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The worst news opens of all time


RGSJenkins

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Raymie, on 29 Jul 2013 - 4:08 PM, said:

 

KSHB 1993 9pm. Yes, KSHB had a newscast as a Fox affiliate. This is something else...it even rivals opens from WBBM and KSAT. The graphic designers should also be shamed for that black and white flickering effect... It may even be a "worst news opens" entrant.

 

 

 

Guess what?, you got it. KSHB "Fox 41 News" Open 1993:

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Guess what?, you got it. KSHB "Fox 41 News" Open 1993:

 

 

The seizure-inducing flicker at the beginning is really the only downright terrible part of that. The open actually reminds me a lot of WBFF from around the same time...

 

 

I'm not quite sure what you'd call this...

 

 

The station otherwise simulcasts KABB/San Antonio's morning and 9pm newscasts. What KIDY is producing seems to be a local insert into the 9pm news hour.

 

They also do the same thing on KXVA. Now do you understand why I don't include their logo in my profile picture? :ack:

 

It's the second entry this week after no activity in over a year, and I actually have someone's words to back me up on it:

 

"This KFDX sounds like a pretend newscast. Pretty bad." –Mr. NMSA

 

 

The first 10 seconds were awful, the next 20 seconds was a bit better.

 

They also do the same thing on KXVA. Now do you understand why I don't include their logo in my profile picture? :ack:

 

IIRC, they're supposed to be going all-local with their news in the near future now that London has bought them out. I'm not sure if they're still doing the simulcast of KABB news, but if they are, KIDY/KXVA actually pays KABB to simulcast their news. I've never understood why they simulcast KABB, since S.A. news is irrelevant to that portion of the state. Maybe KDFW (closer affiliate than KABB) declined to let KIDY simulcast them? KABB doesn't cover that market, but for legal reasons, KABB is considered a competitor to: KLST/KSAN, KRBC/KTAB, and KTXS. So KABB cannot use any footage from them. That's why that market never gets covered on KABB news.

 

 

It's the second entry this week after no activity in over a year, and I actually have someone's words to back me up on it:

 

"This KFDX sounds like a pretend newscast. Pretty bad." –Mr. NMSA

 

 

 

The first 10 seconds were awful, the next 20 seconds was a bit better.

 

I actually like it. The first ten seconds are pretty neat; it gives you a glimpse at their history. This open is years ahead of its time and its small market anyway. I don't expect too much from that market...
  • 5 weeks later...

Someone once posted this on YouTube several years ago, but I remember seeing a clip of a 1994 news open from then-independent station KKTM (now UniMas KFPH) in Flagstaff, AZ. (someone on this board should have the video somewhere in their collection). The animation reminded me of the open to the old DOS golf game "Links," with music that sounded like it was from an old Nintendo Entertainment System game. I believe the newscast was produced by Northern Arizona University's Journalism school. You can't make this stuff up.

 

I think this open is a candidate for the worst news open of all time. The NBC station in Bermuda VSB-TV 11.

 

Given the market size, I'll give them a pass on everything except the miscolored peacock—oh wait, even

did that.

 

Someone once posted this on YouTube several years ago, but I remember seeing a clip of a 1994 news open from then-independent station KKTM (now UniMas KFPH) in Flagstaff, AZ. (someone on this board should have the video somewhere in their collection). The animation reminded me of the open to the old DOS golf game "Links," with music that sounded like it was from an old Nintendo Entertainment System game. I believe the newscast was produced by Northern Arizona University's Journalism school. You can't make this stuff up.

 

I've at least heard the music on NMSA, and it is indeed hilariously bad.

 

It was clearly done on a consumer-grade Casio keyboard. I should know, because I used to have one with that exact rhythm preset.

  • 3 months later...

 

From the Bill Applegate era at CBS 2 in Chicago:

Bush league crap, especially for a station whose ratings dominance could have once been accurately described as ridiculous.

 

Man you have poor taste in news opens; while the CBS 2 may be a bit wonky; it's ambitious and a relic of it's time. NBC 10's is just fun, especially the theme which is one I want to see publicly posted if the time comes.

 

Here are is an open so f****** cheesy I feel like crackers. From NBC 10 in Philadelphia, News 10 First at 4 1999, featuring people on the street announcing the open:

 

They really were trying to be like WPVI with that open were they?

  • 3 weeks later...

This is by far the worst use of these graphics. The open is poorly executed, the music (Eyewitness News NG2) does not work, and the station (WQAD) decided to replace the yellow from the original KDVR package with a dark gray. This is very blah!! :bang:

 

[yt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bzxWYWY4Hg [/yt]

 

If that doesn't work, try this link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bzxWYWY4Hg

  • 1 month later...

 

WJZs chroma cues drive me crazy. To me their sonic branding is like nails on a chalkboard to a teacher.

 

 

To me, it's more the gaudy graphic animations that make this one bad... not the music. I can see the new O&O graphics somehow working with Chroma Cues. Still not the worst ever, but probably the worst O&O open out there right now. This series of Chroma Cues WJZ opens would have to be my fave...

 

 

Has the WKZX News 28 open been mentioned? I file it under the most awesomely bad opens:

 

To me, it's more the gaudy graphic animations that make this one bad... not the music. I can see the new O&O graphics somehow working with Chroma Cues. Still not the worst ever, but probably the worst O&O open out there right now. This series of Chroma Cues WJZ opens would have to be my fave...

 

 

Has the WKZX News 28 open been mentioned? I file it under the most awesomely bad opens:

 

Yeah, Chroma Cues itself is not the problem at WJZ: it is an institution. That being said, the graphics they have...I have to agree with Ntropolis, even the music can't save those. At this point, almost anything would be better graphics-wise at WJZ.

 

As for the WKZX open: well, first, the moment I saw the ID and it said "Cooksville/Middle Tennessee," that was a sure sign that what I was about to watch would be unbearable. I was mostly right; it wasn't quite "unbearable," but it was absolutely awful.

I like Chroma Cues. It could use some updates (as I've said countless times) the current cuts are from 1997. Their graphics aren't the worst as mentioned. The overuse of Helvetica extended however ruins it for me. Some of their graphics are even difficult to read because of it.

 

But the O&O look would be a massive improvement. And Upchurch I believe is around still, I've heard some of his most recent radio imaging (2012/3) and he can definitely bring it up to modern times without loosing the overall feel of the theme.

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