sanewsguy

9 hours ago, mrschimpf said:

All the more galling as there are a certain few channels which refuse to credit anyone uploading 100+ videos a day (most of them swiped from ntropolis and RetroOntario and the like) and which attract only the annoying 'channel number/current owner' comment crowd. They've been polluting my algorithm as of late, and it drives me crazy.

Are you talking about Steven Walsh? That guy gets on my nerves (and as someone who speaks with Ntropolis regularly, I can definitely confirm Steven grinds his gears as well). 
 

Yesterday on my classic video channel, 31 Rewind (shameless plug: please subscribe, as I have lots of unique content on the way), I uploaded a set of KSAT breaks from 1988. Not even 10 minutes later he had the legal ID up from that video on his channel. It was a late night post too so it makes me wonder if this guy even sleeps. His titles all follow the same formula: “(CALL) id (YEAR)” and have nothing in the description. Not even a credit/courtesy to the original upload. THAT part frustrates me the most - does not take much effort to credit the original uploader if you feel the need to do this, considering that it costs money to source the tapes, buy the right equipment to digitize them, actually digitizing them (a 6 hour tape will probably take, gasp!, 6 hours to digitize) and then time editing and uploading them.

People like him and KLMO (I have no shame in calling him out - it’s VERY well known here in the community I despise the guy since the day he ripped off my main channel branding on one of his secondary channels) get on my nerves and frustrate me, but ultimately there’s little I can do.

Those two are also THE reason I watermark my videos now. I hate doing it, because it takes away from the purity of the content. But I also don’t regret doing it, as it’s easy now to keep track of where my stuff gets used, and I’ve been surprised to see where some of it has ended up too!

12 hours ago, appleachian said:

Yes they did.  News is done from the old channel 47 building on Cushman Drive.

Wait, I'm confused. So they moved news to a new building (assuming rent is much cheaper there than it was at their downtown location) and the old Shakespeare Drive building is used for everything else? Or is everything now under one roof? Did they also build a new control room in Columbia as well as that continue to be done out of WCCB?

3 hours ago, Samantha said:

The set in the former Roberts building does indeed reuse many elements from the former set. They moved in April.

what? They left Main and Gervais?

6 hours ago, Samantha said:

There is mounting evidence that this has been in the works for the better part of a year.

 

On November 1, 2021, Gray parked the WANF call sign by changing an LPTV in Tennessee to WANF-LD.

 

On April 25, 2022, Rick Folbaum welcomed a new employee with this tweet: "Welcome to the team! Let's get to work. @cbs46 @GrayTelevision #Atlanta #News #First"

 

You literally owned this story. Why are you not taking credit for helping to break it?

2 hours ago, Hunter Madison said:

WEEK NBC and Heart of Illinois ABC are merging their newscasts. 

 

https://www.25newsnow.com/2022/07/25/25-news-heart-illinois-abc-announce-merger-newscasts-talent/

The person who wrote this couldn't have done this with a straight face, right?

Quote

It’s a transition that is garnering excitement - we’re going big because research shows that Central Illinois wants more of what’s happening in this area.

Like, really? Nobody buys this excuse.

1 hour ago, Marvin Dillweed said:

Wonder if Fort Wayne and Duluth will be next?

Based on what was published on FTVLive yesterday, it sure sounds like they're taking steps to make that a reality in the Fort at least.

https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2022/7/24/the-news-director-is-out-at-this-gray-station

The fact they haven't filled a lot of positions or hired a new reporter in a year sure sounds like the foundation for consolidation is being laid. Not filling positions through attrition. 

I knew this consolidation was going to happen the second Gray announced they were buying Quincy. There's nowhere else in their legacy group they operate like this with competing shows during prime viewing slots (this is more common with Nexstar in their older, smaller market holdings than anyone else; their Lubbock operation comes to mind).

Speaking of Lubbock, KJTV's newscasts are now full-on "NewsChannel 11" branded products, and I saw that coming as well. Surprised they didn't go the "Lubbock News Now" or "Central Illinois News Now" route though.

59 minutes ago, PTVNews said:

What happened?

13 hours ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

There has to be some sort of breaking point for this expansion, but I don’t see it happening yet.

The breaking point has arrived. It's just that group owners (and some managers who refuse to adapt because "it's always been this way") won't change. Or they are straight up ignorant (Hilton Howell said that there hasn't been any great resignations at Gray.... I'm sure he's talking out of his ass, or maybe because he runs three insurance companies in addition to running Gray, he has no idea what really is going on there).

I think a change will come, but it's going to take younger people at the top to make that change. That unfortunately won't happen for another 10-25 years, and by then, it'll be too late.

