nycnewsjunkie

DAMN. Nexstar really pulled through for them. Bravo.

1 hour ago, newscopter7 said:

I only caught the tail end of David Muir’s interview, but was taken back by the manipulative, melodramatic score playing under the interview. 

Yeah, almost all of that was completely unnecessary. Music has its place, but a good interview/news program doesn’t need an excessive amount of overly dramatic music to manipulate the audience. The way ABC went about this was so tabloid, it’s almost comical. You guys are interviewing the former Vice President for God’s sake; this ain’t a freakin soap opera.

For some reason, the meme about the British vs. American versions of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares comes to my mind. The British version can tell a compelling story without any background noise, while the American version can’t go 5 seconds without strings or a ride cymbal. Sometimes, silence is the best music.

On 11/8/2022 at 10:14 PM, jd285 said:

The BBC posted earlier tonight on their election live blog about Trump’s interview with NewsNation. Needless to say, the way they described the network is something to say the least.

On that subject, apparently the interviewer (Markie Martin) is the sister of Margo Martin, Trump’s Deputy Director of Communications. That relationship was not disclosed.

I know I should really stop giving NN undue attention, but when they’re interviewing the former president like this, it’s kind of hard to ignore.

FTVLive referred to the network as Fox News Lite, but even Fox News has greater levels of transparency. NewsNation is more like Diet Newsmax with a side of Fredo.

2 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said:

Paging Nexstar....time to get into the 2020s.....
https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2022/11/8/does-your-station-have-a-streaming-channel

IIRC it wasn’t until recently that KLAS started streaming online. And that’s a station in Vegas.

This is where Nexstar should’ve been investing instead of trying to create CNN/Fox News Lite.

1 minute ago, iron_lion said:

Exactly! Even if Stephanopoulos doesn't have the lead anchor position, he'd still be useful either as David's co-anchor (Like Savannah is to Lester on NBC), or at least as an analyst.

If the Daily Beast is to be trusted, it may be because George didn’t want to be second fiddle to David Muir given the alleged power struggle between them. Bear in mind, that particular piece of gossip is just that, and has not been authoritatively confirmed. That said, if the “chief anchor” debacle is a point of conflict between the two, casting the two as equal co-anchors might’ve solved that.

In fairness, Muir has been doing a solid job as anchor IMO, and Rick Klein has settled into his role as ABC’s political director. Still, not including George in some capacity is a waste.

15 minutes ago, Geoffrey said:

This is the same outlet that made it seem like Norah O'Donnell was on her way out at CBS, before she wasn't.

 

It seems like this may be based on a single source, described as an "insider,"  but that doesn't even necessarily mean this person works there. I don't even see this "insider" describing a situation they witnessed or citing a person he or she heard this from. The Post has a political axe to grind and this story is perfect for them. Take any Post gossip with a spoonful of salt.

A good rule of thumb that’s worked well for me: If it’s a sensationalist piece from the NY Post/NY Daily News, there’s a 50% chance it’s horsecrap.

5 minutes ago, GodfreyGR said:

I'm not. Think of all the unforeseen issues that are likely to happen with the launch (like anytime a station launches a new graphics package, for example, let alone a whole new newscast). Having those issues right before the biggest story of the year when viewership is up and more eyeballs to catch a possible major issue makes for a bad first impression.

 

Recent example is KSAZ last night testing their election ticker... And whoever runs that for them probably isn't brand new to the job.

Good point, the last thing the stations need is for more people to see them screw up. That one KSAZ issue could send Arizona’s election into a tailspin just because of all the craziness surrounding it.

1 hour ago, Georgie56 said:

It’s gonna start rolling out after the midterms. CBS News Detroit is also expected to launch next month, as well.

I’m surprised they aren’t rolling everything out right now. I’m not just talking about the graphics; I’m referring to the new newscasts in both Detroit and LA. The midterms are going to see higher news viewership than normal, and this would be the best time to launch. To me, it doesn’t really make sense to wait until general interest in news has waned to launch new newscasts.

