Vlad

Jim Dolan retired. He had a small gathering of friends and colleagues for his retirement on an IG post a few months ago. It wasn't posted on his profile but I believe another mutual follower posted it. I'll try to look for it and share it here. :).

Based on the previous posts, it seems like the changes will happen in Spring 2025 ahead of their move to the new studios in Hudson Square.

Are these changes going to happen to coincide with their new space in 2025 after the elections, or will this happen sooner?

I think Josh Einegar is a really good contender for the evenings, he has such a captivating persona and grips the viewer with this style of storytelling. Another excellent future candidate, with a lot of personality is Chantee Lans. They are solid future fits for the station's flagship broadcasts. But they also may not like the anchor desk and more than likely love the field. But I think they are good candidates because Chantee has anchored a weekend broadcast once and she was fantastic. Also, Josh Einegar often does the "Extra Time" segment on ABC7NY and he too is just excellent with his delivery. Lets see how these changes play out. Mike Marza is also great too but for some reason he doesn't really leave a lasting impression. The station really has some of the best storytellers and talent in the country when it comes to news delivery and reporting, they will make the right choices. Chantee Lans reporting on the Memorial Day Weekend Festivities at Jones Beach this past year. Josh Einiger's report on 1 year later on the Hamas attacks in Israel:

Dallas Raines is actually much older than Marc Brown. Dallas is 70 and Marc is 62.

I still dearly miss their previous music.. But great execution of the new package! I guess when I go to LA it will feel like I'm at home with the WABC theme haha.

Sade on GMA! She did an awesome job, she did say "Good Night" though at the end of the broadcast hahaha, cute blooper.

Yeah if those images that Ryan Field shared with us are what could be the new WABC studio next year, then it looks much larger and spacious than their current one. I'd imagine it to be on par with KABC. Perhaps these images below are the unfinished new WABC spaces? Could also be for ABC News / World News Tonight as well... But the newsroom pic on the bottom certainly looks like that could be for WABC / Eyewitness News especially with the characteristic blue lighting hue on the ceiling.

I wonder if they'll retain their current on-air look i'd imagine they'd do so. Graphics are less than a year old. Anywho, I'm going to greatly miss their street-side studio that was such a nice way to connect with them. Their current set so far has been their nicest studio. I remember when they first opened the set in 2012 and I was living on Long Island, I would drive to the station just to get a glimpse of the broadcast lol. I noticed they kinda stopped showing the outside shots in the newscast or at least they don't really emphasize it anymore so maybe it could be their way of shying away from that..

Phil Lipof former WABC morning anchor left to go to Boston and then went on to return back to ABC to work for ABC news. He went from Local to National so I don't think that is always the case.. Also non-meteorlogist / weathercaster who learned on the job, Sam Champion a very unique case, went from Local to National back to Local and back to National again. So while it is far and few, it does happen.. And also with all due respect, New York by no means is a downgrade. Landing a job in the in the nation's top market is pretty much an honor and a pretty high honor for people in this industry. This market is the cream of the crop. So good on Tanya Rivera for landing a job in arguably the most coveted local news station in the country.

Yeah they used the old 2012 morning theme for the 7AM stream as well. The only rationale I see behind the WABC music adoption is to keep the West and East largest cities streamlined and sorta unified in a way on their appearance, so if someone from New York tunes in they'll recognize the Eyewitness News theme right away and vice versa.

By chance right now I'm watching a 7AM stream of KABC ABC 7 Eyewitness News with Leslie Sykes, and I noticed they are using their previous morning NG4 cut again!. Did they switch the music back? Also the open didn't have the WABC cut, was so nice to hear it with the new graphics. .

Aw what an incredible tribute to Dallas. Really the talent at KABC is such a class act. So cool to see them all on the set. KABC has some top notch talent, to say the least! Dallas is incredible too, hope he stays at least till his 50th anniversary! 10 more years!

It is basically that. New Yorkers have a lot of colloquialisms and have a relaxed way of referring to things sometimes, and one of those is referring to WABC as "Channel 7", especially for the older generations, they identify ABC 7 as "Channel 7" not sure how much longer people will continue to say "Channel 7" since these days we don't "tune" channels anymore everything is digital so perhaps in the near future, I wouldn't be suprised if they returned back to rebranding their newscast as "ABC 7" Eyewitness News especially since their online presence is now "ABC 7" NY. to me it makes more sense to identify as "ABC 7" again. There is an old thread over in the New York Forum here that discussed the branding switch when it happened in 2004 (20 years ago now, wow does the time fly). Most of us came to the consensus at the time that the switch was made because the average New Yorker identified Channel 7 with the newscast. I don't think they are mandated to say "Channel 7" ocassionally reporters say "ABC 7". Another thing that WABC and the other O&Os abandoned that KABC and KGO in the north retain is the iconic "Circle 7" Pins. Every KABC and KGO on-air staffer wears it, WABC and WLS had that standard for a while, especially in the early days but dropped it I guess in the early 90s. Personally I like them, and since WABC is the top in the nation, it would be a nice honorary symbol for them.

