mark

Anyone else reminded of this when they hear the theme? I like it but I'm reminded of this series every time I hear it.

Alrighty then. I'll go ahead and tap out of this discussion.

Ratings were up modestly during his tenure (after the very recognizable Katie Couric). Do I think he was poised to take the newscast above #3? Of course not. But they should've left him alone until they found a better option, which they still haven't.

I think you really hit the nail on the head right here. He was just at the edge of becoming truly recognizable (he was hardly a household name prior to getting the Evening News job) and his measured tone could have really set the network apart as Trump-mania overtook most mainstream news operations. (Side rant: while news orgs of course shouldn't normalize the types of bizarre stuff the former president did/said, much of the coverage surrounding him was filled with over-the-top pearl-clutching. Pelley's straightforward, factual style could have been ideal for such a manic time period.) Jeff Glor is talented and just might be the future of the network. But installing him on the Evening News was also an obvious attempt to recreate the success of David Muir at ABC. It just wasn't original and it just wasn't his time. The Ann Curry idea is interesting. For starters, shouldn't at least one of the networks have a female lead anchor? She does real journalism, very much in the CBS tradition. However, the Evening News anchor job requires being exceptionally skilled at reading a teleprompter, but she wasn't exactly well-known for that during her time as newsreader on Today. That said, she does have star power and is an extremely sympathetic figure these days. I don't see Brian Williams going for another evening news job, where he'd face stiff competition from the other networks and be made to look like a failure when his broadcast is in third. If CBS could somehow snag him for Mornings, he could really showcase his broad range of skills. A Brian Williams/Gayle King pairing could mark a welcomed return of the traditional male/female co-anchored newscast. Would it be worth blowing up the show AGAIN? Maybe not, but Williams' talents would shine on a show like that and talent of his caliber don't become available often.

Tony will not bring the newscast to #1, but I'm sure the thought is that he'd cost less to be #3. CBS is in a no-win situation. Norah isn't connecting with viewers but changing anchors every few years isn't going to win anyone over either. I think the first mistake was letting Scott Pelley out of the chair. Edit: OK, that's far from the network's first mistake, but I do think it was a mistake

Some really great work mentioned here. While there is so much good stuff from this time period, I want to echo what's been said about WNBC 2003. Really cutting-edge work with light effects for that time. Classy and modern. I'll add KHOU 1997/98. The gold/red/black look that debuted with the fantastic 1997 set. Designers took the layout of the previous set (blue background at center/ monitors screen left/ skyline screen right) and gave it new life. The fact that the set had three different two shot options without the anchors having to move from the desk is still pretty cool to this day. But back to the graphics... so far ahead of the time. Clean and well thought out. From the elegant lower left bug to the lower right special coverage branding bug options seen in the video below.

KRTK... sigh.

I love that the two bugs don't agree on the temperature there.

Almost makes me not hate the music...

It's coming...soon.

There are WAY too many OTS shots. It seems to be the only thing they used in that show. With Glor, they insisted on using the same monitor effects shot over and over. I don't get it. You see more variety of shots in a typical local news broadcast. When Pelley anchored I felt like they used the studio well. The new lighting and feel of the set differentiates it nicely from CTM. I don't really understand all the NYC imagery they're using considering the broadcast is moving to DC soon. I really like the updates to the theme music so far.

I don't work for Tegna, so I'm obviously not an expert on what goes on inside its newsrooms so I appreciate your insight there. My position isn't really that "corporate forces stations to do xyz." I just think saying "It's all on local management" seems like a bit of an overstatement. While corporate my not force anything, there's no doubt it encourages some things. You need look no further than the fact that so many of its stations are run so similarly. Many of the stations run with ideas that just aren't seen anywhere else. I think if you walk into any given Tegna newsroom, you're likely to find a lot of consistencies. Lastly, I think that's a very good point about GMs with sales backgrounds. It is all too common and I really hadn't thought of that being at play with some of the sillier ideas.

While obviously local management plays a large role in how a station is run, if you think corporate ownership doesn't make a difference, you're badly mistaken. I say this as someone who works in local TV. And TEGNA isn't considered a top choice company for most TV professionals. From my observation, I see TEGNA as a company trying almost too hard to innovate. They often roll out silly, social media driven, experimental newscasts to multiple stations before such concept has even been successful on one station. Sure, there have been some successes here and there (like the intelligent and thoughtful Next at KUSA), but those have been rare. More often, cheap beats intelligent, thoughtful production. Yes, that's the direction local TV is headed, but the company seems to take pride in driving the industry there even faster by proclaiming things like "Change isn't an option." I think in some ways the company outsmarts itself with its commitment to the theoretical without the tangible results. Just my thoughts.

He's a Little Rock native, so I would imagine market size doesn't mean as much to him as returning to his hometown. Seems like a great deal for KATV to get someone with his talent AND a history in the market/at the station.

Nope. In my market his talk show and game show air in the same time slot.

Since we're talking about the graphics, I'll add that I've never liked some elements, particularly the L3s. It's rounded-edge box overkill. There are other parts of the graphics, like the open animations and the excellent use of Viz, that I think are really good. Those cluttered L3s bring the whole package down.

It's a leftover from ABC's "start here" campaign from 2007 ( ). I don't think the water splashes ever should have been carried over to News but since the campaign has been discontinued I don't know why that stuff is still on the GMA open.

Unfortunate to see a long-running newscast come to an end, but really glad to see WCL stick around. I know we're news fans here but there's a real shortage of local non-news programming everywhere. At most stations news is the only local programming there is. So if that means a midday show has to go, I'd make the same call.

A couple of KTUL-related stories today: Chief Meteorologist Frank Mitchell is resigning after many years at the station. He's been in his current role for seven years. Previously, he was the station's morning weatherman. (http://www.ktul.com/story/19333694/frank-mitchell) And a former KTUL anchor has been arrested (again). Jerry Giordano was arrested after police found a substance resembling meth in his vehicle during a traffic stop. (http://newsok.com/former-tulsa-news-anchor-arrested-after-possible-meth-found/article/3702852) This isn't Giordano's first brush with the law. He was arrested for drunk driving while still employed by Channel 8 in 2008. He was a weekend anchor at KTUL until 2010. (http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=8623210)