11 minutes ago, caliwxdude said:

KFSN is the farm league for ABC's O&O group, so they don't get a ton of budget to play with. The last set was nearly 16 years old and only received a minor update for the station's HD conversion. 

Oh no, I totally understand that aspect of it; my point was that stations in general give an undue amount of attention to what are essentially house decorations. The set itself looks great, and it’s long overdue, but stuff like this doesn’t really need a 2 minute package on a newscast IMO. But that’s just me.

2 hours ago, MidwestTV said:

The Anti-News Desk in Corner League on here is going to love it.

That’s the Anti-News Desk in Corner with Endless Monitors League to you. And you’re right, I think it looks great.

I couldn’t help chuckling at them making a giant story out of it though. It’s “revolutionary” and a “new era of news” because they can change the color of the lights and there’s a big TV and everything. Sheesh, it’s only a set

News must be slow in Fresno.

19 minutes ago, Geoffrey said:

It's not just the 6-9 a.m. slot that's getting a makeover on Tuesday. CNN/U.S. will air CNN International's new London-based CNN Newsroom with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo at 4 a.m. This looks to be replacing Early Start with Christine Romans and Laura Jarrett, which has occupied the 5 a.m. hour.

 

https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2022/10/27/cnn-newsroom-with-max-foster-and-bianca-nobilo-joins-new-cnn-line-up/

 

Any idea why these changes are happening on Tuesday and not Monday?

Maybe because it’s the first of the month? That’s my best guess.

6 minutes ago, GoldenShine9 said:

If the deal dies, I can guarantee that Soo Kim will sue Tegna to the moon. 

Why would he sue Tegna? They’re not in charge of whether the deal gets approved or not; it’s the DOJ’s call.

Wow. That’s a massive surprise; March Madness was Jim’s first big sporting event at CBS IIRC. He’ll be missed, but family comes first, and I can’t blame him for that.

Also, it’s about time Ian Eagle gets a shot at a championship game. I guess that means that the remaining top announcers for CBS/Warner Bros (Eagle, Harlan, Anderson) now have top play-by-play gigs covering the NCAA, NBA, and MLB respectively. And Nantz will still do golf and the NFL, which I always felt were better suited for him than college basketball anyway.

1 hour ago, bpatrick said:

The thought occurred to me yesterday: if WXIA and WCNC had to be sold, a group no one here has mentioned is Graham Media.  They're the former Post-Newsweek and I know they own stations in Detroit, Houston, Orlando, San Antonio, Jacksonville, and Roanoke--to be precise, three NBC (Detroit, Houston, Roanoke), one CBS (Orlando), one ABC (San Antonio), and one independent (Jacksonville).  Does anyone think they might be interested in going into Atlanta and/or Charlotte?

No. They’re not interested in the deal happening in the first place. The last thing they need is a Goliath competing against them in Jacksonville. Besides, considering how the deal is essentially stalled, any talk of spin-offs is likely to be a moot point.

4 hours ago, Geoffrey said:

1. What did Newsmax think was going to happen?

 

2. What happened to Lara? What is it that infects the minds of once rational and respected people to fall off such a nonsense cliff?

To answer the first question, Newsmax didn’t seem to care when it initially went on air. At no point did a producer/director decide to pull the plug and go to break when Logan brought up the topic of a “global cabal.” On the contrary, Bolling appeared to encourage her ramblings, and even articulated the sentiments behind the “Great Replacement” theory. The whole segment was nothing but a series of conspiratorial (and arguably overtly racist) claims. Even the lower third graphics seemed to encourage Logan’s BS (ex: “Logan: It’s Good vs. Evil” when she was going on about the End Times). I get the feeling that Newsmax is only now condemning her statements because they gave the game away and got caught.

