WWL News: Not created until 1989?

[TServo2049 81]

Hi guys,

 

I was just wondering...does anybody suspect that WWL News was not actually created until 1989? It's titled "Eyewitness the 90s," no station except WWL is listed on the NMSA as having used it before 1989, and in addition, the cuts heard in the KATC opens, which are the same as the music heard in the WISN 1985 news clips posted on YouTube, sound nothing like the WWL News stuff heard everywhere else, save for the WWL musical signature.

 

In addition, ASCAP lists a "WWL News 84 Theme" written by James Rollin Kirk. (Jim Kirk was a TM writer who was responsible for "Spirit" for WFAA; perhaps he did freelance work at the time as well.) Since WWL-AM's frequency is 870, and since WWL-TV did in fact get a new news theme in 1984 (which we've all assumed was Stephen Arnold's), I'm assuming this refers to a news theme done for WWL in 1984.

 

Furthermore, the U.S. Copyright Office online records for Arnold's theme, under the "Created" heading, have the year 1989.

 

I'm beginning to think that what WWL used beginning in 1984 was not Stephen Arnold's theme at all, and that Arnold's theme didn't debut until 1989.

 

Does anybody have any 1984-89 WWL news opens on tape, and could they possibly check the music against Arnold's package, and the cuts heard in the KATC and WISN stuff?

[WAVY 10 Fan 232]

Who knows? Maybe, with some themes, it takes time to get picked up.

 

That said, the original DOES sound like the music could have been '84 at the latest, or Arnold had a very...interesting style preference at the time.

[TServo2049 81]

Well the thing is, the oddball 80s cuts heard in the WISN and KATC stuff may not even be Arnold's theme; they don't sound like Stephen Arnold to me. Furthermore, the more familiar cuts sound much more like something done in 1989 than 1984. (And again, the U.S. Copyright Office listings read that it was created in 1989.)

 

WWL did pick up a new theme in 1984...I'm just wondering if it was actually this "WWL 84 News Theme" by Jim Kirk that is listed on ASCAP, and if those oddball 80s cuts were actually from this Jim Kirk package.

 

Does anybody have the full Stephen Arnold package, and do those weird 80s cuts even appear in it? And again, does anybody have WWL opens from between 1984 and 1989 on tape?

[capsgm2002 65]

This is something I'd bring up to southernmedia. He's got a lot of connections with the news music companies and could see if WWL News was indeed a 1989 rather than 1984. I'm inclined to agree as the 1985 WISN theme is now considered a new entity when "WWL News" was there and the KATC theme sounds the same to me. Good sleuthing there, my friend!

[southernmedia 0]

I was just wondering...does anybody suspect that WWL News was not actually created until 1989? It's titled "Eyewitness the 90s," no station except WWL is listed on the NMSA as having used it before 1989, and in addition, the cuts heard in the KATC opens, which are the same as the music heard in the WISN 1985 news clips posted on YouTube, sound nothing like the WWL News stuff heard everywhere else, save for the WWL musical signature.

 

Take in mind that the WWL News Package, back when it was only 1 Disc was just called "Eyewitness News" (Eyewitness the '90s was NOT the original name) -- my theory is that the package was updated in 1989 and then renamed Eyewitness the '90s. All the cuts that are on Disc 1 are clearly older than the rest of the package, and could have easily been written in 1984. The rest of the package is obviously newer. The KATC cuts are probably not even part of WWL News -- no versions of WWL News I've ever come across have them, though they might be on a disc none of us have. Very interesting observation, but we'd need someone with old WWL aircheck tapes for proof.

 

I've made the adjustments on this, and in my opinion the 1984 theme is by Jim Kirk. I don't believe that is Stephen Arnold's music. There are clean samples of the theme and 1984 opens from WWL online as well. The theme just doesn't sound like Arnold to me. It's hard to describe, but based on the evolution of SAM's news packages, those cuts don't fit in. I've also never known SAM not to include all cues in the package, regardless of age.

 

Furthermore, I also don't think we can definitively say that the original name was "Eyewitness News." Just because there is an "Eyewitness News" listed in the SESAC Repertory, that doesn't prove it's the real name. If so, "Daily Planet" should be listed (for WWL News) as well. Likewise, packages like "The Team" (Wall to Wall News), "TXCN," "CN8," and "Wild Planet" should be listed, but they aren't; they exist, just under different names or are not listed on the SESAC page. What about The Weather Channel and CNN Headline News stuff? Then there's the "Connie Chung Tonight" theme. The list goes on.