nycnewsjunkie

I generally dislike modern ESPN for being a non-stop hot take machine, but everyone on the air tonight did a phenomenal job. They treated it as a developing public interest story while respecting Damar Hamlin and his family. Most importantly, they weren’t speculative about the situation, and stuck to reporting the news without spreading rumors. I know they got a little bit of flack for airing ads, and I suppose they could’ve done without showing the players crying on multiple occasions. Some of that criticism is fair, but I feel like some of it is coming from people who were going to criticize ESPN no matter what they did. Thing is, there’s not much precedent for this in NFL broadcasting, and it was something that came as a total shock to both the viewers and the broadcasters. ESPN did the best job you could expect anyone to do in this situation. And of course, prayers up for Damar and his family.

First time in my recollection. All big 4 stations are on with news at 10pm ET this year.

I don’t think so; there are plenty of Gray stations using old stuff from Gari/615/Non-Stop. IIRC, Warner Chappell is charging their clients a crap ton if they want upgrades to music packages. Advantage badly needed updates, but the price probably wasn’t worth it, so WFSB went with Arnold instead. Same reason why WOOD dropped Primetime News if I’m not mistaken. Sad, but I can’t say I blame the stations at all.

For tonight’s 6pm, Sade Baderinwa filled in for Sandra Bookman and joined the rest of the regular weekend night crew. I’m assuming they’ll be on at 10pm as well.

I know it’s just a rumor, but this actually wouldn’t surprise me in the least. It would probably end up being a time buy, with LIV producing everything and paying Nexstar for the air time.

This is dumb. I’m sorry I don’t have a more original thought contribution, but it’s so dumb that I can’t even begin to comprehend it. These people actually think they can live and die on retrans fees. For all of Tegna’s intelligence-insulting gimmicks, Sinclair’s extreme political bias, and Gray’s cheap/outdated visual aesthetic, those companies can at least understand one thing: they know where their audience is and where to grow it. Nexstar looks to be run by people who are too stubborn to understand that, to the point that they’re even killing off the damn web streams. It’s been said before, and it’s worth repeating: big market company, small market mentality.

I don’t know if any other market has someone like a Jim Gardner. I know other cities have people who’ve anchored for a long time, but I’m not sure they’ve had the same cultural impact/relevance that Jim has in Philly. I mean, the dude had people tailgating in the parking lot for this. Nobody deserves it more, though. Happy retirement, Jim.

A token gesture if you ask me. However, it will be enough for most people to forget about the whole thing. I suppose that’s good for Omar Sachedina, who’s been unfairly maligned as a result of this, but I doubt that the underlying issues at CTV are actually going to be addressed.

You’re right, my mistake. Sorry I mean, I totally agree that CBS needs this shakeup, but I can understand the criticism on some level (and I think it goes beyond music and channel numbers). For all the corniness about the way American stations have continued to identify themselves, it at least gives the impression that your station belonged to your community and not some faceless corporate entity (reality notwithstanding, of course). That’s not to say that CBS O&Os have felt that way (especially under the old management), but some of the vestiges of unique identity were still there. That’s going away now, even at the legacy stations, and one could be forgiven if they felt that their local outlet didn’t really belong to them anymore. Again, not that David Friend cultivated that sense of belonging, but the vestiges were still there. That being said, you’re right, it had to be done. CBS is too big of a company to have most of their stations flailing in the ratings and being irrelevant. The association with CBS News definitely grants them some level of prestige IMO. It’s just that losing local characteristics comes with its own risks. Considering the state of most of those stations, though, I think it’s more than worth it, and at least they’re trying *something* with them.

Considering that you’ve got 10 people liking your post, and that a sizable number of people in this particular thread have offered nothing but uncritical praise for what CBS is doing, your perception is mistaken. Yes, there are people who don’t like it, and prefer stations to have individual characteristics, but that’s their prerogative. They’re allowed to have an opinion too. As far as my personal feelings are, I really like this rebrand. The graphics are miles beyond what they replaced, and IMO, they’re the second best looking local news package out of the US that I’ve seen (the best being NBC’s). although I’m not a fan of the way they use the call letters in what is very likely a temporary branding. The call letters in a box don’t look good next to the “CBS News X” really look sloppy IMHO. (EDIT: I probably should’ve noticed that already, but I really notice it now having seen it on air). I get that they’re trying to transition things over, but they’ve already been doing that for more than a year. In KPIX’s case, I don’t think the anchors/reporters even mention KPIX once. If you’re going all in on CBS News, go all in now.

As for the “why is flat better for mobile?” question, I’m far from a design expert, but I think this article puts forward a good argument for it (and explains it better than I ever could). Long story short, flat design allows for greater contrast and more flexibility. When you’re working with a smaller amount of space, gradients and gloss can be unnecessarily complicated and distracting. It’s the same reason why IOS and Windows dropped their old glossy designs they had for their operating systems several years back. I’m not against the old peacock or anything, but on the subject of NBC News, their visual presentation is looking rather dated IMO (although not nearly as dated as ABC). I’m sure they’ll eventually adapt their graphics to suit the new peacock, but I doubt they’re in any rush to do it given the similarities between the logos. I can be nit picky about this stuff myself, but I honestly didn’t even notice the changes when the new promos first aired. That’s how subtle they are IMO. But to each their own.

