WABC - 7 Eyewitness News

[rkolsen 1684]

9 hours ago, wabceyewitness said:

Yes, it was quietly announced last spring at the same time the station announced Diana Williams would retire in September.  Jim left in June and preferred to call it “moving on”, not a retirement.  His next chapter is opening a craft beer and community entertainment venue in his hometown of Lititz, PA.

Wonder if that's the same place he and his ex Mika bought a few years back? Out of curiosity I looked at Lititz PA on Comcast, looks like they carry both the Harrisburg, PA channels (in HD) and appear to carry the Philadelphia ones in SD.

[PBC5NewsUnova 65]

Here's a WABC Eyewitness News story focusing on the Cat in the Hat Ballon accident from 1997. Note the snippet of the 1997-1999 news open with Norman Rose doing the voice over instead of Mike Lewis.

 

Edited November 28, 2019 by PBC5NewsUnova

[mountainave 597]

Sonia Rincon of 1010 WINS will be reporting for Eyewitness News "over the next several days," according to NJ Burkett.  I suspect she's filling the Andy Field holiday coverage role.

 

 

Edited November 29, 2019 by mountainave

[Roadgeek Adam 170]

Andy didn't report last Christmas season which caught my attention. But good for her. 

[Roadgeek Adam 170]

Shirleen returned today as expected. 

 

David presented her with flowers and a coffee card. 

[Bill from Maspeth 33]

Great to have her back.  On a different topic, Sonia Rincon from 1010 WINS did a story on Friday.  I was curious if she made a switch but she was on the radio Saturday.  So she was working freelance for Ch. 7.

[MediaZone4K 2158]

WABC is solid! The only thing I wish they'd work on is thieir studio and graphics. To have quality plus presentation would be the icing on the cake, IMO.

[24994J 5552]

55 minutes ago, iron_lion said:

WABC is solid! The only thing I wish they'd work on is thieir studio and graphics. To have quality plus presentation would be the icing on the cake, IMO.

 

Studio just got upgrades to hold them til the network relocates, and new graphics might be coming.

[Spintech33 126]

On ‎12‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 12:21 PM, Roadgeek Adam said:

Shirleen returned today as expected. 

 

David presented her with flowers and a coffee card. 

 

Which means Rob & Michelle may be back this coming weekend or next. They ran promos for Shirleen's return. 

Unrelated: Did anyone get a peek at the November book for any of the stations?

[Roadgeek Adam 170]

Jesus, the kvetching about that graphic package doesn't stop. I get it. It's not the best graphic package, but the old ones were going for multiple years at this point and it was time for change. Yes, it will get changed eventually. It's the not worst thing I've seen. It's readable. 

 

It's light years better than KABC's. 

[DMA 135]

I think aesthetically WABC is a victim of their own success - we're in a very static news market, and WABC's dominance has been imprinted upon nearly two generations at this point. The comically large text, stodgy format, primary colors and dated music are certainly iconic. Even though I find the entire product fundamentally incompatible with my tastes, I absolutely understand the rationale for keeping WABC in the 90s - it's working. 

Edited December 5, 2019 by DMA

[RealNews18 203]

Something interesting tonight.. Liz Cho is off (not sure who filled in at 4) but Lauren Glassberg is on with Bill at 6.. from what I remember if Bill or Liz were off the other would anchor solo. I even remember them both being off the fill in person would be solo.. 

[Roadgeek Adam 170]

Lauren worked at 4. 

[Roadgeek Adam 170]

This is weird. Lee Goldberg did his normal first spots in the 5 pm broadcast. All of a sudden, Amy Freeze is doing the second half. 

[wabceyewitness 818]

17 minutes ago, Roadgeek Adam said:

This is weird. Lee Goldberg did his normal first spots in the 5 pm broadcast. All of a sudden, Amy Freeze is doing the second half. 

Maybe going to emcee an event? 

[Roadgeek Adam 170]

Must have been something because he's back for 11. 

[Vlad 323]

On 12/5/2019 at 2:18 PM, Roadgeek Adam said:

Jesus, the kvetching about that graphic package doesn't stop. I get it. It's not the best graphic package, but the old ones were going for multiple years at this point and it was time for change. Yes, it will get changed eventually. It's the not worst thing I've seen. It's readable. 

 

It's light years better than KABC's. 

 

Honestly it is just this particular package that we keep griping about haha because it is a downgrade in my opinion from what they've previously used. The Giant Octopus package from late Summer 2011 to Spring 2016 was arguably their best they've ever had:

 

 

 

 

In my opinion those graphics above were their best on air look.

 

Honestly I prefer the KABC graphics over the WABC. Much cleaner and more effective in my opinion.

 

Their previous package looks similar to WLS's current package. I wonder if GO did the same thing.

 

 

Maybe when they move to their new location we'll see an overhaul in their on-air look and branding.

 

 

[MetroCity 248]

21 hours ago, Vlad said:

Maybe when they move to their new location we'll see an overhaul in their on-air look and branding.

