nycnewsjunkie

It’s going to be an uphill battle on two fronts. First, ratings. Many of us (myself included) wish CNN could transform into its 1990s self and just do the darn news instead of running whatever hyper-partisan narcissism they ran under Zucker. I’d also like to see long-form reporting/documentaries on “investigations or far flung human dramas.” However, straight news and in-depth reporting don’t make for high viewership on a rolling news channel, and documentaries are more expensive to produce than shows where pundits rant into a camera. There’s a harsh reason why every cable news channel (including the zombie that is NewsNation) ends up as some variation of Fox News instead of France 24: many Americans (regardless of party/belief) would rather be coddled to instead of seeing politicians questioned rigorously. Second, reputation. Over the past decade or so, CNN has become known for catering to Northeastern middle/upper-class liberals. That image has become especially problematic under Zucker, and it won’t be easy to erase. CNN would have to completely overhaul opinion programming and clearly separate it from the news division before it even begins to shed Zucker’s influence. Here’s hoping Licht & Co. pull it all off, but there is a long road ahead.

I was confused about that as well. Does the streaming service have any features other than extra severe weather coverage?

ABC has been reading the news in the present tense for a while, although that really accelerated after David Muir took over WNT. I guess that style of delivery is supposed to make the news sound like it’s happening in real time, but it’s devolved into being unintentionally hilarious, given that they aren’t even speaking in complete sentences anymore. It’s certainly a departure from Peter Jennings’ style of delivery.

It honestly benefits TWC to have weather coverage in prime time. Even from a ratings standpoint, severe weather is far more interesting than whatever they put on after 8pm. Do you know if their derecho coverage was paywalled for those in the affected area? Would be disgraceful if so.

I’d make an exception for WGN, but that’s only because they had the wisdom to leave well enough alone over there (so far) and not because of any improvements they’ve made.

In terms of the newscast format, this isn’t the first time WABC broke convention. Witty anchors like Roger Grimsby and the whole concept of “happy talk” were specifically implemented to break from the traditional newscast of the period and stick out from their competitors. However, deciding not to cover a news conference on TV and breaking into programming late don’t fall under the “breaking convention” strategy. WABC still does a solid job overall, but they could’ve done a bit better with today’s coverage IMHO.

Forget the music… it looks like he’s spreading himself WAY too thin here. Again, I appreciate that he’s at least providing an alternative in a market where there’s really only one good station (KFSN), but when his main newscast alone is a bare bones show with limited local news on a low power station, he’d be better off doing one thing at a time. There comes a point where you can’t do it all yourself and expect the eyeballs to roll in. Also, naming your operation after yourself seems a bit off-putting imho, but I guess you could chalk that up to me being particular.

Something tells me management actually likes having the anchors editorialize. I guess it’s supposed to make them more relatable, but it’s a bit condescending to those of us who would rather not hear opinion on a straight newscast. Reminds me more of Bill Bonds than Bill Beutel. That said, the format works for NYC.

Considering where that station's headed, I guess he wanted to get out while the getting was good.

Hi all, I’m rather new here, but I figured I might as well start by giving my two cents on this. I commend Austin for being willing to even start an independent local newscast in this day and age. It’s especially commendable that he’s doing so in a market like Fresno, where there are only two competing outlets (and one of them employs TikTok wannabes.) I understand gripes about the music and presentation, but considering that we’re talking about a one-man band on a shoestring budget, these things are to be expected. However, I have two bigger issues with this newscast: lack of local/original content and a limited platform. I understand that the budget isn’t there for a full news department (blame that on the owner of the station,) but I’ll echo C Block’s point about running local stories that don’t take as much manpower to start out. I don’t think people supporting Austin are “apologists and shills” for a non-factor (given the budget, there’s nothing to shill for anyway.) However, the newscast is a non-factor for the same reason that KFSN’s newscast was: the lone platform is a low-power station no one watches. Even if this was the most well-produced newscast with the best graphics/music/etc, this would still be an issue. If this is going to be a serious news operation in the future, there needs to be an online presence (and there arguably should’ve been one prior to launch.) That said, I wish Austin well.