Because of a logo change? That’s a bit of an overstatement IMHO. ABC and NBC’s new logos are more mobile-friendly, and the new CBS bug is less intrusive. Besides, we’re the only people that are consciously noticing this stuff; all of these changes are so minuscule that I’m not sure it’s even worth calling them different logos.

Soo Kim has plenty of friends in high places, that’s for sure.

I’m sort of surprised that having an affair with two married coworkers while being married yourself doesn’t violate a morality clause of some sort, especially since this is Disney we’re talking about. That said, as reprehensible as TJ or Amy may be in their personal lives, I’m not sure firing them would be a good precedent for the rest of the company. Even though TJ may have had a habit of $h*—ing where he ate, his relationships were consensual, and unless ABC has an explicit “no fraternization” policy, I’m don’t think they’d have any justification for firing him. Same goes for Amy. EDIT: Kim Godwin herself stated that TJ’s actions were “not a violation of company policy,” so ABC would have no justification for firing him.

I must be really slow with this stuff, because I didn’t even know she left CBS2 to begin with.

I don’t think comparing 2 stations in 2 different time slots really counts as competition, but I assume your point is that KCAL has the higher-rated newscasts. Is that really a bad thing? It’s the exact same news department, and the revenue is all flowing in the same direction.

I don’t know if I’d call it “ass-backwards management” (not yet, anyway); it’s more like throwing in the towel on channel 2 in the morning. I can’t blame them. Keep in mind that their current arrangement has KCBS airing a newscast that draws a big fat zero in the ratings, while KCAL airs infomercials. As unconventional as this new arrangement is, it’s better than what they have now (although they might want to consider promoting the damn thing). That’s not saying much, of course. The spiel about “making KCAL a major player” is BS, and I imagine that management is smart enough to realize that they won’t be a major threat to KTLA or KTTV. The broader point is that KCAL can air its own programming (via CBS LA’s news dept), and the extra airing of CBS Mornings can give the show a ratings boost (albeit, a very small one). Sure, KCBS loses morning news, but when no one’s watching it, it’s not like anyone living in LA is going to give a damn.

If they really are launching on KCAL tomorrow, you’d think they’d do a better job promoting it. I haven’t seen anything on their website that promotes a Dec. 5 launch (other than program guides), and I assume they aren’t airing promos on KCBS/KCAL. AFAIK, nothing promoting a specific launch date on social media or YouTube either. Maybe it’s me, but I don’t know if you have any hope of getting viewers for this thing if you aren’t even telling people when/where to watch it. Unless, of course, they aren’t launching tomorrow.

I know Meade is popular around here (and I quite like her myself), but I can’t say I’m surprised that she’s leaving. Her program always had a bit of a niche audience, and since it was the only news program on what’s become a true crime channel, it’s always been out of place. While I personally think it’s better than New Day, its lighter tone means that it wouldn’t fit in with the rest of CNN’s programming. Hopefully she finds work elsewhere (she’s too good not to). Still, I really don’t like this whole “cut to success” mentality that Discovery is implementing across CNN (and across the entire company, for that matter). Yes, CNN desperately needed to change, but making the network irrelevant is not the answer. You kind of answered your own question there. Still, the amount of zombie networks they have is astounding.

Yup, afraid so. I guess it’s a good reminder that people in TV news (or in any place of public prominence) can be as wonderful or as horrible as anyone else.

I’m not sure if they’re planning on keeping it this way, but the branding looks and feels temporary. I’m not a fan of it either, but I suppose it’s necessary given that CBS airs a bunch of newscasts on two LA stations. I wouldn’t be surprised if it all becomes “CBS News Los Angeles” at some point.

Plus, the game itself featured 2 out of market teams. Even though it was a national broadcast, it’s not like KHOU interrupted the Texans for their weather advisory. Not that it would’ve made a difference, of course; public safety always takes priority.

I remember reading this on the Discord, but I wouldn’t be surprised if every Nexstar station technically has the autonomy to pick any designer; it’s just that they don’t have the budget to go with a designer like JHD. As much as I’d love for every Nexstar station to have a set that looks as good as KTLA’s, stations that are below market #10 aren’t getting anything too elaborate. We shouldn’t expect them to, either; the money is better spent elsewhere.

Given the controversy surrounding this year’s World Cup, broadcasters are bound to be caught between their responsibilities in covering the matches and a journalistic responsibility to cover Qatar’s human rights issues. It appears that Fox’s coverage will not have a strong focus on the human rights aspect of it at all. From Awful Announcing:

DAMN. Nexstar really pulled through for them. Bravo.