1place4news 5 Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 It's been five days since the launch of Fox 5 News in HD and it's been nothing short of a disaster so far. So I thought it would be fun to get everyone's thoughts on what could be done to turn it around. The potential for quality is there, but no one at the station has picked up on it yet. I'll get the ball rolling: - Switch up the anchor teams. Kathleen is wonderful, but Kendis clearly does not partner well with her. Walter Makula, the weekend anchor, is really outstanding and probably underrated as an anchor. He would pair well with Kathleen. Raoul would do well on the weekends with Susan. Kendis has a morning show personality and would spark some much-needed chemistry for the morning news. - Tweak the set a bit. Put up a nice piece of foggy glass to separate the newsroom from the set. Seeing the control room and technical people setting up live shots is distracting. Also, put the anchors together at one desk. It's like watching a schizophrenic talk to themselves every time they're talking to the other anchor who is not on camera. Use the other desk for stand-ups, weather and sports. - Stop using remote cameras in the studio and newsroom. Or at least invest in a Steadi-Cam for smoother shots and make sure the color matches that of all the other cameras. - Burn the giant traffic map. It's dumb, not funny and provides zero traffic information. - Hide the bathroom. Seriously. I love Jim Nash, but I don't need to know how many times he has to hit the john in an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rv65 3 Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I guess they hired a weekend weather lady to replace Kyle Hunter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l14dap 1 Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 -> Fire Kyle Hunter. My hatred for that Sam Champion/Dallas Raines offspring grows with each passing day. Who wears a hankie without a tie? Honestly! -> Fire Kyle Hunter. Please take what I am about to write in the most positive way possible. I'm partially venting here... You've got to remember that these news personalities are real people with real lives and real feelings. Unless you're willing to defend your comment about Kyle Hunter to Kyle himself should he confront you about it, I don't think it's a good idea to say that somebody should be fired without giving a compelling reason. Wardrobe doesn't seem convincing enough to me IMO. And I'm not saying that you'll hide behind the cloak of the internet if for some reason someone close to Kyle Hunter should confront you about it. It's just that so many people here on TVNT write stuff to the effect of "Joe Anchor and Jane Reporter should be fired" without giving a compelling reason...or any reason at all! How would you feel if someone said that YOU should be fired from YOUR job, without giving any sort of reason or giving a dumb reason? Personally, I'd probably brush it off but initially I'd be astonished. I realize that people in broadcasting have to have some thick skin in order to survive. But we need to be careful what we write...it might just come back to bite us one day. The rest of your suggestions, though, seem quite constructive. I do agree that it's annoying to see people walking to the bathroom. And for in-studio shots, they could probably use some better more stable cameras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeters 1846 Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 We have had anchors and reporters sign up here before after people say they should be fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l14dap 1 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 There are things about his style I don't think fit in with the newscast. The way he structures his forecasts with all sorts of graphics and bells and whistles is distracting and don't add anything to the weather. Just give us the weather and toss it back to the anchor. Plus there is too much of his personality, which I personally find annoying. All I'm saying is if I were running that station, I wouldn't put him on my newscast. I thought more people would agree with me, but I guess I was wrong. I've seen worse things written about other anchors. He's getting better, but still needs work, as does that whole product. I didn't mean for my comment to be a knock on you, and I truly apologize for that. After rereading it, I could've definitely done a better job of wording it. I never meant to cause any trouble. As they say, retrospect is a bitch. I think this post of yours is the kind of quality post we should be striving for. Not just a list of people or stations that should go under, but rather reasons behind it. I wanted my previous message to be a kind reminder to TVNT posters that their comments DO get read by not only us but also by many lurkers out there (that includes working anchors and reporters and their friends). I really do apologize if you feel that it came at your expense. As WITI6fan mentioned, anchors and reporters have signed up here after reading that they should be fired. And I can only imagine how awkward that is to be confronted on TVNT by the "should-be-fired" reporter. And my thing about "hiding behind the cloak of the internet" comes from a previous incident where a reporter signed up and posted a message here questioning why someone would want him to be fired (IIRC the TVNT poster only said "Fire Blaine Stewart"....... no reason behind it). If I have time I'll dig up the link to that post...Blaine Stewart from WTKR. I don't remember if said poster actually contacted the WTKR reporter about their comment. If they did, then I wholeheartedly revere them for doing the right thing. If not, then that's pretty cowardly to say shit and not be able to back it up when confronted. Perhaps I'm in the minority here by saying that if you're gonna post something about somebody/some station/some place, you better be ready to back it up. You've done that now, and I respect you for it. I never doubted you... it's like I said, so many people here list shit without giving it a second thought it's hard to tell if they actually have the balls to back it up. Yes, I too have read worse things written about other anchors on here, and I hope that other posters will rationalize what they are about to post instead of hastily posting that "WXXX-TV needs to stop doing news". I know the chances of that particular anchor/reporter confronting you about your post are small, but when it does happen it kinda puts us back in place and makes us take one more glance at our writing before we hit the submit button. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A3N 996 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 I'll take a bite at this... First in regards to Kyle Hunter, seems like a great guy but his presentation needs work. He points to things in the wrong place and just seems to be uncomfortable in front of a green screen. I think that he should get more in depth with his forecasts, not just the current temps, a quick glance of the regional satellite and then the 7-day forecast. The whole moving around the set part has to go. Their set is too small, so the movement of the anchors doesn't work well. The separation of the anchors will not work in this market. People are used to seeing the anchors together in one place and reading the news. The sending it over to the secondary desk seems like a waste of time. Kathleen is great (as usual), but I am starting to notice that she is making a little bit more comments than usual. Not sure if it's her or management telling her that she needs to banter more with Kendis and Kyle. Kendis Gibson, solid talent but is better suited for reporting. His style is way too loose, and does not belong on the 10pm newscast. The audio issues are still big issue, which they really need to fix it because the longer they wait, the more viewers they are going to lose. The whole operation just seems to have been slapped together. I'm not sure if they are planning to fix some of the issues like the anchor format but with all the promoting they did, I expected something better. Oh and just to add, they need to show the opens to the newscasts. They only show them in the morning but at 10, all they do is play bumper music and start reading the news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A3N 996 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Keeping with the weather theme, KNSD had some sort of "HD satellite" as a part of its forecast after Olympic coverage last night. Signs of an HD transition coming soon or a false hope? Well according to KNSD's news director, he still has not gotten word on the HD transition to news. He says that it will happen, but not anytime soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caliwxdude 252 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 ...and younger viewers are out the door to get drunk by then. Agreed. You have to get to the bars around 10:30pm to avoid standing in lines. And I do not stand in lines. It's not all Hunter's fault; he's an easy target because he stands out the most. Once he settles in and gets comfortable, he'll be just fine. I've read in several places that Kyle Hunter is just freelancing at KSWB until they find a permanent hire for the weeknight weathercasts. Hunter is actually the "world's first Internet weatherman" according to his website http://www.iweatherman.com, where it looks like he does some sort of weird national weather forecast from his living room. (While you're there, don't forget to check out Kyle's "sexy" stereotypical El Lay talent headshots! Love the motorcycle, it just seems SO straight.) Pretty weird, if you ask me. But this whole KSWB news operation is weird, so Hunter fits right in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestbiteme 13 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 (While you're there, don't forget to check out Kyle's "sexy" stereotypical El Lay talent headshots! Love the motorcycle, it just seems SO straight.) OT, but I agree. He looks like what's-his-face from Desperate Housewives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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