NewsStar2 90 Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 (Also for history sake, KRIV also used to be located on Westheimer, but I do not think in the exact same building) KRIV's studios were where the Central Market is at the intersection of Westheimer and Weslayan, near Highland Village. A small, horendously nerdy part of me wishes I'd asked someone to have made a call to the station before they moved and asked if they would've been willing to give away or sell the sign they had facing the street. It had the first version of the O&O logo they used and was never updated! C'est la vie... In that area, the three stations (KTRK/KHOU/KRIV) will be very near each other. And the new location will only be about 10 minutes from KHOU's old building. KPRC will be the furthest out, located almost in Fort Bend County. But the proximity to downtown is irrelevant. Not a lot of news happens downtown, and the proximity of the new location to two major expressways will expedite getting anywhere (although Houston's soul crushing traffic doesn't make getting anywhere easy). Most office towers in the Galleria area have parking garages. There isn't a mention of that in the article. If there is one, I wonder if it will accommodate live trucks. Also, satellite dishes aren't necessarily an issue. They can be placed anywhere, such as the transmitter site, and linked by fiber. Considering how long KHOU has been in temporary space, they're probably doing that already. FWIW, there are more than three stations in the general vicinity of what will be KHOU's new digs. KXLN/KFTH & Univision's Houston hub are at the intersection of McCue and the Southwest Freeway feeder road. KIAH is also not too far off to the southwest at Hillcroft & Westpark. The distance is actually about 20 minutes from Allen Parkway to Westheimer in the best traffic. Traffic, in and of itself, isn't too terrible. Like any major city, you just need to know what roads to take and when. There are three freeways and two toll options within 10 minutes, and most people that are on the road a lot in the area (especially station vehicles) would have EZ Tags or TXTags for the toll roads and HOT lanes, so that definitely helps. The building itself has a large parking garage behind it on Bering Drive, with climate controlled access on the ground level, so I doubt it would be too difficult for any tenants or visitors to find a spot. It seems odd to hear not much happens downtown. There are a number of multinational corporate HQs there. The Theatre District is there. A number of civic events happen there and the population in that part of town (and East Downtown by extension) is growing and changing. The Astros, Rockets & Dynamo are located and play there as well. All of these explain why they have a satellite studio in that area. Accessibility is also fairly easy. Most of the major functions in the district are either within steps or a few light rail stops of the GRB. I think it's a good move. The building on Westheimer was just renovated after it's major banking tenant moved out a few years back so it should have a number of up-to-date amenities for any client. As for the location, it makes sense. Much of the population growth in recent decades has been west of the downtown core with the population center of the metro falling a bit further west of the upcoming facility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkolsen 1679 Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 I guess the question is, will KHOU start shifting some of their shows over to the GRB studios (i.e. possibly noon newscast as well). This next year will be very interesting for KHOU for sure. I imagine they will still be produced from WFAA. The space if I recall correctly was only 4,000 sq feet and is mostly dedicated to the studio. I can't imagine they're going to be a big deal of a control room - maybe a small switcher and audio board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eat News 4738 Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 I imagine they will still be produced from WFAA. The space if I recall correctly was only 4,000 sq feet and is mostly dedicated to the studio. I can't imagine they're going to be a big deal of a control room - maybe a small switcher and audio board. Holy steerburger RKO... Whatever happened to "Texas Big"? 4000 sqft is dinky...not that size matters...except in Texas! I don't know why they don't just plop down in the Galleria mall . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorningNews 1293 Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 This is a good move for channel 11. Still sad to see the Allen Parkway facility go but this is smart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 "KHOU will occupy three floors of the high-rise at 5718 Westheimer near Bering. The 43,000 square feet of space will include two studios, two control rooms, an open collaboration space for all content producing departments, technical operations, sales and executive offices. " They're pretty much doing this already at Houston Public Media. There are no cubicles or desks, it's all long tables and common space. Editorial meetings and everything are all done in one giant room. To me it looks like a giant lunch room with laptops and desktops and a control room setup along one wall. Interesting they want to continue that same setup in their new place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eat News 4738 Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 "KHOU will occupy three floors of the high-rise at 5718 