your points. it's overkill for every network to have a street side studio. it's especially unnecessary for budget constrained local stations. I don't mind Today keeping the plaza however. Yes, the W 49th street view being blocked by police is understandable. The Rockefeller Plaza portion however is a lot more controlled. Onlookers have to go through metal detection to enter the plaza and security reviews your signs before you walk on. Why not showcase it more? Today already does an occasional weather hit or concert series on the plaza so a few interview segments wouldn't hurt. Sidenote: GMA's in-studio audience experience was better. There were security guards in the audience monitoring everyone. There was a hype man in the crowd between commercial breaks. You could actually hear the audio of the anchors and guests speaking. GMA 's audience is also more controlled than Today in that you have to book tickets. My only issue was people on standby could get in before ticketed audience members just for showing up early.

Bring back Linda Church from retirement

Wow. So now they’re down to 3 meteorologists. 2 of whom are on the evening shows and none on the weekends.

The ability for stations to preempt programming has always been maintained in affiliation contracts, even if they're much rarer now. There's nothing currently stopping any station from not airing tonight's After Midnight, much less this replacement.

He was the consummate professional .. a superstar in the market for sure!

Yes. I wrote the original theme in’83/‘84. Would you like me to tell the back story?

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.

I genuinely don't understand the angst regarding Nightly broadcasting from Studio 1A. Is it just sentimental longing for a dedicated space? From a business perspective, it doesn't make a lot of sense to build a standalone studio for a show with a 22-minute runtime where the studio itself is on camera for a few minutes. The economic realities make Nightly's use of 1A completely reasonable. Heck, Nightly started switching the show from the 1A control back room during Brian Williams' tenure. I don't see the practical need for a big production space for a solo-anchored newscast like this. ABC World News Tonight uses a shared studio space, but outside of a bump shot, the show is mostly a static shot of David seated in front of an LED wall. And this is the top-rated evening newscast, and on occasion, has been the most watched show on television. So while the set in Studio 1A might be a little long in the tooth, it seems perfectly serviceable. Lester's ratings didn't drop when they moved to 1A. And I doubt Tom's would spike if they had their own space. When budgets are being slashed, the priority should be to keep investing in newsgathering resources. Building a new set to say you have a dedicated space doesn't seem like a good use of shrinking resources. But I might be missing something here.

That WNBC set was the one in 6B before Fallon took it over. 3K is something like 3/4 to 2/3 the size of 6B. There's going to be a glut of extra space on the 3rd floor once MSNBC moves out. I'd suspect they'll refresh/replace the set in 3A once that happens and hand it over to Nightly.

There are multiple factors to blame if we're going to do a full accounting of what killed traditional TV. I agree that greed is definitely one of them. Overpriced cable/satellite bills, extreme and intrusive levels of advertising, etc. It simultaneously got more expensive and more monetized while being less worth it. You could argue that the introduction of ads to cable TV, even though the original premise of paying for cable was that you were paying to avoid advertising, was the "original sin" that doomed the future of television. I posted this theory a few months ago, and I still believe it: I also think the historic laziness of American TV presentation is a big part of it. Compared to other countries that had idents, live announcers (sometimes on camera a la MTV's VJs) and all sorts of other extras that made TV feel like a big event, the presentation of American TV has always been minimalist and impersonal. In the long run, I think it's cost the networks dearly since they never developed the same brand loyalty as, say, the BBC that might have helped them hold out for longer against streaming and make the eventual transition more graceful. That laziness and lack of ambition extended to the programming, too. Networks started cancelling shows before they could even find an audience because it was safer to just recycle the same formats over and over again. Cable networks that started out with specific visions all drifted into being the same general-entertainment channels with the same programming before decaying into a worse version of Netflix binge-watching with ads every five minutes. And of course, the lack of local programming besides news doesn't help either. Most broadcast stations' schedules are full of syndicated crap that clearly nobody misses on streaming. Streaming is already heading in the same direction. It's becoming more expensive and fragmented, more encroached with advertising, too quick to cancel shows, and so on. It shows that the real problem was never traditional TV itself, it was the corporations behind it who simply can't help themselves.