Yeah he's been with WCBS for a while now started exactly three and months ago (February 29th) with them after a brief freelancing stint in DC's Fox 5. https://www.instagram.com/p/C386yHVOj1i/?hl=en

I guess WABC's theme and is ideally popular since they are the most watched station in the nation. So I get that. A lot of stations used it and now arguably the second most watched station in the nation is now on it haha. I just feel like the theme is too slow and heavy and doesn't capture the spirit of the Southland, in my opinion. It's not a bad theme but it's just so bizarre to hear it played there, I don't think I'll ever get over the music theme change haha. It just sounds way too serious, "rough and heavy," you know what I mean? It's Southern California, not New York. New York is hard, rough, tough, heavy and dark, gritty and fast. They should've kept the existing music as it was and not changed it at all. It doesn't make sense to me why they did that. Southern California's culture is chill (except for the traffic , which is slow too, haha) bright and beautiful. Their previous theme emphasized that the WABC theme is, well for WABC and New York which is well fast, serious, and to the point. The theme harmonizes that culture here on the East Coast. The precedent has been set. I hope they lose it sooner than later, haha. It's just out of place and I understand its just a news theme and but the new theme is the identity of the station and that theme makes me think WABC and New York, not LA. Personally.. Not to go offtopic, though, but I've always wondered, where does a station store the music anyway? Is it software that digitally controls all of the music or is everything just automated? Like does a person simply press a button that says "bumper" and we hear it? Or is each cut assigned a button, etc? I wish there was a behind-the-scenes of sorts that shows us how this stuff works haha. I feel like it shouldn't be hard for them to implement more cuts sounds and variations, etc.. I still very dearly miss the New Generation KABC music theme.. , especially the morning theme that was so nice and fitting for them. I guess I'm admittedly a huge fanboy of these themes .

Its honestly too slow and just antiquated in my opinion and the theme just doesn't fit with LA. I honestly wish they even got rid of it here in NY.. It is a catchy theme but it's been in use for 20+ years. Still shocked they switched to the WABC theme. So wild to me to hear the WABC bumper when watching the show haha.

Indeed, the average viewer probably wont even notice the let alone care about the theme music lol. We are the small niche crowd that cares and come to this very forum to critique and "bemoan" (I like this word now ). Honestly, im still shocked and kind grieving the loss of the KABC theme, loved that package so much, but it's a personal problem that i'll have to get over haha. But I agree wholeheartedly with Matt and MediaZone4K. Best implementation WPVI with them retaining their theme and keeping the montage open kudos to theme, their viewers actually care about the theme, WABC which has always been visually impaired with their appearance finally looking top notch and arguably the leader with the upgraded look. Now the next order of business. How will the new sets and studios complement the new look. The sets for all the O&Os are now out of date.

Yeah we are already starting to see hints of that already on the ABC network so it's only a matter of time before we start seeing this more and more in the future.

You're right. Valid points, @24994J Yeah overall the new look is amazing for KABC the graphics are stellar and spectacular there are still some kinks they gotta fix like the audio in some of the closes and opens also the transitions can be a bit too fast but i'm sure they'll work those out over the coming weeks. I guess when it come to the music theme, on the flipside, when I visit LA, I won't feel too homesick since I'll hear the familiar theme there too. And the Angelinos can feel the same when they visit us here in New York ;). In summary from the colors which can't be changed per the mandate as suggested, and the wild choice to adopt WABC's music, it doesn't change their product and who they are, along with the amazing talent that both stations employ to deliver an excellent news product making them the top news stations in the country. Al Primo is a pioneer in this format of local news delivery and to this date remains successful. In a way it goes back to the old days when all of the ABC O&O stations were using the Cool Hand Luke and News Series 2000+ theme, in retrospect that is what it is now low-key reminiscent of with KABC/WABC now on the same theme. The two stations in a way are now united and their tenacious spirit can now be felt coast to coast. I've even seen WABC use the "Eyewitness News" titular wordmark that KABC/WLS uses in some of their promos so it is all a shared resource and the days of being unique and individual are behind, as the world becomes more and more connected. Bravo to all the O&Os, overall I think out of all of them, the ABC look is the best!

