T.L. Hughes

After a 38-year run, Steve Raible is calling it a career at KIRO-TV. Raible announced on the station's 6:00 p.m. newscast Wednesday that he will retire from the station as its main anchor in late Spring (my guess is probably around May sweeps). Raible will continue to appear on the station as a contributor for special event programming and will continue to do play-by-play for Seattle Seahawks radio broadcasts.

BTW, for those not familiar with the other “bad actor” incident referred to in the post, James Gunn was fired by Disney from his role as director of the Guardians of the Galaxy films in 2018 for past tweets that joked about things such as rape, paedophilia and child abuse, uncovered by Mike Cernovich, an alt-righter who tried to paint several Trump critics as “pedophiles,” even though he was charged (though not convicted) of sexual assault himself years prior. Gunn was reinstated by Disney a year later.

Wasn't sure whether to put this here or in Out & About, but ABC has suspended another correspondent, in another incident where Disney effectively cowed to bad actors on the right. David Wright has been suspended for comments he made criticizing ABC's incorporation of promotions for Disney's movies and TV shows in some of its news programs (notably citing Good Morning America, though this is also used to a point on World News Now, America This Morning, Nightline and occasionally on WNT) as well as how ABC covers politics in a superficial way. Project Veritas, a right-wing group known for "undercover" videos trying to expose alleged liberal bias in media, filmed Wright making these comments, in which he also identified as a socialist. There are two issues: one, Veritas has been discredited for use of unsubstantiated claims, "gotcha" journalism and selective editing, therefore, suspending Wright effectively gives them legitimacy; two, it appears this was a case of Disney not respecting Wright's opinions of how news should be done. And, he has a point about the promotion blending thing. NBC and CBS don't do that to the level ABC does, and both those networks are also owned by major media conglomerates (NBCUniversal/Comcast and ViacomCBS). I've been an ABC News viewer for years, but they clearly blundered here.

I've only seen service marks/trademarks in station branding in that particular instance as well as with the "Where the News Comes First" slogan in recent years (as seen on KCRA).

You mean a registered service mark? It does seem odd, though. Station logos usually don't have trademark or service mark (registered or not) on them, so that seems odd.

Two things of note: * WDRB anchor Lindsey Allen is leaving the station after 10 years to focus on taking care of her children; she is in her ninth month of pregnancy with her second child, and will depart the station on Valentine's Day (February 14). * Longtime KOTV anchor/reporter Lori Fullbright is being inducted into to the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame for its 50th inductee class.

So, apparently K26AC was an indirect predecessor of what is now WFTC satellite KFTC. The ads for the subscription TV service offered by the station seem nondescript, it doesn't say what the name of the service is, if it's a service we haven't heard of or one of the ones known to exist (like ONTV, SelecTV, VEU, Wometco, Preview, etc.).

Welcome to the 25th anniversary post of the first network of the next century... which would only last five-and-a-half years into said next century. UPN (originally beginning as the United Paramount Network) launched on January 16, 1995; at launch, it bested The WB in terms of over-the-air affiliates but was bested by them in national distribution, given that it lacked affiliates in many smaller markets that the WWOR EMI Service (the superstation feed of the network's New York City flagship WWOR) prevented them from reaching (compare that to the fact that the WGN superstation feed provided that small-market coverage for The WB during its first three-and-a-half years before the network launched its own national cable feed). UPN was the second of the two eventual predecessors of The CW to launch in January 1995, five days after the The WB made its debut. Here's a look at the commercials that aired during the network's first night and promotional ads that aired preceding its launch:

25 years ago today, The WB Television Network launched. It was the first of the two eventual predecessors of The CW to launch in January 1995, five days before the United Paramount Network (UPN) made its debut. Here's a look at the commercials that aired during the network's first night (as seen on WLVI in Boston): ...and a couple of teaser commercials for the network's launch:

Furthermore, the WFLD package shown in the clip lacked a key component of TVbD/JCBD's graphics of the 1980s and early 1990s. The layer effects of the name banners and title logos in the news open just slide from left to right, not zooming out or coming together at a split point. Basically, every package from those two companies had that element at that time; this package doesn't. Compare the WFLD open to the WGN midday open and to these...