NCIS: Albuquerque and FBI: Office Cleaning Crew look to have potential. But seriously, let’s stop with the “let’s do what they did decades ago” reactions. This ain’t then, and that ain’t happening.

He’s great. I love him too. He should be on the main CNN instead of Kasie Hunt. Something different to the non stop politics.

"Whatever you have ongoing in thte next few hours ... I hope it's profitable!" - Richard Quest /ding!!! God I love Richard Quest. -- Matt

I thought that was Nonstop or 615 Not my favorite because it displaced the Ray Ellis retro theme…although funny that one originally aired 82-85 and less than 10 years later resurrected then updated as “retro”

Thought I'd keep this thread alive by asking a question. A friend of my family that watched a TV station that used the theme and promo in question is wondering which composer came up with it in the 1980's? HINT: It was a nod to a longtime slogan famously used by American Express. The two station IDs attached will explain. WNOL Station ID 1986.mp4 WPMT (Independent, Now Fox) Station ID 1985.mp4

Amara Walker is leaving: https://deadline.com/2025/02/amara-walker-cnn-departure-1236280236/

Frank Gari Productions 1989, The Diversified News Reel

TM Productions 1980's TV Demo

So, the NMSA site identified the WTVD Eyewitness News Theme that some of you have heard, as currently used on WTVD. It is by 4 Elements Music. It's titled as Eyewitness News 2024. It was not done by Gari/Warner-Chappell. Said it before in one way or another, it's sad to see the slow death of the Warner-Chappell catalogs. No updates, no desire to serve broadcasters in a way that they had in the niche areas of news music. Once ABC pulls away, there goes a lot of royalties, which I guess are all that they are interested in when it comes to the news niche. http://www.newsmusicsearcharchive.com/#3,1,2661 https://www.4elementsmusic.com/

KSNB has been using Tower V.6 since August 2022, and kept it for midday news open, but the evening shows now have the Seize the Day theme as well like KNOP does (both are controlled in Lincoln) and are ending the show with a live shot of their control room at KOLN in Lincoln.

I dont think that 21Alive had the ABC logo since the rebrand, but I am not entirely sure, on their VUit page there's no logo present.

Agreed. The new color scheme, logo, and anchor desk are all pretty decent. The branding is questionable. I'd call this a better looking WANF. I'm not against the use of red as main station colors but it conveys unncessary urgency just like the "First Alert" branding.

Given that Fox has historically had more rigid branding conventions than the other major networks (the only ones to deviate from using network-centric branding including WSVN, KHON, WDRB and KVRR), I think culling network references from Gray’s Fox affiliates would be much harder to implement. ABC has apparently been requiring affiliates to include the “circle” logo into their station logos, making it also unclear whether they can pull network branding.

No switch to GrayONE yet, but WMTV got the new brand (15 News) and new music (Unite from Stephen Arnold Music) on Wednesday.

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.

Today was also Rich Von Holen last day (executive weather producer/on air meteorologist). I guess there was another round of buy outs. Sad the networks continue to lose the faces and talent everyone has come to know. Fact.. Doug mentioned he accepted a buy out.

News 12 Long Island original Doug Geed signed off from the anchor desk last night. He will continue hosting the taped/on location "The East End" weekend show until the end of the year to help transition it to new hosts. Doug's also been using his Facebook and Instagram to showcase some of the behind-the-scenes people he's worked with. https://longisland.news12.com/doug-geed-signs-off-from-anchor-desk-after-37-years-at-news-12-long-island

What a shame for viewers to hear that Doug and Danielle are out. Even though News 12 often felt like a cheaper version of the city stations, it was nice getting local news from people who know the island and you've trusted for decades. But with more and more veterans leaving, and the station apparently covering more city and national news, there's less of a reason to watch, unfortunately. Still plenty of good people in front of and behind the camera (and the new people may be fine as well!) but it's feeling much less familiar.

Also taking a buyout is station veteran Doug Geed. His last day will be in July.

Longtime News 12 LI anchor/reporter Danielle Campbell is out at the station effective Friday of this week. Notably, she was part of the 2018 age discrimination lawsuit against Altice, who tried to layoff Campbell at the time.