 

I never understand reasoning like this. Graphics packages in the 21st century involve little more than new software and perhaps swapping out a server and a keyboard (plus training and replacing the library of stock elements). It’s not like you need a whole floor of printing presses and diesel generators. If WABC or anybody else wanted to make radical graphic changes at any point, they could and would.
 

The thing to remember is, when you make a colossal overhaul of your graphic look, it affects more than lower thirds. If your whole look changes radically overnight, suddenly your whole libraries of full screens, banners, over the shoulders and franchise opens are dead. Add in promotion graphics and the rest of the station on air look (because it’s always tied to News), and you are literally reinventing the wheel. That means rebuilding everything before launch, or on the fly. Graphic looks are not like re-painting the living room. It’s building a whole new house.

 

But a subtle change might give your lower thirds and banners a refreshed look, while preserving the possibly thousands of images in your library. Graphics created with the updated look will still blend in. And over time, everything will change. Until the next time.

 

You might not like graphic updates that are only subtle changes. But from a practical point of view, they are the only kind that work and preserve sanity. 

Edited December 14, 2019 by MetroCity

[Roadgeek Adam 170]

There's no reason to keep the same graphics. WABC used it for years until 2016. I'm not suggesting we should keep the same package going for 20 years, but a refresh is always good. Just for perspective: 

 

1968-1975

1975-1978

1979-1983

1983-1986

1987-1994

1995-1998 [in my opinion, the worst]

1999-2003

2004-2008

2009-2015

2016-present

 

These are the ages of the graphic packages. Right now we're probably on pace to replace them in 2020-2021, but I'd not expect much until the move I'm guessing. 

 

The problem is the minimalist nature of the KABC graphics also lead to limitations like this. 

 

WABC's is 2 lines and while it may be bulkier, it guarantees lines like this fit.  

Edited December 15, 2019 by Roadgeek Adam

[24994J 5552]

1 hour ago, Roadgeek Adam said:

The problem is the minimalist nature of the KABC graphics also lead to limitations like this. 

 

WABC's is 2 lines and while it may be bulkier, it guarantees lines like this fit.  

 

The KABC package also has a 2-line lower third option.

[Weeters 1915]

On 12/13/2019 at 8:38 AM, Vlad said:

Their previous package looks similar to WLS's current package. I wonder if GO did the same thing.

 

Close, but not quite. These packages are the result of the two founders of GO breaking off to do their own thing. Ruth Dial (Who freelanced during the time, but is now back at GO) did the WLS package, and Rey Rodriguez (now "Linear Drift") did most of the current WABC package until he (allegedly) decided to prioritize work on the current-gen CBS O&O graphics, and dumped the remaining WABC work onto Ruth. Ever notice how the WABC lower third looks a lot like the CBS O&O lower third?

 

The previous WABC package referenced was their combined work under GO. 

 

The rumor around the industry has been that WABC wasn't happy with the current package since day one, and who can fault them for that, since day one included running opens with "NEWS YORK'S #1 NEWS" plastered all over them.

 

There is a very good chance they will get new graphics before they move.

 

Speaking of the move: The first renderings of the new building were released a few weeks ago. Current plans call for the ground floor to be all retail, so don't expect another streetside studio. In fact, The View and Live! studios will apparently be below-grade. Maybe the long standing rumors of the SUPERSET(!!!) will finally come to fruition. 

[Roadgeek Adam 170]

I've heard the same in terms of quality. I don't hate it. I hate KABC's with a passion. 

 

As for the move, I'm disappointed ABC is leaving Grimsby's Bars Corners (66 & Columbus), but I guess the option of more space will help. 

[ns8401 940]

3 hours ago, Roadgeek Adam said:

There's no reason to keep the same graphics. WABC used it for years until 2016. I'm not suggesting we should keep the same package going for 20 years, but a refresh is always good. Just for perspective: 

 

1968-1975

1975-1978

1979-1983

1983-1986

1987-1994

1995-1998 [in my opinion, the worst]

1999-2003

2004-2008

2009-2015

2016-present

 

These are the ages of the graphic packages. Right now we're probably on pace to replace them in 2020-2021, but I'd not expect much until the move I'm guessing. 

 

The problem is the minimalist nature of the KABC graphics also lead to limitations like this. 

 

WABC's is 2 lines and while it may be bulkier, it guarantees lines like this fit.  

That KABC lower third doesn’t need the arrest and victims condition to both be on it. That’s a station issue not really a graphic issue. Somebody doesn’t know how to work within space limitations.

[Journalist 894]

4 hours ago, ns8401 said:

That KABC lower third doesn’t need the arrest and victims condition to both be on it. That’s a station issue not really a graphic issue. Somebody doesn’t know how to work within space limitations.

Pretty much. KABC's lower third can line wrap accordingly, so human error was most likely the culprit. 

[Webovision 202]

the everlasting battle between graphics and the newsroom...

 

most lower thirds have a character limit... most producers hate the character limit... because they can't figure out how to keep anything short...

 

if it were up to some producers, lower thirds would be fancy closed captioning...

 

the real story there was the arrest... 

Edited December 15, 2019 by Webovision