Regarding the coverage of this story, while KOCO and KOKH directly disclosed that it was Abigail's home that caught fire, KWTV made no reference to it at all on their evening newscasts, only reporting on it during their early-evening newscasts and omitting it from the 10:00 broadcast (it's possible that this might have been an understanding between uncle Kelly Ogle, who anchored the Thursday night newscasts, and station management, given the sensitive nature of the issue for their family). KFOR initially went as far as saying that the home belonged to "a daughter of Kevin Ogle" (he has two, KWTV reporter Katelyn Ogle being the youngest), but Kent Ogle openly addressed that it was Abigail's home that caught fire in an addendum to a report on that story during the noon newscast (and presumably, the morning newscast) Friday, thanking viewers for their well wishes to the Ogle family. (Kevin took the night off Thursday, with Eli Roberts filling in for him at 6:00, for what apparently was Eli's last KFOR newscast, and Joleen Chaney anchoring solo at 10:00.)

To show how long it took for KXAS to even provide coverage of the tornado, the YT channel Random News Footage composed a six-minute timelapse of the programming on KDFW, KXAS, WFAA and KTVT during the period between the issuance of the tornado warning at 9:00pm until KXAS began their third cut-in of the warning timeframe at 9:24: Also of note, as basically referenced by KTVT meteorologist Jeff Ray in footage of their storm coverage on StormSpotterMike's channel, KTVT took quite a bit of time to provide tornado coverage over its airwaves. As Ray mentions, they continued offering only a Facebook Live stream of the storm coverage for about 8-10 minutes after the warning was issued (with KTVT airing the first act of that night's episode of Madam Secretary for about thirteen minutes after the first reports of the tornado having touched down near Love Field were made), and elected to commence television coverage on KTXA first, before throwing coverage onto KTVT, instead of starting a simulcast of coverage on KTVT and KTXA at the same time.

Ditto on that last part. There has been talk floated recently, affirmed by ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke, about ABC potentially reviving either of the two soaps, now that ABC owns the rights to All My Children and One Life to Live again under their prior settlement with Prospect Park. I think reviving AMC or OLTL over ABC's air would be a backup plan (Plan B or, moreso, C), in case the to-be-rechristened GMA3 doesn't work out; it might be likelier that either - if at all - would end up as web series, either on ABC's web platform or on Disney+. Even if there was a strong possibility that they decided to do a soap revival, there's no chance of bringing back both AMC and OLTL on the ABC daytime lineup, since that would require recouping the hour it ceded to its stations to accommodate those two or offing General Hospital, which doesn't seem like a possibility at this point, even though GH is kinda situated at fourth (last) among the soaps behind Days of Our Lives.

It's "The Leading Edge" by Soundtrack; the production music has been used as a news theme during the 1980s and '90s by, among other stations, KCST (now KNSD), KTHV, WAAY, WCFT (now WSES), WDIO/WIRT, WEAR and WROC.

Here's another full circle situation I realized about this merger: the deal would mark Gannett's effective re-entry into Oklahoma City after 22 years, since GateHouse already owns The Oklahoman, therefore making it the fourth local media property with ties to the area that Gannett has owned since 1978: * Through its purchase of Combined Communications, Gannett owned KOCO from 1979 to 1997; * Gannett also was allowed to own KFOR (then KTVY) and KOCO for a few months in 1986, as a result of the company's purchase of the Evening News Association, before spinning KTVY to Knight Ridder; * Finally, through its 1995 acquisition of Multimedia Inc., Gannett owned Multimedia Cablevision (which served as the cable provider for every Oklahoma City suburb, except for Forest Park, considering the town is closely aligned with Oklahoma City itself) from 1995 to 1999. (Since-repealed FCC rules barring the same company from owning a cable provider and a television station in the same market led to Gannett swapping KOCO and WLWT to Argyle Television, later merged into current owner Hearst, in exchange for WGRZ and WZZM.)

Programming note/reminder to any TVNT users to have YouTube accounts and video capture devices: KOCO is celebrating its 65th anniversary of broadcasting (nine years as an Enid station [the latter seven of which it had acted as an Enid and Oklahoma City station, outside of licensing and documents] and 56 years as an Oklahoma City station) with the latest edition of its KOCO 5 Chronicle series of specials. The hour-long special, KOCO 5 Chronicle: Celebrating 65 Years of Service!, airing at 9:00 p.m. tonight (July 30), will take a look at the station's history, including memorable former personalities and programs (such as Ida "Ida B." Blackburn and Ho Ho the Clown aka Ed Birchall), the evolution of its weather technology, and major news stories chronicled by the station over the years.