14 hours ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

I don’t think they have to revive “Bozo the Clown” or anything, but it would be refreshing to see local stations produce their own content. The way the TV market is going, they might just need to in order to stay relevant. The networks are prioritizing streaming, and the affiliates have become a secondary concern (Ex: CBS was willing to leave top-rated WRAL for basement-dweller WNCN just so they could receive reverse compensation.) Producing local programming other than news and the generic pay-for-play crap would at least be a step in making stations more relevant in their own communities again.

In lots of these markets, there are independent filmmakers and theatre actors. I'd love to see a station produce a good quality drama or sitcom on a local level (or maybe as a group to share costs). It's amazing what good quality you can get with today's technology and some creative minds. Of course, someone has to pay for the production crew, for the actors, etc. But I'd imagine on a local level, for someone who is looking for a platform and a big break, you can produce something much cheaper than a network level series since it's not all big name actors or crew. Some of these stations are in states where tax film incentives are great.

Or, maybe as an alternative, look at some PBS stations, many of whom do a far better job at producing non-news local content than the vast majority of commercial TV stations (maybe because PBS stations aren't owned by hedge funds so they have room to be creative and respond to their communities). One of my favorite shows from a PBS member is "Check, Please!" which originated at WTTW Chicago but has been licensed out to other PBS members as well. A show like this would work well for a commercial level too, if the creators were willing to license it to commercial stations, and it wouldn't take too much resources to put it either. Programming like this is far more useful to a local audience than "Local Steals and Deals" or a commercial for Power Swabs inside of "Podunk Living". And if you play it the right way, it can be easily monetized (maybe only feature restaurants willing to pay – might not be ethical, but a more entertaining way to make a buck than the crap stations put out now).

Just, something has got to give. The status quo cannot and should not continue.

On 7/22/2022 at 6:12 PM, AdamTheJ said:

Whether or not we are, I’d rather ask myself Not whether America really needs all these newscasts, but rather whether Americans WANT them? Are Americans really asking for the end of syndication as we know it? 

Forget whether Americans really want them or not, do people at the stations themselves want these extra newscasts? Especially when stations are already short-staffed and most certainly aren't adding extra bodies for these (both because people don't want to work there and because companies don't want to hire extra labor — it's a two-way street)?

If anything, stations should be dumping newscasts outside of core hours to help give their staff a break. Mornings, noon, 6, and 11pm are all you really need. The 9ams, 3pms, 4pms, 7pms, weekend morning shows of the world can go if you don't have the staff. Not only is it overkill and repetitive, but it's a lot of work when most stations are stretching their staffs thin. If you have to make your people pull double shifts to get both the morning and evening shows on the air, that's a problem. If you have college interns anchoring your weekend morning show because no one else wants to do it, that's a problem.

Although I'll argue that syndication has not been very compelling the past few years and has gotten pretty cliche. It's either "talk show with big name celebrity" or court show. There's no ifs, ands, or buts. These companies really need to do something different.

I'd also love to see a local station do something other than news or pay-for-play, but unfortunately local stations stopped being daring and creative once quirky local individuals sold their stations to hedge funds.

(I will give Graham Media Group credit in San Antonio, KSAT can and has produced a lot of non-news local shows in the past couple of years, mostly for their digital platforms but they'll air it on TV as weekend filler, most notably Texas Eats)

On 6/17/2022 at 10:24 AM, ActionTV27 said:

I'm surprised @Nelson R. or@Kenneth Kisseldidn't mention it, but WJZY was carrying their own local version of it from the beginning with a political correspondent to provide commentary. I wonder if any other TV stations in the country tried to do anything similar?

Why is a political correspondent giving commentary? Hasn't local news learned not to emulate cable news? (Oh wait, never mind, they're owned by the same people attempting to do that with their cable network because unbiased programming failed on it).
 

On 7/21/2022 at 7:53 PM, Kenneth Kissel said:

What it looked like across the News Networks of America. All ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS Stations aired this.  You can see Fox News Channel, Newsmax, and OAN didn't take the Committee meeting.

KABB San Antonio TX

Not surprised KABB didn't take it, kind of makes sense given that they have WOAI in that duopoly. If people want to watch it, there's an option in that duopoly, and if they want an alternative, because, (surprise!) not everyone cares about politics, it's there. Actually that's kind of why I'm not freaking out as much as a lot of you will when stations don't carry these events, it's on every other channel. I'm all for providing an alternative.

22 hours ago, mrschimpf said:

A final update to this thread so much longer later; they've switched the weather system to the O&O system as of July 20, 2022. Now to wait for the station to hit FoxNow full-time.

Those just look like they took the existing Tribune weather graphics and changed the fonts... probably why they look better than most of the rest of the O&Os.

7 hours ago, TheRolyPoly said:

They eventually will say that. I'll check the AccuWeather Forecast from Channel 7 (WABC) or my First Alert Weather Forecast from WBRC FOX 6. Eventually, it will graze into your mentality.

 

I'm already used to saying 7 Weather Forecast for WSVN or my First Alert Forecast from NBC 6.

