rkolsen

How do you know she's going to KSHB and what will she even do there? It does not say which station in the article...

 

And this may just be how I was raised, but you should not make a cross-country move to live with your boyfriend unless you're married. They could break up tomorrow and she might regret leaving Philadelphia. But that's just me...

To me, it's more common sense. Perhaps their relationship is on solid ground that it could lead to marriage, but who knows? Not to mention the boyfriend may not even be hired as chiefs qb and stick with Alex Smith.

 

I full heartedly agree. If you break up (and you live together) in a new city you would essentially be screwed with no where to turn to and no one to go to if you need help as chances are all of your friends in KC are his friends.

WBAL upped Kai Reed to weekend evening anchor, nothing was official until I saw a promo for next weeks Ravens/Redskins game and says stay tuned to after the game with anchor Kai Reed. Her bio was changed on 8/14 saying will report for the weekday 10pm and 11pm news.

 

Coincidentally Deborah Weiner was moved from weekend evening anchor to weekend mornings on Saturdays from 5-7am, 9-10am and on Sundays from 5-8am and 9-10am. Her bio was updated on the same day as Kai's.

 

However I do not know whether she'll replace Jennifer Franciotti or Lisa Robertson weekend mornings. Jennifer Franciotti was in with Deborah this morning. Neither Jennifer or Lisa's biographies have been updated. I think they will both continue reporting on weekdays but after I heard the change it appears they are now alternating each weekend.

Sinclair is bringing the "#LiveOnKOMO" hashtag groupwide. Although all the Fisher stations already used the "#LiveOnStation" hashtag some legacy Sinclair stations are now starting to.

 

Examples:

WBFF: "#LiveOnFox45"

KABB: "#LiveOnFoxSanAntonio"

WKRC: "#LiveOnLocal12"

 

And the list goes on. I have no idea why Sinclair loves the hashtag, but hey, to each their own right?

With their attempts at hubbing things in the past I wouldn't be surprised if there was an intern up in Hunt Valley that has permission to see the rundowns at each station who has the keys to the metaphorical car. Keeping on the hubbing trend it could be used to streamline graphics so the artist picks the best example and makes the graphic.

 

Another option is that they use a social media manager or a program that takes in all the various feeds and the hashtags. So for each hashtag #LiveOnFox45 would have their own column of responses.

 

As for the #LiveOnFox45 they must if switched over because last week they were encouraging use of #FoxBaltimore or #Fox45QoD (Question of the day).

The dots on the bottom is most likely overscan. Normally they appear at the top of the frame but can show up on the bottom. Most HDTVs will automatically display the full frame, which frequently is 1920x1088 rather than 1920x1080 but I am not sure the resolution for 720p. You can fix the problem by zooming in the picture using the button (usually the button says P.Size/Picture Size/ or HD Zoom) that will resize the image so it's not visible. Here's some additional information from Engadget and how to fix it.

 

Frequently overscan is used to transmit additional data like the current program that is airing, an electronic program guide and it's what enables v-chip to be transmitted.

Yeah I notice WRC only flies mainly within Virginia and sometimes Maryland. It's like a waste because most of the footage isn't relevant. So in DC, if they want aerial views they're forced to do what small market stations do, use the towercam. Or sometimes the masts on the live van have a camera at the top that can get "high-up" views.

Exactly and it's not unlike WRC sister affiliates WBAL and WAVY don't have helicopters in the sky. Chances are if there is breaking news in Prince George's or Montgomery Counties in MD that warrants aerial footage for WRC both WBAL and WJZ's news helicopters would be there. WBAL and WJZ I know put them up in either NBC Newschannel or CBS Newspath/Network News Service, respectively, and if it's major feed it to CNN Newsource.

 

Plus WRC has several tower cams in strategic locations around the DMA.

Are you sure WJLA has a helicopter? I thought they used WRC's bird unless WJLA recently brought theirs back?

I personally think that having a dedicated helicopter for each station in Washington, DC is a waste of money considering they are prohibited from flying over within 17 miles radius of Reagan Airport on the Potomac. That radius encompasses all of Washington DC, a good chunk of suburban Virginia coming a few miles past the DC/MD border. After that portion prohibited airspace the rest of their DMA is restricted requiring constant contact and a flight plan. Simply because these restrictions they cannot cover the most densely (and where the most news occurs) occupied part of the DMA.

I found a map from the FAA that shows the prohibited airspace wishin the region. That innermost circle is prohibited airspace which means only police, military and MEDEVAC helicopters can fly. The outer ring requires a flight plan and tower control.

