Favorite stations for News

[Guest Mak]

My Least favorite News topic was doing so well, I thought I can add an another for Favorite stations.

 

What are your favorite stations for news, and why?

 

WISN 12

 

The only good News operation in town. Top-notch anchors and good stories. Real News. No fluff. 'Nuff said.

[Chief-O 28]

WGBA aside, Green Bay doesn't really have bad newscasts. I typically tune into WBAY myself, but the actual news content, anchors, etc. on WLUK and WFRV aren't bad either. 26 is a joke, though, and I'm pretty sure everyone knows that by now.

[LoadStar 363]

I don't like people who insist on watching one station, and gush about it (see the NY board for those rabid ABC 7 fans), but in Sarasota-Tampa, there are really only two watchable news operations. WTVT and WWSB.

 

True, but in some cases, it's true. I'd concur with the earlier voiced opinion about WISN... WTMJ swung too far into the tabloid journalistic style, WITI looks incredibly low budget and has about 4-6 more hours of news than they really need, and WDJT _is_ low budget. So that only really leaves WISN, but they're good on their own merit without it being just the best by default.

 

I can fully imagine there are many places that are similar - that one station is really good and every other station is really horrid.

[FirstNews8 13]

WQAD- The station is one to reach out for the community, and bring the areas best news. The staff consists of very nice people. When I met the General manager of WQAD, she was the nicest person., yet doing her job as well. And Chief meteorologist Neil Kastor is the areas best known meteorologist. I have met him several times, and in 2004 became a weather watcher for him. I have the opportunity to talk to him about every night. I also get on TV with my name. This guy has done alot, starting a well known program called Kids Count. This is what Neil is known for, is reaching out and helping the community. And finally, with former anchor Jim King, he started in 1970's the MDA Telethon for WQAD, this was one of the first local TV stations starting this program. Then in 1990's Former sports anchor Dan Burich left off where Jim did, this past month Dan retired to become a physical therapist. And aside from the really helping stuff, WQAD has the best action news format, with First News by Gari and good graphics, really tops it off.

[HoustonNews 0]

National Level:

ABC World News with Charlie Gibson

 

Houston (10):

KHOU-11-CBS - Belo Corp.

Awesome on-air image. Great talent.

 

Memphis (44):

WREG-3-CBS - Oak Hill Capital (former owner: NY Times)

Still pulling in strong ratings after loosing the two lead anchors at the end of 2005.

Good Giant Octopus graphics although the image is several years old.

 

Jackson (87)

WLBT-3-NBC - Raycom (former owner: Liberty)

Hard to choose for this market due to the extreme amounts of on-air mistakes made on each station.

I'd have to say WLBT because they have the least on-air mistakes and best known talent in the market.

[Jterry 43]

Have to agree with Houston once again on WREG for Memphis. I would imagine this new ownership won't change things much which is good news for them. I have to say though, that WHBQ has become a very strong contender in the last year, despite of, as some might say, going to the Fox O&O look. Am increasingly enjoying their product.

[StormTrack8000 0]

WQAD- The station is one to reach out for the community, and bring the areas best news. The staff consists of very nice people. When I met the General manager of WQAD, she was the nicest person., yet doing her job as well. And Chief meteorologist Neil Kastor is the areas best known meteorologist. I have met him several times, and in 2004 became a weather watcher for him. I have the opportunity to talk to him about every night. I also get on TV with my name. This guy has done alot, starting a well known program called Kids Count. This is what Neil is known for, is reaching out and helping the community. And finally, with former anchor Jim King, he started in 1970's the MDA Telethon for WQAD, this was one of the first local TV stations starting this program. Then in 1990's Former sports anchor Dan Burich left off where Jim did, this past month Dan retired to become a physical therapist. And aside from the really helping stuff, WQAD has the best action news format, with First News by Gari and good graphics, really tops it off.

 

I completely agree with your view... WQAD is probably the best in my area. However.. I agree with cfif..on how you really can't just stick to one station. I watch WHBF sometimes as well..but they don't have the 'hard core' news.

 

With that Kids Count (which has since been discontinued) each year at the Expo..they give opportunity chances for kids who want to persue a career in journalism, a chance to report, and luckly, in it's last year in 2003... I had won the contest, and got to do a report for the station.

