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Okay, relax. Did it create bias in their presentation of the weather? I think you’re making a big deal out of nothing.

Yeah.. this isn't a big deal. It's a weather segment presented/sponsored by a well-known, family-friendly company. Not unlike seeing a small logo for a local car dealership during the weather segment for example. Now if the new set is made out of Lego and they rename the newscast 'Lego presents...the CBS 2 News at...', that would be something to be concerned about.

The key here is that this wasn't a news segment. I see it as the equivalent of John doing a feature story on Legoland and interviewing people. Did he say or do something that is questionable/improper? I don't think this rises to the level where the journalistic integrity of John or CBS 2 is in question [or should be in question].

CBS is a corporation after all. I’m not bothered by this in the slightest, it’s a weekend morning show. It would be interesting were one of the flagship network broadcast doing this but even still I’d not be overly concerned. Actually weren’t NBC and ABC leveraging sponsors to skip their usual ad breaks on the nightly broadcasts for a bit?

This is a weird thing to get hyped about. Geez.

I think this can have the potential to be a bit sleazy, but if we’re being honest, the ship has sailed on the era of “no sponsors on the news.” There are stations that put sponsorships for car dealerships and ambulance-chasing lawyers on the headline ticker and the 7-day forecast. Of course, there are also the pay-for-play advertorial shows that are disguised as talk shows, which John Oliver did a good job of pointing out. Those are far more egregious imo. While this was a news program, I think it was apparent that this wasn’t a news segment. It’s not as though we had coverage of the Russian coup attempt sponsored by Legoland.

This is so stupid, the graphics were great for what they were, and miles better than before. CNN has had the WORST graphics for a while. CNN will stay in 3rd place until they sell it to someone who cares about the news.

Wow, weird to see a total reversion to a previous graphics package in the TV news biz. I've seen cases where someone new takes over shortly after a graphics change, and there's a swift changeover to something completely different (but new), but it's super strange to see a revert back to a previous package. Is there any time in the past that this has ever happened anywhere across the TV news landscape?

You see this all the time on Fox station morning shows like Good Day. Most of the segments are paid for by the business being promoted and aren't just the reporter just coming into a business looking into something new at random, but coordinated in advance (you don't see a trampoline park open at 7am or a restaurant with their dinner menu at breakfast, usually). This is downright tame, especially for a Saturday morning show. At least they were completely transparent about it being a sponsored segment; most in smaller markets just aren't.

I was flipping around to sample the cable news coverage of this big moment happening in Russia right now. The other cable networks are wall to wall on this. "News" Nation is airing Blue Bloods, of course. And when I turned them on for a second, they had a banner promoting anti-vax conspiracy theorist RFK, Jr. This is not a real news channel.

You read my mind. This is a fun segment for a weekend morning, and John Elliott is the perfect person for the assignment. However, the Legoland sponsorship is concerning to see on a news broadcast. I guess we can at least be happy that they did not try to hide the fact that Legoland is sponsoring at least a portion of the newscast.

They just renewed yesterday. They renewed after the whole argument was made here that CBS was itching to move their affiliation to WUPA. Now we’re speculating that they’re going to move again after they just renewed? I’m sure you’re right that CBS sees some value in WUPA. Maybe they generate enough revenue from the station that they don’t feel the need to sell. Perhaps they’re looking to pursue local sports rights. Maybe they can’t find a buyer even if they wanted one. None of that means that CBS is guaranteed to make such egregious terms for WANF in future negotiations to the point that they’ll force the affiliation to WUPA. Furthermore, if I’m Gray, and CBS forces my hand in Atlanta, what’s to stop me from switching the rest of my 80+ CBS affiliates to other networks as well? Maybe we disagree, but I really don’t think CBS is in a rush to piss off “the largest independent owner of CBS affiliates in the country,” as the TVNewsCheck article notes.

IMO from a viewer and from an employee perspective, we don't need further narrowing of the media landscape. On the other hand, maybe the far superior journalistic quality of CBS News might rub off on CNN.

Eh I'm mixed, while the new lower third's were only evolutionary and not revolutionary, admittedly they were a lot cleaner and simpler, with the ticker and such. This will be a confusing change for viewers but hopefully a new CEO will actually implement NEW, more modern L3'S, that goes for most of the shows as well.

CNN will undo its graphics changes.

KOLN-KGIN 10-11 News 1988

Unlike Disney, who for decades of the home video era created the artificial scarcity of limited releases before things are put back into the "Disney Vault", the stuff that's being pulled from streaming services may never see the light of day again unless somebody finds it in the dumpster, and then has to cough up the rights to have it see the light of day again.

High is blue cause it's usually dry and cool, low is red cause it is warm and wet, there is no reason for the H to be red aside from someone who knows nothing about weather maps trying to be different with their artistic opinions. Hence, why I said you made up almost everything you said because you wanted to sound smart. It's not rocket science, and anyone who went to school and knows at least how to read, if not produce a weather map knows this.