As for what happened to Lara, I’ve wondered the same about many of my friends and relatives who’ve found sanctuary in the far right/far left (though the far right seems to have received more mainstream acceptance in the GOP than the far left has received among Democrats). I can name people in my own personal life who were otherwise good, decent, and rational, but even they have been seduced into becoming fanatics with a hunger for political violence. They didn’t become like that overnight; it happened over several years.

The quote about fascism coming to America “wrapped in the Flag and carrying the Cross” comes to mind. It’s not because patriotism and religion are always inherently fascist (they aren’t). Rather, it’s that extreme ideologies become palatable and popular by dressing themselves in respectable clothing. They attract people with the familiar, and slowly but surely drag those people towards extremism. I know that sounds overtly political, but I can’t think of another way to explain why so many respectable people have gone off the deep end. The only other answer is that they’re human, and humans are capable of these things. That answer scares the daylights out of me.

11 hours ago, C Block said:

It's...fine. I still don't get why they replaced the last set.

 

There's nothing really remarkable about this one. The tight shots and monitor standup area are fine, but it's otherwise pretty bland. I don't think the 'corner-full-of-vertical-monitors' looks as cool as Nexstar thinks it does. I don't think it projects an illusion of a big city loft nearly as well as the outgoing set did. Also, what's up with the fake balcony mezzanine railing?

 

This set is pretty much all monitors, so there are almost no other stylistic elements to it. The all-grey everywhere feels pretty cold. You could pretty much plop this set in any city. In fact, it has been plopped into several cities, and I have a feeling we'll see it in some more (KTLA). The *one* unique thing it has that I also like is the weather center – putting it behind the set with some frosted plexiglass is a cool way of giving a small impression of a working newsroom/control room backdrop.

Yeah, the last set actually had…stuff in it. Granted, I don’t think the brick in KDVR’s old set represented Denver as well as KWGN’s awesome set, but there was at least some sort of identity there. This new set is basically a retread of every other FX/Nexstar set with a bunch of monitors. Even the plexiglass weather center has been done in other markets. More importantly, it’s a set that didn’t need to be built.

I still think this is the best execution I’ve seen of that set, and it actually looks good IMO (especially compared to the sets at WFLA and KRON). It’s also an unnecessary waste of money/resources that could’ve been better spent elsewhere.

12 minutes ago, dabx said:

 

 

from discord

 

Damn. That looks awesome. Would easily make for the best set in the market if it comes to fruition.

Having seen what they posted, I change my mind; it looks really good. Yes, it’s essentially the same corner set that most other Nexstar stations get, but this is one of the best executions of it. Maybe it’s the lighting, but they made that set look better than it does at other stations (see WFLA).
 

As I said before, my main gripe isn’t the new set itself; it’s the fact that in the process of building it, they wasted a perfectly good existing set that was only 3 years old. I would’ve put those resources somewhere else.

17 hours ago, bc485 said:

Per this Instagram post, Dick Brennan is joining Dana Tyler as co-anchor of CBS 2 News at 6, starting today: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cj0wcxpDblD/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

 

Interesting move. I like the idea of coanchors, but Dana has been solo at 6pm for so many years now (since Chris Wragge moved to mornings after Rob Morrison was let go, which I believe was in 2013).

Long overdue IMO. Not that Dana wasn’t a good solo anchor, but Dick Brennan deserves the spot. This also helps on days when one of them is off; the other anchor can just do it solo instead of having the 5pm team fill in.

1 hour ago, Adam MadMan said:

Oh god, here we go...

Because nothing says “trust me, I’m not just a greedy hedge fund manager” than using character assassination to blackmail your opponents. /s

I’m no Tegna fanboy, but based on his behavior (and the nature of the purchase), Soo Kim has no business owning TV stations. The broadcast industry will be better off without him if/when this merger fails.

What is it with all these FX sets looking cheap? They’ll occasionally do a decent job (ex: WTKR, WJZY), but most of their sets look old and tacky even when they’re new. I guess it looks good enough for a sub-100 market, but this is the same “shove it in the corner” crap they make for stations in the top 50.