All I have to say is that you are definitely in the minority.

You're talking about viewers who will call these stations by old, no-longer used brands (I used to have a co-worker that still called KSAT 12's newscasts "NewsWatch" in the 2010s), their network, or their cable channels. The average viewer does not admire station branding to the extent you or this community in general does.

3 hours ago, TheRob said:

 

Retirement? During a non-sweeps month? How did he manage to pull THAT off? 

On 7/13/2022 at 1:32 PM, ATLNewsExpert said:

for a normal station I would say "I hope these clearly easily avoidable mistakes are fixed soon" but knowing this station I HIGHLY doubt that.

Not only will those mistakes not be fixed, but Austin will get all defensive on why he can't fix them and that you don't have room to criticize them, etc. Which is a shame.

4 hours ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

(no fun allowed in that newsroom, I guess.)

Considering that this is their news director, probably not:

1 hour ago, tyrannical bastard said:

Anyone want to take a guess what it is before I start posting pictures?

No, I don't have time for that.   (kidding)

https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/local-news/news-13-reveals-new-studio/

I love, um, how they, um, included the "um"s when they quoted Tom Lewis:

Quote

“It’s an extensive process this is um a very sophisticated set that we’ve added you know that as long as I’ve been in this business in this area um this is by far the most sophisticated set of any that’s ever been in this market,” News Director Tom Lewis said.

8 hours ago, evwalker0901 said:

Can anyone ID the music?

Definitely Arnold but sounds like a new/custom theme.

Erie News Now anchor Haley Potter will be facing felony charges for fabricating a stalking threat.

https://www.goerie.com/story/news/crime/2022/07/11/erie-news-now-reporter-fabricated-stalking-threat-pa-state-police-say/65370806007/

30 minutes ago, ATLNewsExpert said:

KMSG appeared to launch new graphics from a quick report on Facebook Friday as news was not on that day due to other programming, are these being used on air currently? 

No they are not. I checked Thursday's show and it was all the old look.

I also knew he was going to butcher these graphics (those lower thirds are not how they are supposed to be used; he is using the wrong fonts).

This was sent to me, but FOX8 in Greensboro, NC is replacing "The Real" with self-syndicated "The Lee and Hayley Show" (originates from WTVQ in Lexington) on July 5th. The timeslot currently was being filled with a second helping of "Judge Judy". As much as I like Judge Judy, two hours is overkill. Good on FOX8 to pick them up.

Would love to see more stations pick up Lee and Hayley with all of the other talk shows being canceled or realigned this season (I would suggest KCWX in San Antonio pick them up but they don't exactly make it easy for viewers to get in touch with them).

Anyone who knows me knows I am a major fan of this show and it doesn't get enough love because this show is just amazing.

2 hours ago, Greggo said:

Who is that VO guy?!? Awful! 

Tim Dadabo. I completely agree that he’s awful.

1 hour ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

This is NOT a LinearDrift/Rey Rodriguez graphics package. Also, what do you expect for a package that's almost 12 years old?

Rey did indeed design this.

(would rather send the traffic to my channel lol)

25 minutes ago, EricTheEnthusiast said:

I've been holding back on commenting on the new WVUE graphics since it launched just to see what improvements or modifications would be made as usually once a package hits the air you see stations make a few tweaks to better fit the product and process. However, they've been saddled with technical issues and other mistakes that continue to this day (over a month in). Does anyone know what's going on? Specifically:

- they can't get through a newscast (or usually even a segment) without a mismatch between graphics, video, and story (happens all the time during the opening teases or the coming up teases)

- they can't get through a newscast (or usually even a segment) without an audio issue (you constantly hear an anchor start talking in the distance several seconds before their mic is brought up)

- the graphics seem to fire randomly, interrupting stories or live reports

- commercials inadvertently start during newscasts, and the talent seem unaware (during the weather hit, a commercial and a half played and David Bernard was still going as if he had no idea)

- yesterday during a weather hit in the 7am hour, the screen went black for about 2 minutes and came back to Nicondra doing her weather hit unaware (seen on both YouTube TV and my OTA DVR)

 

Before the graphics change, WVUE was on par with some of the national outlets, mistake-free and very well-produced. Now they're lucky to go a segment without a glitch of one sort or another. I feel bad for everyone that's there, you know they don't want this. But what is going on?

Sounds to me like the TDs aren’t used to automation!

5 hours ago, DENDude said:

Fast question here, did WTVJ end up turning this over to WCIX/WFOR just 2 years later??   If so that kinda sucks. (I know it's a long time ago but still). 

Yes. And it was later sold to tower behemoth American Tower when CBS offloaded all of their tower sites to them years ago, so there's other tenants there now as well. And WTVJ is now back at this tower following the digital transition (since the analog-era spacing issues that forced 6 to build its stick further south did not exist with digital).

Wow, he’s actually using this. I guess the OP sent him the concept.