 

 

However... KWQC is still on top in the QC... with ratings just a bit down from previous years..but still on top. My thing with KWQC..is that they are boring. A few of the people just seem like they aren't as commited to the news, as other outlets.

[jbrothers 0]

WPSD, they have better coverage of story. Best set in the area, beating out the old "control room set." KFVS, has started to suck, and it started that fall 06 sweeps. So KFVS wins ratings-wise, but I prefer WPSD for the best coverage.

[Gulf_Broadcasting 0]

It's a tie between WFAA & KDFW. When I was younger, the only reason I liked WFAA is because it was the station Wheel of Fortune came on ;D (I still don't like KTVT, even though it has Wheel) Now, I like WFAA because of their low anchor turnover rate. They also have very good newscasts. I especially like KDFW for their in-depth coverage on different events. They also have different features the other stations either don't have or are not that good.

[DFW11anchorman 0]

I enjoy KTVT and WFAA. KTVT always seems to be a solid newscast with likeable personalities. WFAA can be sharp (especially graphics) at times,but still a little shaky.

[Guest Milwaukee12]

I say WISN with every one else. IMO, they have the best presentation aside from the music.

[eyewitness_news 5]

WFSB, which drew more viewers in CT than any other station. The new graphics on WFSB got my attention.

[jdcnow 14]

I enjoy KTVT and WFAA. KTVT always seems to be a solid newscast with likeable personalities. WFAA can be sharp (especially graphics) at times but still a little shaky.

 

I love WFAA as well. They really have had North Texas' most solid local newscast product for literally decades.

 

But 3 simple requests, WFAA:

A >> Bring back the excellent talent bumpers Hothaus did for you.

B >> Get that Miss Thing, Shellie Slater, out from behind the anchor desk (weekend nights with Brad Hawkins) and put Rebecca Lopez in.

C >> Please please, for the love of God, mercy, and everything decent, fire Pete Delkus and make Steve Mc Cauley chief meteorologist.

[DFW11anchorman 0]

I enjoy KTVT and WFAA. KTVT always seems to be a solid newscast with likeable personalities. WFAA can be sharp (especially graphics) at times but still a little shaky.

 

I love WFAA as well. They really have had North Texas' most solid local newscast product for literally decades.

 

But 3 simple requests, WFAA:

A >> Bring back the excellent talent bumpers Hothaus did for you.

B >> Get that Miss Thing, Shellie Slater, out from behind the anchor desk (weekend nights with Brad Hawkins) and put Rebecca Lopez in.

C >> Please please, for the love of God, mercy, and everything decent, fire Pete Delkus and make Steve Mc Cauley chief meteorologist.

 

Now I like Pete, but I agree with you on Shelly Slater...she's just a little too much. At least Rebecca wasn't let go, it was her own decision to leave and spend more time with her children. But, I wish she would hurry up and come back!

[Wisco TV Watcher 11]

Here in Green Bay, my favorite station is WBAY. They have a solid news team with experienced anchors and reporters. The set and graphics both look great and aren't "in your face" like one other Green Bay television station (*cough* WGBA *cough*). WBAY has the most newscasts in the Green Bay/Appleton market (5:00AM, Noon, 4:00PM, 5:00PM, 6:00PM, and 10:00PM on weekdays) and has been at the top of the ratings for many years.

 

I also like WLUK and WFRV, but I would say that WBAY is the best.

[mbhcity 3]

Brian Williams is the man for the national news.

KNBC for local news and KTLA for primetime (only because of Hal Fishman).

[susquvalleywgal 494]

Brian Williams is the man for the national news.

KNBC for local news and KTLA for primetime (only because of Hal Fishman).

 

I totally agree with you on the fact of Hal Fishman. He is the best man for news I have seen.

 

Now my picks:

 

Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York #41:

WGAL ..... enough said.

 

Philadelphia #4:

KYW. Ever since NBC10 dumped the 4PM news for that crappy "All That & More", CBS 3 is king.

 

New York #1:

WABC.

