Greatest News Opens of all time

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More WFAA

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The late newscast of April 14, 1999, using Stephen Arnold's "The Spirit" (version 1)

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A live teaser promo from the same evening, featuring the late, great Chip Moody. You can hear why "The Spirit" is one of my all-time favorite music packages. Serious enough for a news music package, yet a down-home folksy feel to it, that was so "Texan" and so wonderful. Music that didn't make the newscast pretend to be something it wasn't.

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CityPulse '85

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and '04

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and CityNEWS '07

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Toronto's answer to tabloid. And before the '80s were over, CityPulse [now CityNews] settled in the newsroom. No desk, just stools. Never moved since.

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From TM Production's "The Best Things In Life" (1979):

 

WWL-TV Channel 4 Eyewitness News (1980):

 

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KATC-TV Action 3 News (1983):

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These are definitely not the best, but one of my favorites:

 

WMC-TV Memphis 2008 HD Open

 

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There's no doubt that this KDKA open from 1999 was one of their best. It's classic KDKA: the tunnel, KDKA Prime, the Group W logo, Al Vanik, and "The Hometown Advantage".

 

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WREG had one of the best news opens of all time back in the late 80s/early 90s. The Great News Package combined with their "Memphis & Channel 3" signature at the time made it all epic to watch.

 

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KTRK's late '80s-early '90s package has always been one of my favorites. Here's an example, from the 10 P.M. Tonight report from August 31, 1990 (top story: Texas traffic cops out on city freeways for Labor Day weekend).

 

"You're watching Channel 13, KTRK-TV Houston. #1 in Texas...Eyewitness News...with Dave Ward, Marvin Zindler's Action 13, Bob Allen has sports, and Ed Brandon's weather. Now, Channel 13 Eyewitness News Tonight."

[Jess 1115]

Wow, I never posted in here? I was thinking of doing something like this on my blog, but this thread wouldn't hurt.

 

I'm going with an action news open... but not the one you think.

 

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From what I can tell, this is the ORIGINAL open for Channel 6 Action News, complete with the original theme. It is arguably even better than the montages they use today. It's edited together beautifully, and I think that actually using news events and reporter footage is more effective than the happy people montage in establishing the idea that Action News is Everywhere. The poster of this open uploaded four other fantastic early Action News opens, but this is by far the best one I think.

 

Now, I do have to have a WPVI MCTYW open on my list. This was the version used in late 1991, and in my opinion, it's the music and open distilled to its purest form. MCTYW in its original key, the iconic boxed-6 logo on the vans, Jeff Kaye at his peak, Action News logo simply moving towards the camera with every edit. As a bonus it includes the awesome post-Oprah tease with Jim Gardner tossing to Marc and Lisa, the CapCities Chrome bumper graphics, and the best ever version of the 5:30 rejoin.

 

 

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Next, a KYW open from that same year - before they launched The News Tonight. It features the weekend crew of Barbara Monaco, Ukee Washington, and Tom Lamaine. It's a similar-style happy people open with a great theme from Gari. That aside, it makes it on here for one reason.

 

 

Seriously, that alone elevates this over the slickly produced KYW-3 opens introduced later that year.

 

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Here's another one of my favorites, this also from KTRK in Houston (it's from 12/22/82).

 

"#1 in Texas...13 Eyewitness News...with Dave Ward, Bob Allen has sports, weather with Ed Brandon, and Action 13's Marvin Zindler. Now...13 Eyewitness News."

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WGN 1979 open with pulsating disco music:

 

http://www.fuzzymemories.tv/index.php?c=3826#videoclip-4458

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How has nobody posted an open featuring WLS's Hothaus package?

 

 

Here's a personal favorite of mine:

. A WBZ Eyewitness News Evening Edition open from the Today's 4 era. This is likely what inspired WCVB's Big News open. Plus it features the Today's 4 theme by Kalehoff, one of the best news teams ever assembled in Boston, and an impressive set (which unfortunately is only shown briefly in the linked clip).

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How has nobody posted an open featuring WLS's Hothaus package?

 

 

I thought it might be too obvious of me to mention it, but yeah. That certainly ranks on my list. It held up until the day they retired it in October. That package was one of the first to introduce the swooshy style that seemed to dominate news opens in the latter half of last decade, but I can confidently say it was the best, bar none.

 

HOWEVER...it's only #2 for me. THIS is my absolute hometown favorite...

 

[CircleSeven 1955]

 

HOWEVER...it's only #2 for me. THIS is my absolute hometown favorite...

 

 

OMG!!! Forget the Hegner, Non-Stop & 615 themes (which are also good in their own right). IMHO, this was WGN's best theme of all time!