Yeah it's a done deal. They've adopted WABC's style. I guess to be fair KABC's outgoing theme (New Generation 2) that was customized for them by the Gari Media Group was in use since 2012 so just over 10 years. Original Eyewitness News New Generation Theme (2008 - 2012) Eyewitness News New Generation 3 or 4? (2012 to 2024) The final days of their outgoing theme: Would've been so fitting to see them keep these light blue colors and the music for their new package. That would've really make them stand out more. They were also the first station to adopt the original NG theme. In 2008 during the "going HD" era. WABC chose to stick with Series 4 theme they've kept their music since September 1998 (25+ years). Which is why it's so odd to see palm trees associated with the Series 4 variation in the new KABC open it, seems out of place. If an average joe doesn't pay attention they can easily be mistaken for WABC: In my opinion the Series 4 theme should've been exclusive to the New York market to solidify both stations unique identity. The outgoing more upbeat lighter NG theme was more suited for the more chill Los Angeles market. But I digress! I guess I just really miss their outgoing NG cuts and theme lol . They seem to be having issues with the audio though this morning the closing cut didn't play. Above is the morning show clips from FATV with the WABC theme. The graphics also just don't match the light blue nature of the set, they should've just kept the background more of a light blue as well, overall I think KABC rollout of this look is the most lackluster of them all.

Here are some more clips from FATV, posted on YouTube. The graphics are stellar, as expected, but the only gripe I have is just the music.. I'm grieving the loss of the NG Eyewitness News music, their adoption of the WABC theme and signature is just so unsettling for me I don't know why. I feel like it doesn't fit for them, because the theme is so New York and its been used here for all of these years (20+ years) doesn't seem right for KABC to adopt it. The graphics are awesome, as we all know, but the only thing for me is the theme and music. It's essentially a carbon copy of WABC. The Series 4 theme just theme doesn't suit LA. Did anyone see the morning show? Is it the same Series 4 cut and bumper as well? Here's WABC's so we can compare. Notice how WABC's opening cut is a bit different. Same theme but different variation.

Yeah aside from the occasional yellow elements from their previous, it essentially looks like WABC and WLS with the predominant blue. I'm bummed though that have switched to using the Eyewitness News Series 4 (in use since 1999) departing away from the New Generation Eyewitness News package from their newer 2012 theme that was designed for them, at least for the 11 am show. So a bit of a step down in the music sense but we'll have to see how the other broadcasts sound to see if they will use more of the package. KABC has always been known to use more of the package than WABC. I wish they kept their "baby blue" colors though. It set them apart and individualized them. Thats the what will surely be missed. Their outgoing package, while a bit dated was a solid package as well. But this one looks great too! Guess we'll have to get used to it! But today definitely marks the end of an era of individualism I guess for the ABC O&Os. Maybe its more cost effective to keep it all individualized in that way. Just watched more of the 11:00 am broadcast and omg the music, it is essentially WABC. I almost thought I was watching Eyewitness News in New York for a bit lol. That's a bit of a let down for me. They deviated from their iconic Eyewitness News signature to WABC's version. I know the average viewer wont notice or even care. But they could've at least keep their previous music. Was it too challenging to work their newer cuts into this new graphics package? Or perhaps its temporary till they work the former music in? Looks like a done deal though to me. Maybe their rationale is for the two largest O&O flagships in the biggest markets to have a similar on-air look and feel for consistency purposes like how KNBC and WNBC are and pretty much all of the O&Os. For me its a bit of a let down in terms of music though.. graphics are fantastic, but I miss the New Generation Eyewitness News theme it was way more fitting for them and SoCal in general. That was my big fear that they would change the music and they did... The New York EWN cut and signature doesn't work in my opinion for LA, feels out of place. Any thoughts?

Wow! How incredible is that? First time I've ever seen a graphics package done in mid-air haha. And of course, classic LA California style, they changed their graphics in the midst of a police chase, ha! Classic move by KABC hahaha. Looks really nice! Though very similar to their big sister here on the east coast now with the darker blues. I was kinda hoping they'd keep their Pacific Blue / Light Blue or yellow color from their previous package. But nonetheless looks really nice! I wonder if they kept the opens and the themes the same? I guess eventually someone will capture it and we can do a full assessment. Here is a quick video from YouTube with the first intro on the new package. They've replaced their package with the WABC bumper theme. So interesting! Was hoping they'd keep their current theme, I guess we'll have to see how the rest of the day goes with the opens. Looks solid though!

Didn't see the earlier broadcasts, but she was back on for Morning's at 10. She looked so refreshed!