Jase

1 hour ago, R.R. said:

The current WX center is next to the newsroom on the other side of the building.....

See the door behind Emily? That leads (is connected) to the main studio. I’ve been there before…

38 minutes ago, MorningNews said:

A floor made out of screens isn’t innovative or modern?

Not really given that that's not new technology. New to GMA?? Sure.., but not new within the industry. Anyway, we'll see how everything flows together on Monday. Only suggesting people may want to temper their expectations, if you will....

2 hours ago, mouseboy33 said:

Ugh definetely not a improvement. The faux window element broke up the monster screen that already exisits. So they removed the faux window to add another big screen. Yawn. 

The faux windows were cool and could have been re-purposed somewhere. Throwing up a bunch of tv monitors, etc… seems like a step backwards design-wise.

1 hour ago, R.R. said:

And they’re slowly unveiling a new WX set in the main set from the looks of it after 8 years.

Is another weather center/area really necessary?  The current weather center is literally a few feet away and connected to the main studio.

Hopefully this area is multi-purpose otherwise this seems like a waste of space. 

47 minutes ago, MediaZone4K said:

I wish they would stop re-creating some of their less than desirable sets and just completely redesign them.

I agree. If you’re already spending money, you might as well design something different.

5 hours ago, 24994J said:

They showed a teaser timelapse of the new studio, and it obviously doesn't show much, but don't be surprised if some general concepts carry over from Times Square. You get an idea of the size of the space in the first image. It's apparently the same size as The View's and Live's studios, but should feel even more open with no audience risers.

 

 

In the second pic, you can make out wood-tone beams across the ceiling, a large, possibly L-shaped video wall to the left, and a curved desk against a video wall in the foreground. The desk looks like a stand-in for the final product, but it's thankfully a lot smaller than the outgoing model. In the back corner, you can make out some kind of non-video wall feature, though the short end wall (top right) is likely to be a giant screen.

 

 

In addition to Charlie Gibson voicing a new team promo as the 50th anniversary festivities start to pick up, Diane Sawyer is likely to be in-studio on Monday, promoting a new sit-down interview she did with an actor.

From what I understand, the new GMA set will not be radically different from the current one. Guess we’ll see soon enough. 

Looks like they’re getting close to unveiling the new stand up area near the desk. The scope of work ‘appears’ to be in areas where the old Fox 32 logo was featured.

While I commend them for trying to blend the old with the new, I’m not sure I like the end result. Maybe it will look better when fully lit.

Renee Ferguson, long-time NBC 5 Chicago investigative journalist, dies

12 hours ago, MichiganNewsGraphicsJunkie said:

I'm baffled by this -- Isn't this why they wanted O&O's in the major sports markets?? Interesting to see what their "long-term" plan is with this....

Having O&Os in NFC markets for sure. For example, Fox 32 has a 5-person sports team, Fox 9 has 4-person and Fox 6 and Fox 2 each have a 3-person team. These 4 stations also have their own weekly NFL/NFC North show (1st and North) along with other sports-related programming.

That said, it appears that it's ultimately up to each individual Fox O&O to determine its sports coverage (how much/or little) and not necessarily the Fox corporate overlords.

1 hour ago, NowBergen said:

Let me guess, anchors give a few words with video, no in-depth coverage.

Probably. But they could end up having their digital content team fully take over Sports coverage too. It appears to be a pretty large one (of 7-8 people).

10 minutes ago, nathannah said:

The source for the above is the Daily Mail and they have no idea what they (or the anonymous source) are talking about. There's a good reason nobody usually uses a Yahoo News syndication article that's from a pink slime SEO operation. 

I agree. From what I read (from reliable sources) is that 'if' Clarkson were to end her show; it would be so that she can focus on her family. That's a more plausible reason (to end the show) to me.

https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/msnbc-temproary-location-versant-move/

MSNBC Identifies Its Temporary [NYC] Office Space Ahead of Versant Spin-Off

‘Jeff Mayzurk, Versant’s president of operations and technology, has shared the latest plans with staffers, which reveals that MSNBC’s temporary New York headquarters will be located at 229 West 43rd Street. The expected move-in date will be in August.’

2 hours ago, GraphicsMan said:

Definitely gives an NBC News newsroom feel, and this totally tops KNBC and KVEA in Los Angeles newsroom.

I agree. The shared WNBC/WNJU newsroom is nice. Curious to see if WMAQ/WSNS can top it when they move to their new space later this year.

Couldn’t help but notice the stand up area with the faux windows near the desk has been removed. So they’re now down to just home base and the interview area. Curious to see what the end result of this set remodel (?) will be.

Also, a Chicago city grid has been added as a third background option (along with a tv monitor and the Fox 32 logo) in Studio 32.

51 minutes ago, NYAZSporty said:

Wouldn't surprise me if Scott becomes the chief at CBS New York & let Lonnie focus on CBS Evening News. 

With the leadership being in flux at CBS News, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lonnie’s role is greatly diminished (or eliminated) somewhere down the line. Plus, I don’t get the impression he wants to solely focus on CBS Evening News.

On 5/23/2025 at 1:12 PM, carolinanews4 said:

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.  

It's the overall look of Studio 1A. The set was designed for a morning show and lacks flexibility to be used in other ways, imo. With MSNBC leaving, it's highly unlikely that space will be left unused, so it opens up the possibility of Nightly moving. Studio 4E is showing some wear and tear too these days.

1 hour ago, Drew said:

Just like when Brian Williams took over from Tom Brokaw, they waited a bit to switch up the graphics to ease in the change for the viewers.  The networks did the same when transitioning from Charles Gibson to Diane Sawyer to David Muir.  Same went for the morning shows Bryant/Katie to Katie/Matt etc. 

And hopefully a new studio is in the cards too. Studio 1A has never felt right for Nightly, imo

On 5/19/2025 at 11:36 AM, Action Newsroom said:

Steve Wilkos Show renewed for 19th season.

https://deadline.com/2025/05/the-steve-wilkos-show-renewed-season-19-syndication-1236402188/

I didn't know this show was still in production. I thought NBCU Syndication was airing re-runs of it for the past several years....

‘GMA3: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW’ DRAWS ITS LARGEST AUDIENCE IN 5 WEEKS, OUTDELIVERS NBC IN TOTAL VIEWERS AND ADULTS 18-49

Looks like the 4-anchor format has been a game-changer for GMA3. ABC has been touting the rating gains (via press releases) for several weeks.

Anthony and Kaitlin are a ‘interesting’ choice to pair together. Nevertheless, I don’t think WGN (or anyone else) has to worry about ‘ChicagoNOW’. They should have brought back their ‘Good Day After the Show’ Facebook Live program. It was a lot more entertaining. 

1 hour ago, 24994J said:

Yesterday was apparently the debut of the streaming hour. The full launch show is here.
 

 

On 5/5/2025 at 11:52 PM, 24994J said:

 

So, you're saying that it's still Brian and Natalie at 9?
Side note, does Kaitlin come on earlier than 9am, these days?

Yes & No. From what I’ve seen, all four anchors appear at the very top (at 9A) and then everyone (including Mike and Kaitlin) will do a segment solo or they’ll do a segment (or two) as a group.

Kaitlin does the weather at 8A, 9A and Noon, but Mike often appears throughout GDC doing non-weather related stuff. Been that way for a while..
 

Over the past several weeks; they have also updated the openings for each newscast.

Sylvia Perez announced today that Brian Jackson will be joining her as co-anchor at Noon. I believe he will still appear on GDC, albeit in a reduced role.

Also, the 3-anchor format has been reintroduced on Good Day (from 6-9A). The 9A hr. remains unchanged and it appears they will be going with a solo anchor from 4:30-6A. Don’t know who the solo anchor will be however.
 

Roseanne Tellez has been MIA (which is a bit concerning). Hopefully she hasn’t been cut.

