WABC - 7 Eyewitness News

[Roadgeek Adam 170]

Working at WABC as an intern helps. 

 

Congrats to Sandra. We've certainly had old late 90s weekends with Bill and Sandra working so much on weekdays. 

[TheNewsTV 255]

Will Joe be alone or will he also get a partner? On Saturday he paired up with Lauren Glassberg.

[JustinH 43]

1 minute ago, TheNewsTV said:

Will Joe be alone or will he also get a partner? On Saturday he paired up with Lauren Glassberg.

She'd be my pick! 

[WABC7NYFan 8]

7 hours ago, CircleSeven said:

From this press release, It's official. After 25 years on the weekends, Sandra Bookman is moving to the Noon show. 

 

Also announced, former KTLA reporter/anchor Pedro Rivera will anchor Weekend Mornings, beginning February 3rd.

 

I'm surprised they're not keeping Toni Yates with Michelle. I thought they were a great pair.

 

  

On 1/10/2024 at 7:37 PM, NYNewsCoverage said:

Has it been mentioned at all where Sade Baderinwa has been? I've noticed Sandra Bookman seems to be filling in most nights with Bill. Holiday vacation is normal but it seems like she hasn't been seen in a while.

Yes I've been wondering this as well. Hasn't been on since Nov 28th.

[TVNewsLover 785]

10 hours ago, WABC7NYFan said:

I'm surprised they're not keeping Toni Yates with Michelle. I thought they were a great pair.

Or at least moving Michelle or Toni to weekend evenings to be with Joe.

[nycnewsjunkie 1443]

16 hours ago, TVNewsLover said:

Or at least moving Michelle or Toni to weekend evenings to be with Joe.

If one of them had to move to weekend evenings, I’d go with Toni. Michelle’s been on weekend mornings for what feels like forever. I’m surprised they ended up hiring a new weekend anchor instead of sticking with Michelle and Toni though.

[RealNews18 215]

7 hours ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

If one of them had to move to weekend evenings, I’d go with Toni. Michelle’s been on weekend mornings for what feels like forever. I’m surprised they ended up hiring a new weekend anchor instead of sticking with Michelle and Toni though.

It’s like the times Michelle has been passed over for a weekday spot (which she hinted she wanted at one point) its definitely a somewhat odd decision, unless Toni doesnt want to be tied down to every weekend. What I think would be even cooler tho is to have Joe and Michelle reunite being that Sandra went to weekdays. 

[RealNews18 215]

New graphics on air as of 6pm tonight. Did not get to see the open 

Edited January 13, 2024 by RealNews18
Added info

[wabceyewitness 825]

Here it is:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eeO_nJqoRg

 

[MorningNews 1483]

Opening looks great and they made the music work perfectly.

 

This package will be a massive step up from their old look which I always assumed was in house.

[Geoffrey 872]

Lots of motion, perhaps too much, but overall it feels fresh and slick. A definite upgrade, though the lower-thirds will still feel familiar to longtime viewers who may be resistant to change. Fonts seem to be unnecessarily large but this is ABC 7 so that shouldn't be a surprise.

[nycnewsjunkie 1443]

1 hour ago, wabceyewitness said:

Here it is:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eeO_nJqoRg

 

Night and day.

[RealNews18 215]

Do we think they’ll have talent opens for the rest of the newscasts? Or standard opens like this ?

[WABC7NYFan 8]

8 hours ago, wabceyewitness said:

Here it is:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eeO_nJqoRg

 

Maybe I'm too used to the old graphics but I'm not keen on this. I preferred the graphics cutting away with the city skyline at different times of the day. Not keen on the more upbeat music either.

[MediaZone4K 2233]

Good Lord, finally WABC. This is a massive step up for them but the current KGO/KABC look is better, and IMO would look better as a group package. Here are some stills:

Edited January 14, 2024 by MediaZone4K

[wabceyewitness 825]

Finally! It’s great to see on air at WABC. The news brief opens are better than the main opens that were made for the group. 
 

Also looks like they updated the backdrops to crisper images. 

[MorningNews 1483]

Yep the cityscape backdrops on set have been updated too.

[Muppetman03 31]

Up Close still uses the old graphics

[Geoffrey 872]

I don't really understand why the lower-third graphics (including the time/temp box and the ticker/flipper line) "expand" when there's a split screen/double box graphic being used. When I first saw it last night, I thought maybe it was just that the background was designed to "continue" the other graphics, but there is a motion to the graphics when they expand for the split screen and then shrink again when the video is taken full.

 

 

And then I'm sure this has been noted on the overall O&O thread in Graphics, but it's just interested to me the way they incorporate the time in certain full screen transitions, and the time, temperature and forecast in the open. It feels like someone realized they had the ability to program the new graphics this way but it feels like unnecessary clutter.

 

But as I said before, this is a massive improvement for ABC 7. I believe Fox 5 now has the oldest graphics package in NY.

[Vlad 329]

Overall, this is a great package and super refreshing for WABC. What a fantastic improvement from the downgraded package they launched in 2016 and it's finally put to bed today after nearly 8 years. So it's really exciting to see this new look for them!

 

They still kept the Eyewitness News Signature music package though (It dates back to September 1999) Kept it simple with the music. Same cuts they've been using since 1999. The intro's bumper has a bit of an altered sound for the opening teases. The open music sequence is much better than WLS. Let's see how the West Coast will follow suit. Overall I think WABC is a contender and I think they take the crown for the best overall O&O Graphics. The set looks gorgeous as well. The change in the backdrop is refreshing. Makes the set look new again!

 

Anyway, this upgrade will be sufficient till they move to their new locations in Hudson Square Downtown in 2025.

Edited January 15, 2024 by Vlad

[cg41386 132]

11 hours ago, WABC7NYFan said:

Maybe I'm too used to the old graphics but I'm not keen on this. I preferred the graphics cutting away with the city skyline at different times of the day. Not keen on the more upbeat music either.

 

It's the same theme as before, just using a cut of it. They were using only that specific cut in some of the previous intros anyway.

[SFTV 529]

9 hours ago, MediaZone4K said:

Good Lord, finally WABC. This is a massive step up for them but the current KGO/KABC look is better, and IMO would look better as a group package.

The lighter shade of Sky Blue KABC uses kind of didn’t age well. KGO’s was more neutral with the Royal Blue look.

 

music wise, I wonder if KGO will revert back to the original opening theme pre 2020 pandemic  or still stick with the “breaking news” theme which became the main theme during the pandemic.

[MediaZone4K 2233]

Have they also updated the skyline backgrop? It seems like it occupies the entire frame now rather the borders of the monitor being visible. The skyline image also seems higher quality.

 

SB: Even though journalistic quality is what matters most, when a newscast's presentation (including it's on air appearance) is just as good, it makes me want to tune in more. Good presentation aids substance. 

Edited January 15, 2024 by MediaZone4K

[wabceyewitness 825]

2 hours ago, MediaZone4K said:

Have they also updated the skyline backgrop? It seems like it occupies the entire frame now rather the borders of the monitor being visible. The skyline image also seems higher quality.

 

SB: Eveb though journalistic  quality is what matters most, when a newscast's presentation (including it's on air appearance) is just as good, it makes me want to tune in more. Good presentation aids substance. 

Yes, the skyline backdrops have been updated.

[abc7 Man 51]

So they got rid of:

 

the Twitter/X handle for each anchor/reporter.

 

web and social media info at the close of the newscast.