budtkaboy2000 0 Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/20100913_Fox29_news_tilts_toward_viewpoint.html A good piece looking at Fox 29's shift away from a traditional newscast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess 1110 Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 That's a very good article that really sums up what they've been doing over there for the last few months. There's a poll asking for reader opinions on the new format - so far it's about 68% to 32% negative. To be honest that's actually a bit more positive than I thought it would be. And regardless, the rather large comments section demonstrates that people have noticed the changes and are talking about it if nothing else. I voted for the new format on that poll. It's a very qualified vote for the new format. They do a lot of thingds that drive me crazy. The editorializing is one of them - as I write this Thomas is asking an anchor if a movie on education drove them to tears. They give Mike Jerrick a weird commentary segment to close out the 10pm news. They do some needless flash with the interviews - my favorite being when they have two guests, one in the newsroom, and one in another part of the newsroom where you can clearly see the first guest. They also have a ton of new anchors because they got rid of mostly every station veteran over the last couple of years. That being said - they deserve a LOT of credit for doing something different. Fox 29 is far more likely to lead with something political, for instance, or cover a general issue like the economy. They've done "theme newscasts" about pensions. They do honest-to-god EDITORIALS with the station manager. They don't do crime stories as much as the other stations, and they've even managed to downplay the weather element. Every other station does some variation of the same formula - crime crime politics weather world health weather sports kicker weather. It's nowhere near perfect - there are deep flaws. It's nowhere close to the quality of The Ten O'Clock News, which for the longest time was the best newscast in the market. (Which is another reason they drive me crazy, I know what they've been able to do in the past.) But it's a change of pace from what all of the other stations offer and for that, they need to be applauded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhratbrat 423 Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 Hulkie, change certainly in a market highly steeped in tradition as Philadelphia is very tough! So I do give FOX29 credit for trying something else. Ultimately will they go back to traditional formats. Probably. But many people have always said they dont want to watch if it bleeds it leads. I know of two markets that do that very well (Miami & San Antonio) and when a station tries to be different it doesnt work period. Best luck to FOX29 but I dont know how well this will work out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGSJenkins 432 Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 WNYW has also went to the new format. I don't like it, because it reminds me of the old WYOU with the talk/debate format. Even today, people are still talking about WTXF on the website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess 1110 Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 Speaking of makeover, they did just that to the 10pm presentation: The opens, rejoins, and transitions now sport an awesome new look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazynetjunkie 34 Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 What alot of people don't know is this "new format" isn't exactly the station's choice.. Corporate is pushing this format at a number of their O&O stations. The format was originally formulated in Chicago (which was the first station to start doing it way back in the beginning of this year with ALOT of problems at first) and once Swanson/corporate got a better idea of how it would look, they handed orders to other stations to switch.. Don't let the GM's/ND's around "taking credit" for this fool you.. This new format is failing miserably in Chicago; however, execs still want Chicago to continue doing it and somehow improve ratings.. After seeing WTXF's new open, it's good to hear that WTXF has stuck with the OSI music package (the new updates).. WFLD has gone to library music and instrumentals of popular songs on their 9PM since changing format/look months ago.. WFLD has been using the new open/bump/rejoin/transition graphics since June.. For some reason, the new stuff doesn't seem to "fit" the other work of FOX's arthouse (or whatever the hell they're calling their centralized graphics joint). Maybe they actually spent a little money on some help.. lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budtkaboy2000 0 Posted October 3, 2010 Author Share Posted October 3, 2010 Speaking of makeover, they did just that to the 10pm presentation: The opens, rejoins, and transitions now sport an awesome new look. Pretty nice. They also changed the time/temperature bug. I've always wondered why they intro it with "Live from Center City in Philadelphia" rather than "Center City Philadelphia" or "Old City Philadelphia." And OT, I'm really glad I didn't move to Manayunk. I almost moved into an apartment on Main Street but that fell through, and after the storm, I'm happy it did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfomspphl 453 Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 I was in a meeting with someone high up in the organization and had asked about how WPVI was doing -- still the old powerhouse -- and he called it out as a place where they've seen some real shifts. Not sure if they went to Fox but seemed pleased with what they're doing in Philadelphia. But yes, going more opinion like is the goal -- they expect it to take time and a lot of experimentation, but they are determined to break the old formula. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyewitness_news 5 Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 "It's 10 o'clock. Do you know where your kids are?" Is it just me, or does this open from WTXF remind me of WNYW's 10pm open? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyP 0 Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 Bringing Dawn Stensland back would be the best thing this station could do. First, it would be brilliant marketing and second, she is good. But they won't do it because they would have to admit they made a mistake in the first place. It will take awhile for Philly to forgive Fox for the way they treated Dawn - she isloved here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGSJenkins 432 Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 Speaking of makeover, they did just that to the 10pm presentation: The opens, rejoins, and transitions now sport an awesome new look. WTVT has also started using new look on the 10pm newscasts only and Don LaFontaine still lives on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE70DcWgyGU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeters 1811 Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 WTVT has also started using new look on the 10pm newscasts only and Don LaFontaine still lives on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE70DcWgyGU These are the graphics the O&O's should have rolled out when they first adopted the HD O&O graphics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess 1110 Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 These are the graphics the O&O's should have rolled out when they first adopted the HD O&O graphics. I think what's different about it is that these apparently are coming from Tampa, whereas the HD O&O graphics I believe originated from New York (and likely the Fox News Channel graphics team). While I obviously prefer local stations having direct control over graphics rather than hubs, I have to say that Tampa produces some very solid work. If Tampa does the next total refresh of the Fox O&O look (which this isn't), we could be in for a treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGSJenkins 432 Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 The shift of cable-like newscasts at 10-11pm on WTXF and WNYW/WWOR is all FOX Broadcasting's idea. http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2011/05/02/50934/its-not-your-fathers-late-news-at-fox-oos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess 1110 Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 The shift of cable-like newscasts at 10-11pm on WTXF and WNYW/WWOR is all FOX Broadcasting's idea. http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2011/05/02/50934/its-not-your-fathers-late-news-at-fox-oos I've long suspected that despite the claims by 29 that they thought of the concept themselves. Still, they've taken it farther than probably any other station in the group. (From what I've seen of the others, they still feel mostly newsy) I'd love to know, however, the demos this Fox spokesperson is citing. Since I don't think Philly is doing all that great and Chicago is tanking as we all know, but they're cited as stations where ratings went up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase 818 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 I've long suspected that despite the claims by 29 that they thought of the concept themselves. Still, they've taken it farther than probably any other station in the group. (From what I've seen of the others, they still feel mostly newsy) I'd love to know, however, the demos this Fox spokesperson is citing. Since I don't think Philly is doing all that great and Chicago is tanking as we all know, but they're cited as stations where ratings went up. The FOX corporate people are hilarious. Instead of owning the FACT that this experiment overall has been a failure, they rather continue to try to put a positive spin on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillyWatch 238 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 The FOX corporate people are hilarious. Instead of owning the FACT that this experiment overall has been a failure, they rather continue to try to put a positive spin on it. How can you call it a failure? How long have they been at it, a little over a year? Especially in terms of FOX29, in the same market where "Action News" and "Eyewitness News" originated. If the overall idea really was corporate's, then kudos to them for pushing stations to try something new. In all honesty, isn't local news across the country pretty much the exact same thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase 818 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 How can you call it a failure? How long have they been at it, a little over a year? Especially in terms of FOX29, in the same market where "Action News" and "Eyewitness News" originated. If the overall idea really was corporate's, then kudos to them for pushing stations to try something new. In all honesty, isn't local news across the country pretty much the exact same thing? From what I have both seen and read, I wouldn't call what's being done across the FOX O&Os a success overall. I'm not against trying something new, but you have to have a game plan on how to do it and that doesn't seem like the case here. A traditional newscast can work when done right. Yes, times have changed and some SMALL changes are necessary, but the thinking behind the development of this interview/talk format is flawed. It seems to me that FOX corporate thinks viewer erosion is linked entirely to the newscast format, when it could be a dozen other reasons. Not all stations are the same nor are the problems/issues that each of them face. Not enabling each station to come up with their own ideas, looks , etc.. and saying, whether directly or indirectly, we want you all to do this isn't a good thing. And thus, creates "the exact same thing" across that country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que 73 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 KDFW ratings have seen a boost and has put the station at a competitive advantage. I think this concept needs to be reviewed on a market by market basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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