Are you sure WJLA has a helicopter? I thought they used WRC's bird unless WJLA recently brought theirs back?

I believe WJLA was the lone hold out for the local news service in Washington, DC there is a twitter user that works for them that says he's the only reporter covering the DMV from the sky. Normally local news services prohibit reporters or pilots from commenting on air for the stations leaving the people on the ground to cover/narrate what the pilot is saying to each news desk. Plus I couldn't find any articles linking WJLA to the local news service that WRC, WTTG and WUSA use. I believe there was a Washington Post article that had a quote from the former ND or GM that said they would rather go on their own in 2009 or 2010. I do think WRC may pull out of it at some point given that other stations since WNBC, WMAQ, KNBC and KXAS all got their birds back although they do share the feed with their Telemundo counterparts.

 

I personally think that having a dedicated helicopter for each station in Washington, DC is a waste of money considering they are prohibited from flying over within 17 miles radius of Reagan Airport on the Potomac. That radius encompasses all of Washington DC, a good chunk of suburban Virginia coming a few miles past the DC/MD border. After that portion prohibited airspace the rest of their DMA is restricted requiring constant contact and a flight plan. Simply because these restrictions they cannot cover the most densely (and where the most news occurs) occupied part of the DMA.

I also wonder how long will it be until Sinclair starts using WJLA's helicopter up here in Baltimore. The distance from DC to Baltimore is about a 40 minute drive and WJLA's bird has been overhead for their coverage if the breaking news is big enough.

I'm watching WBFF's 11PM rerun right now and find it interesting that the rerun does not include the opens or transitional elements that are featured in the main broadcast. Also worth noting that it appears the live bug is burnt into the recording and that rerun does not include their logo.

 

They still are using the old graphics, I still find it odd that the flagship hasn't switched over yet.

 

But they did launch a new HD SkyCam in Towson which I would say is significant because no other affiliate has cameras outside of the downtown area of the city. Towson is probably 20 miles from the inner harbor and has a big mall with a large "Luxury wing" where all the high end store has shops. Towson also has a few colleges where the largest university that has 22,0000 students and has a strong downtown area that is being revitalized.

I think they appear to rotate with no set pattern so that it can show the word DOUBLE SCAN in between them, and nothing more. When there's actually weather going on I don't think they show that.

 

The previous iteration, when they would be zooming in, you could actually see the radar sweep as a rotating white line and noticed a difference as it swept by. It was fast enough that you could usually see it at least once during the short time they would focus on one area during a storm.

 

They do say it's powered with 1 million watts of power.

I remember the old baron systems did that - hell WJZ's does (it looks like they up convert their radar to HD despite running Accuweather).

 

As for the power of the radar it is most likely the ERP which takes into account of the gains of the antenna. Wikipedia uses an example that a 100kW radio station would typically only use 10-20kW of power.

That double beam on their radar is not the actual radar beam. It's an animation overlayed on to the map. They do go to the actual live radar when there something they need to show and you can see the actual radar beam and it's more in tune with a regular 5 min sweep.

My biggest complaint with the animation was that one beam appeared to be gaining speed on the other one and that there was no set interval.

Here's a link to Adam Joseph's discussion on it on his Facebook page on the day of its debut: https://www.facebook.com/6abcAdamJoseph/posts/10152154014898696

 

Also another link: http://abclocal.go.com//story?section=weather/forecast&id=9234826

 

I do know they used to talk about being able to change the speed of the radar I think they used to say it would update once every 10 seconds, but that was before the Double Scan radar.

So it's exactly as I thought.

 

This makes me wonder of this new technology called CASA radars which are being studied by MIT are in operation in Northern Texas and Oklahoma. The radar system uses several low powered radars spaced maybe 50 miles apart which they can selectively point an individual radome to focus on a small section of the storm so instead of having it spin 360° it pivot 90°. It makes me wonder if there are any tv stations in the country looking to deploy this method.

Here's a full shot of KXVA's newscast, with the Gannett end-tag.

 

 

Anyone else notice the large Texas stickers on the back of Rick Tomlin's iPad with the Gannett logo on it? New Texas Branding perhaps?

Is it just me or their studio in a bathroom - it has a bit of an echo. Also they were truly creative with their radar name Max Storm - I take it that if WSI named their product Weather A (as in the source input) that's what they would have branded it as.

Could someone explain to me why when I see their weather forecast when they show the Doppler radar there are two beams rotating different speeds from the same radar site? Correct me if I'm wrong but dual polarization radar "scans" the horizontal and vertical resolution at the same time from the same radome at the same speed.