10 minutes ago, mrschimpf said:

I just don't think a debate should be reduced to being limited to one station group, nor should it be on a low-tier station nobody watches just for FCC backpats and brownie points, or should be protected by copyright. It is a public service and shouldn't be subject to overprotective restrictions designed to obstruct constructive use of clips within it. Either put it on the PBS station or a Big Four commercial station in primetime or after the 11 pm news, or don't bother organizing it.

I definitely agree with that sentiment, and I’m beginning to understand your point; debates are a public service, and should be treated as such (just as they are for the presidency). In an ideal world, every station would carry (or at least have the option of carrying) a gubernatorial/senate debate live. My broader point was that Nexstar isn’t doing anything radical in having exclusive rights. The network O&Os, Tegna (in TX), and many other station groups have organized similar arrangements in the past. I wouldn’t hate the player (Nexstar), but rather the game (in which political parties allow certain companies to have exclusivity in the first place).
 

That said, I didn’t realize Nexstar’s guidelines about crediting NewsNation, and I’ll concede that those are excessive. NewsNation isn’t even conducting the debate; the stations are. It would be like NBC requiring other outlets to credit MSNBC for an event covered by NBC News.

1 hour ago, froyo49 said:

This article from the Cincinnati Enquirer says the debate aired on WSTR, which means they shared with Sinclair, which in turn means they didn’t keep it to themselves.
 

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2022/10/10/j-d-vance-tim-ryan-how-to-watch-u-s-senate-debate-tonight/69553404007/

Not quite; airing the debate on WSTR was out of necessity, not for “public interest” reasons. Nexstar doesn’t own a station in Cincinnati, and had to partner w/ Sinclair in that market to ensure its debate could be seen in every Ohio market. That said, it’s really not a big deal IMHO.

10 minutes ago, mrschimpf said:

My point stands; Nexstar, and here Sinclair, should've allowed any station to air it like they do in Wisconsin and most states instead of this 'exclusivity' racket. This isn't Thursday Night Football, that the parties actually agree to this racket to prop up a failing cable channel is ludicrous, and it should be in the public domain and available to C-SPAN. End of.

Is it any different than WABC/WPVI having exclusivity over a New Jersey gubernatorial debate?
 

I actually don’t mind Nexstar doing this. Just like ABC in NJ, Nexstar has the rights to host this debate, so why wouldn’t they air it on their platforms? If anything, airing it in all of their markets broadens the reach of the debate, as it now airs on stations that may not otherwise have carried it. And what does it have to do w/ NewsNation? These debates are being moderated by local anchors/reporters, not Chris Cuomo (and thank God for that).

3 minutes ago, MD TV said:

This whole thing just seemed inevitable as it's been nearly 5 years since 92.3 went back to alternative rock and has had no ratings traction whatsoever.

 

I do recall WINS on 92.3 for a day right after Sandy almost exactly a decade ago (and WFAN on 101.9 started that same week).

 

As for KFWB, CBS only sold it because they were above the cap in terms of combined AM/FM/TV holdings.

Even if those cap issues didn’t exist for CBS, KFWB would’ve still merged w/ KNX by the time Entercom/Audacy were running things. Especially since, if memory serves me, there seems to be less of an audience for radio news in LA than NYC.

12 minutes ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

So be prepare for WINS 1010 and 880, but I have a sneaking suspicion that there won't be a simulcast. 880 spectrum number is going to be sold.

I doubt there will be any simulcasting or brand unification; Audacy’s press release says that the stations will retain their separate identities, but that their newsrooms (along w/ on-air personalities/reporters) will be shared. The stations aren’t merging under one identity, but the newsrooms are beginning to integrate. Note that the VP of NY News will oversee both stations. It sounds like the first step in a long-term process more than an immediate wind-down of 880.

That said, the whole point of having two stations was that you had two independent newsrooms. If those newsrooms are no longer independent (and will eventually merge), a second all-news station will be redundant.