Ntropolis

 

WJZs chroma cues drive me crazy. To me their sonic branding is like nails on a chalkboard to a teacher.

 

 

To me, it's more the gaudy graphic animations that make this one bad... not the music. I can see the new O&O graphics somehow working with Chroma Cues. Still not the worst ever, but probably the worst O&O open out there right now. This series of Chroma Cues WJZ opens would have to be my fave...

Has the WKZX News 28 open been mentioned? I file it under the most awesomely bad opens:

WVEC 11pm newscast from February 6, 1996... 18 years ago today:

 

 

That sample is further validation of something that makes this special: we have materials from stations that might not be covered (like KSTW as a CBS affiliate, WBMG, WPTF or WGPR) in a more traditional collection. Most of these are high-dial, low-rated UHF outlets with news operations. The original archive's intent to capture any and all news stories about tobacco, regardless of station and reputation, is something critical for its value as one of the country's best sets of news opens. In addition, its timespan — the 1980s and 1990s — opens up many possibilities for news open finds.

 

 

Seems like the most common vintage newscasts are 11pm due to people recording past primetime. This archive collection opens the door for rarer newscasts, such as morning/midday/early evening newscasts. This includes a WTKR 5pm open as well as hard-to-find WTKR/WVEC/WAVY morning news clips from 1995 (it's misdated)... https://archive.org/details/tobacco_tep23e00

Here's a huge chunk of WFMY Good Morning Show from 1988 (also misdated) https://archive.org/details/tobacco_hmy99d00

 

The Internet Archive is going crazy with new stuff:

 

WBMG, 1989: https://archive.org/details/tobacco_iox27a00

WCIX, 1992: https://archive.org/details/tobacco_mry27a00

WHTM, 1986: https://archive.org/details/tobacco_arw27a00 (KDFW 1979 Theme)

WGPR, 1986: https://archive.org/details/tobacco_ohx27a00

WTKR, 1989: https://archive.org/details/tobacco_gox27a00

KEYT, 1992: https://archive.org/details/tobacco_wqy27a00

 

The WGPR theme is new and ultra rare. Apparently they had a program named "NewScope".

 

Note the WHTM open. This is interesting because each of the three stations that used this theme were owned by Times-Mirror.

 

Too bad that WTKR from 1989 is Live at Five... still have yet to see the other "Discover the Land of the Three" opens that feature the less jazzy, more conservative version of the theme.

 

This one is a gem right here. KFMB 4:30 open from '92 and a KGTV 5pm open. https://archive.org/details/tobacco_bry27a00

 

About the KFMB theme, i know it was used for less than a year before Stimulus came on. Other than that, i have no information regarding it.

 

That's probably production music... seems like I've heard it somewhere else before.

 

That's an incredible image for a station. TVbD graphics, one of the best music packages ever composed, and a really unconventional approach.

 

Given the user and the station this is probably from the Internet Archive. Understandably for the focus of a tobacco repository the Piedmont Triad is one of the more extensive markets available.

 

Yeah, that user does rip a lot of stuff...

Have you seen this?

Beautiful filmography that holds up even today. Would look even more spectacular in HD.

Great WGHP open from 1994: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtEs-ZVXV1I

WTKR's Juliet Bickford abruptly left the station after six years today.

http://ftvlive.com/todays-news/2014/1/9/norfolk-anchor-is-out

50 minutes worth of DXed clips, mostly from around the Mid-Atlantic states, from 1996-2003, including some news opens...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsGcLjMzIxs

WVEC 13 News promo from 1985:

Some WVEC from early 1997… the original open with the Garamond 13 logo and Stravinsky. Also an explanation for why the set had a globe.

Also includes some WVEC clips from 1993.

Digging up some stuff I have archived on an external drive… here's a WTKR 6pm newscast from January 30, 2006. Back in the Your NewsChannel 3 days

 

Good heavens...how low can WWBT go in the graphics department?

 

I miss this...

 

And I just looked at WWAY's schedule. How do you have infomercials at 9, 9:30, noon AND 12:30 weekdays?

 

To add to that, they were having "network difficulties" this past Monday night that caused them to cancel the rest of their 5/5:30/6pm newscasts. The replacement? An infomercial.

There's also infomercials at noon. "Your Hometown Show" is essentially a paid program.

 

I think this open is a candidate for the worst news open of all time. The NBC station in Bermuda VSB-TV 11.

 

WSVI is definitely way worse. The logo CGI is a bit gaudy there, but for what it is, it's not terrible.

 

KSNF news updates from 1994. This is why I say they used NBC: The Place to Be...

 

 

Interesting to hear those promo themes used in a news update, especially three years after NBC: The Place to Be ran its course by the network.

The LIN Media stations have debuted new websites. This update puts all the former New Vision stations on the same platform.

http://www.wishtv.com/

http://www.wavy.com/

http://www.wtnh.com/

http://www.thecoastalsource.com/

http://www.ksn.com/

etc.

 

That is one heck of a cut of the Team to Watch theme. The open graphics are from TVbD (and appear in their 1994 demo).

 

Those graphics must have debuted in 1993 then... I recall another WSOC open from 93 on Youtube a while back with different graphics.

I love that music! I'd be awesome if clean cuts of it surfaced somewhere.

This video features a WPCQ (WCNC) open from 1988... can anyone ID this theme? Presumably used from 1988-89

 

 

 

 

 

Guess what?, you got it. KSHB "Fox 41 News" Open 1993:

 

 

The seizure-inducing flicker at the beginning is really the only downright terrible part of that. The open actually reminds me a lot of WBFF from around the same time...

Unconventional WGHP news image from 1993... these are worth checking out!

Neill McNeill:

Kim Jenkins:

Frank Deal:

Rich Brenner:

And station IDs...

Cacky Catlett has left Wilmington's WWAY. She has been replaced by morning anchor Makenzi Henderson.

http://www.wwaytv3.com/2013/07/16/wedding-bells-cackys-future-heading-to-virginia-its-still-for-lovers-right#

 

God I hate that blue marble 13 logo. What was so wrong with the 13 Spirit logo? Also, their graphics are so dated and mismatched. -.- Get it together WVEC.

 

I think their CG system is terribly dated... the graphics have followed the same basic layout for 10 years (lower thirds, fullscreens).

WVEC's promo graphics are generally fantastic and don't match the look they're using. I feel a change is coming soon.

 

Some minor changes in Norfolk. Noticed last night that WVEC tweaked their on-air branding to "13 News Now". VARTV apparently also mentioning that they will be switching gradually to the "ABC 13" branding for non-news ID's (though maintaining current logo).

 

All the graphics are the same... for now. The new 13News Now logo has popped up in a couple promos. They've also reverted back to the white cube mic flags they were using before.

Clip from LNC rebroadcast of WVEC 11pm news, 1998:

LNC Pilot 13 News at 10 reopen/weather forecast, 1998:

 

For once, new stuff in the NewsActive3 collection. WPBF 1992, a cool WJXT "Program Note" slide, a WTLV 1991 Theme close at 12:35 (which is from 1989!), and a higher-quality cut of the (non-NMSA) KTUU 1990 News Theme are some of the highlights.

 

 

That WTLV theme is awesome. Really slick open.

Also, WMTW from 1994 (NMSA error... that means they were using Primetime News before 97)