 

I realize that double scan is their marketing term that refers to nothing in particular but those two radar beams also move way to fast considering the average radars on the market (including private manufactures, NEXRAD and the TDWR) take 5 minutes to do a full 360° rotating

Please delete.

What do you mean? GMA broadcasts from the downstairs portion of the Times Square studio and GMA Weekend broadcasts from ABC HQ.

 

During the time that Weekend GMA was last broadcast from Time Square (October 2010) the set was almost exclusively the second floor and the first floor was designed as a subway station used for indoor concerts which was abandoned in January 2011 as a cost saving measure. Oddly they moved back downstairs exclusively in September 2011. The upstairs portion, aka the Marquee Studio, is now used for ESPN2's Olbermann but is available for rent.

 

While I was searching for this information I learned that while Disney owns the building but ABC News has to lease the space out, which explains why they may not want to use Time Square during the weekend, especially if they have to pay for off hours access. You would think the rent would be non existent through vertical integration. This makes me wonder if the key staff and hosts have offices at both Times Squade and at 77 West 66th.

ABC News has to put quarters in the meter at Times Square every hour they use the studio.

Call me crazy but I would want my morning show to broadcast on the weekend from a tourist trap

like Time Square rather than at Rockefeller Center where you could draw a much bigger crowd than during the weekday.

In regards to the desk, absolutely. Up until the new monitor wall tonight, the Nightline/Weekend GMA side of the set was certainly the best looking part of the room.

Is there any specific reason why they don't use Time Square for weekend GMA?

That was a pretty good report. They tell the truth which is rare for news stations these days. Yes, it's a must run and they used a WBFF reporter (should've used a national reporter) but it was a good report nonetheless.

 

KABB and WOAI both took the report. KABB has it on their site: http://www.foxsanantonio.com/news/features/featured/stories/legislation-could-change-way-we-watch-tv-1615.shtml

I'm thinking a national reporter may not want to do a piece like this where it could damage their credibility if they were to do this type of piece. Plus if it came from Hunt Valley, WBFF would have made the most sense because they are the closest. Second how many national reporters do they have? They only one I know of is Kai Jackson but he has yet to make an appearance on WBFF because of a (what seems to be a very long) non compete clause.

It's FCC Fine Time!

 

WXOW and KCWE got slapped for a 2006 cartoon promotion that blurred the line between cartoon characters and advertising but weren't fined because it was "isolated". Last week two other broadcasters got fined. An LPTV station in Texas didn't file children's TV reports or two annual ownership reports in a timely manner and earned a $6,000 forfeiture, while KXGN received a $15,000 fine for failing to file eight quarterly children's reports and filing 14 more late since its last renewal in 1998 — the reason that it's been hanging around that long is because the 2005 license renewal is still pending, thanks to an incomplete EEO filing in 2004. In addition, KRHD received a $1,000 fine for not publicizing where its children's TV reports are.

First off I have a few questions:

-Why do stations have to advertise and list every place they send job notices for EEO filings? I have read some of the EEO filings and they list every person who applied for a job and why they weren't hired (I think that could violate some privacy laws.)

-They stated that the promotion with cartoon characters made unfair advantage of the trust children have in said characters - Do children even think of cartoon characters as trustworthy? I know I didn't.

-Why do stations have to list and advertise where their public file (containing EEO, Children's Programming, Political Ad Time and Viewer Complaints) is nowadays when almost everyone has a computer and the FCC mandates they update it regularly?

Here's an article that was posted on Poynter today about the discussion of their content management system, called Presto, and the design of the website.

 

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/business-news/the-biz-blog/journalism-and-business-values/257767/case-study-gannetts-monumental-task-a-content-management-system-for-all/

Seems like a waste of a projection screen just to have some background graphic when that can be easily accomplished with duratrans for a fraction of the cost. If you're going to pay the extra money to have one, then use it well. It would've been great to use that screen to show that footage. Or if they have some plasma on a stand by the cameras with the anchor still in the background, then that would be a better idea too.

 

I really wish stations here would use the projection screen like they do in Australia. THAT is how you use a projection screen/plasma. And the sets aren't even that elaborate.

so you can see how they use their set there and why so many US stations fail with their set designs.

 

Also a minor thing but you couldn't have found a better cap? That anchor's facial expression is very creepy...