On 4/15/2025 at 6:56 AM, MediaZone4K said:

This is better lit than their Upper West Side studio, warmer lighting has really helped all of the shows that moved. The HD quality looks richer.

 

The temporary set looked better IMO, I wish they switched it up more for the new permanent Live set.

 

This is basically what ABC did with World News Tonight, re-create the same thing in a different space. The only set I would've liked to have seen rebuilt the same way was The View, as it looked really good before, but the new set is OK.

 

I'm curious what the thought-process was when it came to designing each program's set. Aside from the WABC set (which is great), all the others are pretty ho-hum. Because WNT shares their space with both This Week and 20/20; I get not wanting to do something too different because it could effect the overall look/feel of all three programs.

And from what I hear, the new GMA set/studio is a step down from the Time Square set/studio. We shall see...

On 4/23/2025 at 1:01 PM, jrogo said:

MSNBC has announced its new schedule and program names: 

The Weeknight with Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez starts on May 5 at 7 p.m., airing from 7-9 p.m. on Mondays and 7-8 p.m. on Tuesdays - Fridays.

 
The Briefing with Jen Psaki starts on May 6, airing Tuesdays - Fridays at 9 p.m.

 
The Weekend (AM & PM editions) both start on May 3 at 7am and 6pm.  
I am assuming Ali Velshi’s expanded time slot will start May 3 as well?

 

MSNBC is still searching for new studio and newsroom space in NYC according to the article.

Rather unoriginal in the naming, not sure why they feel the need to change the name of Jen’s show as there is nothing wrong with “inside”, but whatever works I guess. Weekends are going to be very redundant and near constant repetition, I wish a 2 hour weekend block of MSNBC Reports from 9pm-11pm would be launched, a late night news option when CNN and Fox are on replays would be nice.  

https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/msnbc-the-weeknight-the-briefing-premiere-dates/

 

I agree the program names are generic, but they could be trying to create a brand (i.e. Today Show / Tonight Show, etc...) with the Weeknight and the Weekend AM/PM. My immediate concern is having a network president who may favor programs, people, etc... she had a hand in creating/developing instead of doing what's best for the overall network. 

On 4/18/2025 at 9:51 PM, nathannah said:

WGN has a good offer, but CHSN already has a television partner in WJYS; the issue is that they need to convince them to switch to RTC next go around to force carriage (or CHSN pays them extra to bump it to their DT1 for the Sox season until this is all resolved so pay-TV fans can watch), or that CHSN needs to figure out their issues with Comcast. It's obvious they're asking for too much and need to lower their pricing to get on there, and Reinsdorf is stubborn.

Also this would be self-inflicted and stupid on Nexstar's part; either they want to run WGN as a news-heavy CW O&O as intended by dumping the rights back in '19, or they go back to sports and create a messy situation where CW programming is bumped to Antenna TV and now you've made NASCAR and your college football partners mad because they don't have Chicago carriage or you're back to a situation where WCIU has to carry your stuff because of this goofy offer. This is a good proposal for WCIU or even WCPX, but it addresses nothing about the main problem with CHSN and will end with viewer annoyance, along with WGN staff having to deal with news at midnight once again because of West Coast road games.

Getting some afternoon White Sox games shouldn't be an issue. Trying to air a handful of Bulls and Blackhawks games would be very complicated. All three teams are pretty bad and I'm not sure it's worth the effort on WGN's part unless the idea is air local sports regardless of a team's performance. Would there be a big enough financial return at the end of the day???

WGN interested in airing Chicago Sports Network broadcasts, confident a deal can work

'WGN TV is interested in carrying local sports again and believes there’s a path to air Chicago Sports Network broadcasts of the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks that much of the area has missed, the Sun-Times has learned. The sides would have to sort out a lot of details, such as how many games would be included and who would sell advertising for them. Though WGN isn’t positioned to pay a substantial rights fee — the teams would have to treat it as a marketing expense — it could deliver the teams their largest TV audience since they launched CHSN in October.'