Westheimer near Bering. The 43,000 square feet of space will include two studios, two control rooms, an open collaboration space for all content producing departments, technical operations, sales and executive offices. " They're pretty much doing this already at Houston Public Media. There are no cubicles or desks, it's all long tables and common space. Editorial meetings and everything are all done in one giant room. To me it looks like a giant lunch room with laptops and desktops and a control room setup along one wall. Interesting they want to continue that same setup in their new place. It's all the rage in newsrooms with those long tables and no personal space for family photos...or the roses from the tryst the night before... It's just horrid and antiseptic. What really sucks is that there is no place to hide for a little hangover nap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkolsen 1679 Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 "KHOU will occupy three floors of the high-rise at 5718 Westheimer near Bering. The 43,000 square feet of space will include two studios, two control rooms, an open collaboration space for all content producing departments, technical operations, sales and executive offices. " They're pretty much doing this already at Houston Public Media. There are no cubicles or desks, it's all long tables and common space. Editorial meetings and everything are all done in one giant room. To me it looks like a giant lunch room with laptops and desktops and a control room setup along one wall. Interesting they want to continue that same setup in their new place. Open concept is all the rage about collaboration. I imagine it will be like KING 5 where everyone has a large enough desk and storage with decent height dividers but not so much so where you can’t see the person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eat News 4738 Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Open concept is all the rage about collaboration. I imagine it will be like KING 5 where everyone has a large enough desk and storage with decent height dividers but not so much so where you can’t see the person. It's great if your the assignment manager or desk person cuz you can see everyone. But if you are a reporter it sucks...because you want to hide from the desk people. Not to mention , some older ND's and older EP's still tend to throw stuff at people in the newsroom. Those cubicals can buy you valuable escape time from a raging EP...or an active shooter situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Open concept is all the rage about collaboration. I imagine it will be like KING 5 where everyone has a large enough desk and storage with decent height dividers but not so much so where you can’t see the person. From what I've been told through job interviews, TEGNA is moving in the direction of newsrooms being more collaborative and open. Also, having the producers, anchors, reporters, digital, and others from each shift sitting in one particular space instead of spread out across the newsroom. They've already implemented this in a few markets like Atlanta, Tampa, Sacramento, and I believe Denver. When I was interviewing in St. Louis, they said the new concept would be rolling to them soon, and Houston said the new concept would be given to them in the new building but they already sort of have a taste of it where they are. Either way, it's supposed to be the "newsroom of the future" and supposed to feel more like a Silicon Valley tech startup kind of environment in regards to shared space and open collaboration than a typical newsroom of yesteryear. Meanwhile, still looking for my next gig. Houston found someone who lives in Houston meaning no need to pay out relocation fees so I didn't get that position. But I digress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoadStar 363 Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 From what I've been told through job interviews, TEGNA is moving in the direction of newsrooms being more collaborative and open. It's not just newsrooms. The trend in large business of any kind is to have open collaborative spaces, rather than cubicle farms. I'm not a fan either, but that's just the way things are these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H4UL4U 127 Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 It's great if your the assignment manager or desk person cuz you can see everyone. But if you are a reporter it sucks...because you want to hide from the desk people. Not to mention , some older ND's and older EP's still tend to throw stuff at people in the newsroom. Those cubicals can buy you valuable escape time from a raging EP...or an active shooter situation. It's other departments too. Sometimes you just need to hide or have a minute of "me" time at work. Sometimes especially in tech. ops. or whatever other stations call it you're just sitting around waiting for the news to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasTVNews 1366 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Sorry to bring this topic back up, but this week, the old KHOU 11 studios on 1945 Allen Parkway were getting demolished. https://mikemcguff.blogspot.com/2018/05/khou-11-demolition-photos.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eat News 4738 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Sorry to bring this topic back up, ..... https://mikemcguff.blogspot.com/2018/05/khou-11-demolition-photos.html How can you bring this topic back up after all the pain I went through. And now you force us to re-visit all the sorrow...and the pain...of watching that poor defenseless building crumble to the mecriless cries of.... "Save me...save me...". You Brute! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkolsen 1679 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 See the receive and STL Tower still standing. Is it possible that they are able to receive microwave signals now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeters 1811 Posted May 25, 2018 Author Share Posted May 25, 2018 See the receive and STL Tower still standing. Is it possible that they are able to receive microwave signals now? Doubt the tower is doing anything. They have had plenty of time to bypass it. There's no direct ENG microwave recievers on it, so any recieve sites they do have running are elsewhere anyways. A quick query of the FCC ULS shows that they have 3 fixed microwave transmittters from their transmission tower to the temporary studio (Callsigns WRAQ260, WRAQ261, and WRAW493) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewsStar2 90 Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 Down it's going... c/o 'HoustonMidtown' on HAIF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webovision 202 Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 sad to see it demolished... but totally unmarketable as it was... it would be like trying to rent out jeffery dahmer's apartment... everyone in houston heard what happened here... no sane business would move in... i just hope they got out all the "stuff"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 sad to see it demolished... but totally unmarketable as it was... it would be like trying to rent out jeffery dahmer's apartment... everyone in houston heard what happened here... no sane business would move in... i just hope they got out all the "stuff"... No I'm sure they left everything inside and tore it all down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkolsen 1679 Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 Doubt the tower is doing anything. They have had plenty of time to bypass it. There's no direct ENG microwave recievers on it, so any recieve sites they do have running are elsewhere anyways. A quick query of the FCC ULS shows that they have 3 fixed microwave transmittters from their transmission tower to the temporary studio (Callsigns WRAQ260, WRAQ261, and WRAW493) What would those other dishes be for? Would they have been used as a receive site for a ENG relay (truck hits tower or building, then its rebroadcast and received at that tower). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeters 1811 Posted May 28, 2018 Author Share Posted May 28, 2018 What would those other dishes be for? Would they have been used as a receive site for a ENG relay (truck hits tower or building, then its rebroadcast and received at that tower). Those other dishes probably brought in the signals from remote ENG recieve sites or from older tower cameras/other fixed transmit locations like this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkolsen 1679 Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 Those other dishes probably brought in the signals from remote ENG recieve sites or from older tower cameras/other fixed transmit locations like this one. Thanks. That’s what I was trying to say. But as an aside aren’t many bigger markets now fibering signals back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeters 1811 Posted May 28, 2018 Author Share Posted May 28, 2018 Thanks. That’s what I was trying to say. But as an aside aren’t many bigger markets now fibering signals back? I've heard of fiber being used here and there, but microwave is still the preference from what I have gathered. IP-based radio links (similar to the Ubiquiti AirFiber products) are also becoming popular for tower cameras, since they're fairly low cost and using IP simplifies controlling the cameras remotely (no phone lines required!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeters 1811 Posted May 30, 2018 Author Share Posted May 30, 2018 The buyer of the land has been identified as Service Corporation International, who is headquartered in an office tower next door. https://www.chron.com/business/real-estate/amp/KHOU-property-on-Allen-Parkway-being-sold-to-SCI-12944734.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennTV1983 743 Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 The buyer of the land has been identified as Service Corporation International, who is headquartered in an office tower next door. https://www.chron.com/business/real-estate/amp/KHOU-property-on-Allen-Parkway-being-sold-to-SCI-12944734.php Such irony that the property would be purchased by a company that runs funeral homes for a living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eat News 4738 Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 I've heard of fiber being used here and there, but microwave is still the preference from what I have gathered. That RKO kid sure likes spending other peoples money on fiber. The KBEX engineers are charged with finding solutions cheaper than fiber. You might get a rush ordering up a few hours from the sweet "fiber bunnies" on the phone...but wait till we climb up yer butt when we get the invoice. Why microwave? Ownership... Reliability... Bandwidth... Flexible... Cost... Microwave over Fiber for intra-city links and paths (even longhaul) any day. You already have a license for it in most cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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