There is... it is one of three options for PBS member stations (their stations are not called "affiliates") that elect to offer a feed to YTTV (from Current):

I think you mean, "you've got The Young and the Restless or The Bold and the Beautiful on CBS just eating everyone's lunch otherwise." Y&R airs at 12:30 on most CBS stations in the Eastern and Pacific Time Zones, B&B airs at that slot in the other time zones and on any CBS stations in the Pacific Time Zone that follow the Central/Mountain scheduling for the daytime lineup (assuming that there are any).

Interesting. When did Maria leave The Weather Channel?

That doesn't make sense. WDAY and WDAZ are available to anyone for free if you have an antenna, so why would you move content behind a paywall? It's justifiable for newspapers to do, because that industry is ailing financially and newspapers have always required you to pay to purchase a copy (either via a one-off purchase or a regular subscription). But anything one can receive legally without paying doesn't merit a paywall, unless it involves more substantive content exclusive to the website, while allowing most other stories to be available for free. I don't see this panning out as well as Forum thinks it will.

Not necessarily. In DFW, KDFW's digital signal only encompasses its main feed on 4.1, while KDFI programs a main feed and four subchannels (affiliated respectively with Movies!, Buzzr, Heroes & Icons and Light TV); KDFW could feasibly add a 4.2 sub to carry Decades. Same in L.A., where KTTV also doesn't program any subchannels. In Charlotte, WJZY could replace the Sonlife Broadcasting Network with Decades on 46.2. In Orlando, WOFL could add a .3 subchannel to slot the network. BTW, RabbitEars is already noting a few markets where it's been indicated that Decades would be placed on the FTS stations without expending any of the other subchannel networks they carry (namely San Francisco, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Detroit, Gainesville-Ocala and Tampa).

So basically the format is kinda similar to how KTHV's noon newscast was once structured, when that station was carrying a newscast during the first half of the noon half-hour and the lifestyle talk show Arkansas Today during the second half, leading into The Bold and the Beautiful.

Sinclair's decision to have Crain axed from WICS/WICD was a bad idea, and basically opens them up to a wrongful termination lawsuit. This is the same group that laid off a reporter who was undergoing cancer treatment, so it tells you that they don't necessarily treat their employees that well all the time. FWIW, here in OKC, their sister station, KOKH, had started using a system similar to the "Code Red" alerts but branded them as "Storm Watch Alert Days" ("Storm Watch" being the station's weather branding.") KOKH's system seems to only be used for SPC-issued slight risks and up; I haven't seem them use it during a marginal risk, which would not warrant such an alert as a "marginal risk" signifies isolated, often low-end severe thunderstorm activity. This does pose a question, Sinclair isn't the only group that does this. So how is the "Code Red"/"Weather Warn"/"Alert Day" structurally different that the "First Alert Weather Day" initiative that Raycom started (which I assume was carried over after Gray took ownership of the Raycom stations), if at all?

WVUE is expanding its news to weekend mornings (finally!!!), starting July 6. Weekday morning assignment reporter Josh Robertson will anchor the two-hour broadcast (running from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m.), with Zack Fradella (previously with sister station KPLC) joining the station as a meteorologist for the weekend morning newscasts. WVUE vice president and general manager even noted that it was long due that the station venture into weekend morning news, “This is the next logical step for Fox 8. Frankly, it is overdue. It is our duty to provide our viewers with quality news and information they need and deserve, seven mornings a week, not just five. We’ve wanted to do this for some time. Now we are going to make it happen.”

Interesting note, several episodes of Oddity Archive used content from FuzzyMemories (Ben Minnotte even directly credited the site himself in one episode, with special thanks to the site being given only in the credits of other episodes), even providing links to the excerpted videos in the closing credits of the particular episodes. I hope Ben doesn't use Chrome, because if he ever plans to use FuzzyMemories content in future OA episodes, trying to download them from that browser through the website's player to edit into the episodes would be difficult. Seriously, try to get the player on the FuzzyMemories website to load on Chrome and not wonder "What is the freakin' holdup?"