Most of the time the do use their rear projection screen like they do in the video where it usually shows videos pertinent to the story and occasionally graphics with the story headline for the first two stories of every "block". Then when they do round up summary of brief news they use over the shoulder graphics where unlike other Hearst stations they do them only on the left side of the screen regardless of anchor positions (WJZ keeps the OTS on the right). The camera shoots the anchor close up with either the projection screen showing a generic diagrid background or they use the dura trans. I will say I prefer the use of one sided OTS graphics because it keeps the text in the same area of the screen when the other anchor takes over. I found that my eyes don't have adjust/refocus to read text on the other side of the screen (this is attributed to bad eyesight). Second, I do not like how Hearst designed the OTS graphics for the right side of the screen where the spinning diagrid cone takes up the bottom corner of the screen rather than the top - this sometimes cuts off what an anchor is wearing and interferes with the lower third graphics.

 

They also have a few different camera angles that show content on a second monitor which is just an 80" projection tv that is used in the weather center. The shot is angled in a way where they can shoot the anchor and an interview subject who sits on the left side of the desk next to the weather center with the tv in the background which is displays supplemental information (If you've seen their set or any Hearst FX set you know how the layout). In front of the news desk they have a 50" monitor that most of the time displays a static logo or the date but during the noon newscast when they report on the stock markets they will pull out the shot and use this monitor to display stock market data while they give a brief update.

 

To the right of they anchor desk, they have the standard FX Group design for Hearst monitor tree which is essentially one 50" plasma mounted on a pole with two 20" monitors stacked on each side of it. The monitor tree is used for traffic where the big monitor displays the maps and the smaller ones show various feeds, during sports the big one shows the prominent footage with the others showing a generic sports logo or if they have supplemental video it is shown on the smaller ones. The final area of the set is a multipurpose type of area where they do exercise segments / interviews / pet segments / demonstrations on a "stage" that is probably 15 feet wide and 7 feet deep elevated a foot off the floor that has a second 100" projection screen built in behind it which will display the number of reps for exercises and questions for the veterinarian. On occasion they also use this area when they interview / do cross talk with the Washington bureau with their reporter on screen.

 

Wow, I didn't expect to write an essay on their camera shots but I did. I also realized that they do use the monitors on the set for a purpose other than to show a the city scape background (which is what WCVB did with their 9x3 monitor wall refresh).

 

As for the screen capture that was actually the best one that I could get using the OTS shot.

Maybe it's just me but I really dislike these picture in picture over the shoulder video graphics that seemed to have been rolled out in the past year at various Hearst stations.

 

Here's a iPad screenshot from tonight's 11 PM newscast on WBAL showing various weather graphics:

 

 

It looks a bit better on television in HD.

 

But, I don't understand why they use it to show either live helicopter footage or a taped piece from the ground. Why would they choose to relegate good footage that is procured and transmitted to the station in HD to such a tiny picture frame? I'd rather they air the video full screen with the anchor doing the voice over. If they are gung-ho on keeping the anchor in frame why don't they put the footage on the 100" rear projection screen behind the anchor. In the past they have blocked the camera angle where the anchor presenting the segment fits perfectly with the monitor behind them keeping everything in the 4:3 safe zone.

Recently I've noticed WBAL doesn't use talent opens/rejoins anymore it seems. They used to use all of their talent rejoins/opens when they switched to the new graphics (they've used each talent at least one time) then they switched to only using the 5PM talent, and now instead of talents they use promos for streaming news casts, 11 News Today, and 11 News at 11PM and now in-place of the 5PM talent at 5:30, they just use the 5PM open. Just something I've noticed recently.

 

I've noticed that too and when they display the names on the lower thirds it typically only lasts five seconds which is just long enough to read it. I'm willing to guess their lack of use is mainly due to the fact that their newscasts are not personality driven as opposed to say WJZ's morning news with Don and Marty. However their PoP promos they do display the anchors names while they cut from footage of anchor speaking.

 

I am also thankful they don't put the anchors twitter accounts in the lower thirds because the blue twitter T logo does not look good against the background in addition the @ sign looks a bit messed up.

Ugh, a virtual set...

Not virtual - although it was designed to give it that look with the monitor walls. It's just Hearst's way of being creative using a green screen - it would have been perfectly fine with out the monitor wall. I've seen it in use at WCVB, WESH and I believe WPBF.

You mean this type of full screen graphic http://www.rkolsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/image.jpg where inside the parallelogram there's the occasional live video feed? Or this one http://www.rkolsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/image1.jpg where instead of the first bullet point it's a small video box?

 

I don't think it's necessarily tabloid like WHDH and WSVN are, rather they are just using what's available to them.