[TheMightyGringoChannel 0]

Nationally

Fox News Channel

NBC Nightly News

Superstation WGN

 

Chicago

WMAQ-TV (NBC)

WGN-TV (CW) Primetime

 

New York

WNBC-TV (NBC)

WNYW-TV (Fox)

 

Los Angeles

KNBC-TV (NBC)

KCBS-TV (CBS)

KTTV-TV (Fox)

 

Miami

WSVN-TV (Fox)

 

Milwaukee

WITI-TV (Fox)

WISN-TV (ABC)

 

Ames/Des Moines

WHO-TV (NBC)

[johnnya2k6 171]

Here in Fairbanks, I have no favorite. KTVF used to be, but not anymore.

 

But in the Mississippi Coast, there's only one choice: WLOX! Sure, the New Orleans stations are their competition, but they hardly cover any Coast news since six of the main network stations -- ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS, and CW -- are broadcast on cable.

 

Jonathan Allen

[jbrothers 0]

Paducah WPSD Newschannel 6. They have the best quality of news right now than it was a couple years back.

[wx_agent_13 0]

Orlando WFTV (ABC) Cox - Strong ethics, commitment to real news, top notch weather department.

 

Peoria WEEK (NBC) Granite Broadcasting - Even though their newscast is stuck in the 90's, everything else in this market is pure weaksauce. Too bad Granite is broke. With a bit of cash, WEEK could crush the rest of the market into oblivion.

 

Houston KTRK (ABC) ABC - A lot of stability, low turnover, and good strong reporters.

[PelicanGuy 117]

In New Orleans, despite the turnover, WWL is still the best in the market, IMHO. WVUE is a strong second.

 

In Baton Rouge, I'd go with WAFB. Not only do they have a good product, but have the most stability as far as the news staff goes.

 

I agree with Houston as well as far as WLBT, despite them going down the drain in recent years.

 

While I was in Charlotte on vacation this year, I felt WCNC was the best in that market.

[sg9018 10]

My picks,

NewYork

WNBC

WABC

Detroit

WXYZ

WJBK

[Weeters 1811]

Milwaukee:

WITI

WTMJ

 

Chicago:

WLS

WGN

[HoustonTVNews 0]

Houston

KHOU for the English side. Although I'd grown up watching each of the stations (KTRK & KPRC news-wise mostly, thanks to my parents), I've never really had a low opinion of KHOU... As the years go by, it seems they do get better as they roar back to the top- which is a position they technically hadn't held for an extended period of time since the 1960's.

 

KXLN for the Spanish side. Thanks to my dad speaking spanish, I did grow up watching KXLN & KTMD as well. I'd always thought KXLN was the superior station for a number of reasons (also probably since it was that dad watched most often). With the withdrawl of KTMD from the local news market for now, and the improvements to the set & overall appearance when they moved into Univision's new office building last year... They're still on top. KPRC should've taken notes on set design from them since theirs follows a similar design, though it's nowhere near as sparse.

 

Corpus Christi

KZTV, for a few reasons... I've always liked the underdog here. First as the station that was easy to get a laugh from due to a number of technical errors (Ex: One night, fmr Chief meteorologist Phil Sokolov decided to do his entire weather segment from a "News of Texas" broadcast that was produced by Accuweather during that time. The moment Jim Kosek popped up at his desk, the background went blank and it jumped to the forecast graphics done in-house) and low budget presentation.

 

These days though, they look pretty good compared to KIII's cheapening look and KRIS's whittling away of their Giant Octopus graphics & repainting of their 1980's-era set (Plus Byron Wood's departure didn't help for me). In addtion they really do have the huevos to do the regular investigative features their competition just don't & they seem to have hired a young but well-polished anchor team. I've never been all that impressed with KRIS over the years, and KIII has sadly been going down the tubes for a while now. KZTV is the only one that's been making any real marked improvements I'd say.

 

Portland, ME

WGME is my choice here for the fact they seem to put together a newscast that (1) doesn't look like it's from the previous decade and (2) retains well-established personalities while hiring very capable reporters in the process. The weather is the least hyped or sensationalistic of the big 3 stations here when it comes to winter weather coverage, and the station has a well established community-outreach program in place. In essence, it's neither bland or overdone but is the perfect balance on most occasions.

 

Bangor, ME

WABI, but that's due to the fact they're pretty much the only station that not a puffed-up satellite or LP affiliate that has a full news department. Plus putting full versions of newscasts on your website is always a nice touch.