What good is it doing sitting in a warehouse when it could be out there in the culture for people to partake in? We talk an awful lot about money, money, money, but not so much about the social or cultural value of things.

WMAQ, Chicago; 10 p.m., 1980:

So you’re still arguing that Gray is going to balk over the terms of affiliation when they already renewed with CBS? Given that Paramount is dealing with more important issues, like cutting content on their streaming service, I seriously doubt that pissing off Gray over one Atlanta TV station is a high priority. Hell, TV stations in general are not their priority. Why are they going to pour money into starting a local news operation from scratch on a channel few watch when their affiliate is not only doing the job, but also showing ratings improvement? And it’s not as though CBSMV fare can’t air elsewhere; the only CBSMV show on WUPA is Drew Barrymore. That’s it. At the end of the day, CBS renewed with Gray, and they’re not going anywhere in Atlanta.

Agreed. Agreed x2 Hopefully it looks like KCAL's set.

Good. CBS doesn't need to build a new local news department from scratch. It's genetic format wouldn't hold up againt WSB, AGA, or XIA, (not that WANF does well).

Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. But the more intresting part of that article is: “One possible deal recently floated in media circles involves a merger between NBCUniversal parent Comcast and Paramount. The two companies reportedly had been in talks in 2021. If that merger happens sooner or later, (the newly acquired company under the ownership of) Comcast would likely be forced to get rid of the CBS network due to antitrust violations. Warner Bros Discovery, in turn, might then swoop in and combine CNN with CBS News, seeking to reap efficiencies between the two networks under its umbrella, some insiders have speculated.” That would honestly make a lot of sense and be a huge benefit for CBS which just can’t seems to stand up straight and address the problems at CNN.

Keep that guy away, especially with how Zuck ruins everything he touches. NBC, CNN, etc.

I don't want any station to get Gray's Honeycomb gfx ... but even that will be 1000x better than this. -- Matt

I do hope they keep the flipping ticker. As for the rest of the graphics, I did not like the placement of the show’s name above the lower third and the clock on the left instead of under the CNN bug.

CBS 2 News made it clear that Legoland sponsored the segment. And with John appearing at least four times an hour, they got a lot of coverage. Legoland purchased the presence of a member of the CBS 2 News team during a CBS 2 News broadcast.

Legoland has been very aggressive with their media campaign. They've been buying up ads and pitching a lot of stories to TV stations wherever they open up new locations. When the one opened up here, we did a few stories and segments on it. I got tired of all things Lego and passed on any of their other pitches about new exhibits or events because I didn't really see much news value in them. It's very possible that Lego bought ads on WCBS from the sales department and then turned around and pitched the news department to do a live shot out there for 'newsworthy' reasons, unbeknownst to either news or sales. This is an unfortunate circumstance that makes it look like Lego paid for the ad and the segment even though it's likely they paid for the ad but not the segment. Or, maybe I'm giving WCBS too much of the benefit of the doubt, and perhaps they are pay-for-play. In that case, it's inexcusable.

CBS 2 News has John Elliott doing his Saturday morning weather reports from inside Legoland. After at least some of the segments, the commercial break began with a 5-sec spot saying "This portion of CBS 2 News was sponsored by Legoland New York Resort." I know other stations often sell off portions of their "lifestyle" shows but it seems poor for a news broadcast to send its talent to spend a considerable chunk of its airtime promoting whoever pays them. What's an on-location weather report doing inside anyway?

They're throwing all the money at one creator (Taylor Sheridan, who refuses any script help and writes nothing but worn-down tropes) towards one demographic (which mostly watches INSP and FNC) while starving promotion from their other shows and creators outside the SpongeBobs and South Parks, and like any PG cable channel has been for the last ten years, you have to watch the content at the time it comes out before they pull it back because they refuse to let it thrive or give unknown creators security (the Heathers situation). Their model is unsustainable, and that their cable portfolio is now in the infomercials and home shopping level of filler nobody actually watches...they're lucky they have CBS primetime and Tom Cruise, because everything else they've touched is just not doing well.

The industry is such a mess, the streaming services can't even afford to keep EXISTING content that PAYING customers either are watching or want to watch. I sense another A.A.P. situation where a equity firm or consortium of companies buys up dead content to license elsewhere. What good is it doing sitting in a warehouse when it could be monetized, streamed or purchased outright?

Is Paramount in trouble? Deadline: Before this news broke today, this came out yesterday: Paramount as We Know It Has 2 Years Left, at Most — Analyst It felt like we were in a golden age of television with all of the new shows and streaming options not too long ago... but it seems like the entire industry is really struggling to survive.

I'm sure they'd be all too happy to give up a guaranteed outlet for CBS Media Ventures fare, and a threat they can use against Meredith/Gray when they balk at CBS's terms for WGCL/WANF.

Zucker wants to buy CNN back. https://nypost.com/2023/06/22/cnn-may-be-put-up-for-sale-jeff-zucker-wants-to-buy-sources/ And my reaction....