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I thought it might be too obvious of me to mention it, but yeah. That certainly ranks on my list. It held up until the day they retired it in October. That package was one of the first to introduce the swooshy style that seemed to dominate news opens in the latter half of last decade, but I can confidently say it was the best, bar none.

 

A lot of the VDO work of the early-mid 2000s, especially the syndicated package that was commissioned for WSMV circa 2003 (and used at KARK, KTNV, WHOI and other stations later), was like that.

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As much as I love the WGN open from '93, the Greatest Open of all Time belongs to WJZ and Chroma Cues. Supposedly written as a tribute to Jerry Turner (and later Al Sanders,) Chroma Cues is just a fantastic theme that fits Baltimore.

Coming in a close third was the KTNV era of Right Here, Right Now..

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I always found this to be an amazing opening for 1988:

 

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As much as I love the WGN open from '93, the Greatest Open of all Time belongs to WJZ and Chroma Cues. Supposedly written as a tribute to Jerry Turner (and later Al Sanders,) Chroma Cues is just a fantastic theme that fits Baltimore.

Coming in a close third was the KTNV era of Right Here, Right Now..

 

I wouldn't say their open is the greatest of all time. There's definitely better opens. I like Chroma Cues, one of the better themes out there. It fits Baltimore very well but I wish they would update it (as I've said multiple times). Bring it into the 21st century with a fresh sound but keep the signature. Their graphics now are a visual disaster. The graphics from 1999 and before were great. Around 2002, that's when their graphics started to become the disaster they are now.

 

KTNV, no. Nowhere close to being the greatest open of all time. They used a syndicated graphics package (the WSMV/WHOI/MTN one from VDO) with syndicated music. How unoriginal.

 

 

I always found this to be an amazing opening for 1988:

 

 

Agreed, very well done. The set was also great for 1988, looked better then a lot of early 90's sets. That set could've held up well until at least 2000 without any problems.

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Well I have to go with KCAL. Fahren-Hite, The Hammer, and Newsforce were the best themes ever and made their opens whether they were long or short.

 

Fahren-Hite 1995:

8p CA Report:

9p World Report:

 

The Hammer 2000:

2p:

8p:

9p:

 

Newforce 2005

4p:

8p:

10p:

 

Also, I have to add this KTLA Morning News Open from 1997. Best Morning Show open:

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When I hear "the greatest news open of all time" I think this...

 

WUSA 1987-1991

 

It's the same theme and similar idea, but I think KVUE's open from that period beats it. The CGI is less cheesy because it's only flying over the 12 blocks from the river to the Texas Capitol, which contained the entirety of the Austin skyline at that point. I can't find a high quality version of the full talent opening, but there's part of one

and a the non-talent version

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Here's another one of my favorites, this from KABC in L.A., Feb. 26, 1982:

 

"This is Channel 7, the #1 station for news and information in Southern California. And now, Eyewitness News with Jerry Dunphy, Christine Lund, Johnny Mountain with the weather, Ted Dawson with sports, and the Eyewitness News team."

[Samantha 2895]

One of my personal favorites of late. For its time, this is pretty good—definitely of the era but not too bad, and with really good music. Well executed, even if apparently this was one of (according to the uploader) the more tabloid periods in TVG's history. Telexornal, Galicia (Spain), 1997:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYuVRqWurmk

 

Some of my other serious favorites include the KSAZ 1994 Prime News variant, especially the 10pm open (I mean, how does a coyote howling not make your news theme awesome!?) and KCNC's CBS/Image X package. Others I like (not quite to that level) include the WISH Newsleader opens, WCIV's 1994-96 stuff, the WTLV 1989 open that I think might be Shelly Palmer, and the KPNX 1992 "Your Choice for Real Life, Real News in the 90s" opens (I wish there was video of that).

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This is one of the best election opens I have ever seen. The open is from Antena 3 Noticias in Spain. They have their own in-house graphics department which puts out some really good stuff. I forgot who composed the election music, but the info is out there...

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Well, these WFXT opens are pretty awesome.

 

First, the brief Fox News Boston era:

 

Then, their version of the Fox O&O look:

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Yet another favorite of mine, WFAA in Dallas (this opening is from 1/29/85, and it is actually part of a montage of that newscast):

 

"This is the News 8 Update...with Iola Johnson...Tracy Rowlett...Troy Dungan with weather...and Dale Hansen on sports."

 

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And from earlier than that, January 1982 to be exact (10 P.M. opening):

 

"The News 8 Update...with Iola Johnson, Tracy Rowlett, Troy Dungan with weather, and Bill Macatee on sports."

 

(I liked all the shots of Dallas and the DFW area in both openings, by the way: that is one reason why these are listed. And, BTW, Tracy was off on the night of that Jan. 1982 opening.)

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I just found my new favorite news open...WTFV (CBS) in Nashville: