MidwestTV

I think the biggest problem CBS O&Os face today is the nationalization of its local markets. How much is "CBS Colorado" actually covering news from places like Pueblo, Grand Junction, or CO Springs? Genuine question, I don't know. You also have, in my opinion, overlapping brands. Saying you're watching CBS 2 News from CBS News New York is unnecessarily layered and almost totally removes the local aspect. I get what they've tried to do, but I don't think it's been implemented well.

Nexstar is opening the Nexstar Weather Center based in Dallas. Its job is to serve as a "relief hub" for its small/medium markets that have had stubborn openings for weekend meteorologists and allow the any full-time staff to take time off (as in several of these markets meteorologists are working 6-7 days a week). No word on a launch date (presumably later this year). These weather segments would be forecast and produced out of Dallas then sent out to that individual market. Multiple ways to think about this. One could argue if Nexstar has the time and resources to create an entirely new hub to provide relief for its small market meteorologists, it could also use those resources to make those weekend weather/MMJ jobs (which is what the vast majority of them are), more appealing to college grads or sub-3 year professionals. However, it also shows the struggles of small markets to hire anyone out of school since now top-50 markets are more than willing to do that themselves. Would you work in Lubbock, TX out of college, or Norfolk, VA?

Graphics are a huge upgraded. They needed to have died years ago. They must've been doing this in a second studio.

I assure you the competition doesn't care a singular bit about KPRC's new studio.

Have heard a few people call this the official death of local TV

Looks fantastic. The monitor columns can be a bit overwhelming at times when a solid color (speaking of that red specifically). Overall, this is the type of set you're going to see copied/refined by competing firms. Super well done.

It'll probably rate better, or at least similar, too. Might even get the benefit of local content before local news.

It makes me nervous. There's great potential for this technology to be abused for nefarious reasons. As it is now, there's a bit of an uncanny valley-ness to it that's unsettling. There are some things AI will probably never be able to really re-create, that being what it is to be Human with genuine Human expressions and emotions. Part of what makes real people appealing is the ability to connect with them on a personal level. Will AI be utilized in news? Undoubtedly, but it needs to be done extremely carefully.

The blue is a little overpowering. Wouldn't mind seeing some warmer hues in it.

Still not a fan of anchor-read intro VOs, but it doesn't look bad.

Those lower thirds are enormous.

Thankfully a lot of local games, especially college, run on weekends when programming isn't as big of a deal. Tegna also goes hard with its OTT channels where in-house content runs on repeat (if at all). They'd probably put the games there to encourage people to download their app to their TVs.

If they were really smart they'd go hard on local college teams as well, especially as realignment is still shaking up the broadcast landscape there. It'd be a great opportunity for some of their markets that are only near pro teams, but have a big variety of local college sports. Des Moines has Iowa, ISU, UNI. Louisville is near three NFL teams, but has local college teams in the Cardinals and Wildcats, and USL/NWSL soccer.

Erin Little has sued KCTV/Gray for gender and age discrimination. She hasn't been on air in almost a year. https://news.yahoo.com/meteorologist-erin-little-sues-kctv5-000941077.html

The look of them is very out of place, but I don't mind the concept.

I wasn't aware Park Place went out of business. They designed many of the current Scripps looks.

A lot of that work would still hold up today if updated for HD

From my third-hand understanding (from someone who had a conversation with someone who works within Scripps and is likely more informed on the matter than any of us), these changes will vary on a market-by-market basis. That includes small markets. I couldn't imagine Scripps totally doing away with anchors in their largest markets.

Changes to Scripps' smaller market stations include eliminating some anchor positions, beefing up heavily on MMJs (including, apparently, giving substantial raises on the order of $20k+), eliminating the chief meteorologist title and placing all meteorologists under the purview of the assistant news director.

I swear some people here are never impressed lol I like it a lot. It's different and has some confidence to it. Some elements could use work. The wooden element feels out of place, and that top bar sticks out of place as it doesn't seem to do much to connect the wings.

The L3s might be my biggest beef, mainly because they're trying to squeeze full sentences into them. Just because you have the space for a complete sentence doesn't mean that you should cram it in there. If the text starts to squeeze, it's too much. Adding in that box on the far left to denote what the segment/story type is only adds to the clutter.

The only thing I dislike is still how the top stories are all "breaking news." A fad ABC started that I won't forgive. If everything is breaking news, nothing is.

Super interesting how the open has the live time and temp baked into it. Look closely and you'll see it said 3:59 and 61°. It even has a glimpse of the forecast. That has to be a first.

Changes like this aren't made lightly so NBC must be feeling pretty confident with themselves. You gotta give them credit for adapting to the times (heavy digital focus) and trying something new. It's not a bad logo. Hearkens back to the old NBC 'N' of the 70s. I might have preferred the diagonal ends be sharp rather than squared off. Also interesting that they've kept the white border on the peacock after ditching it everywhere else.

This is a good example of "if you need auxiliary elements to explain the main element, the main element is too complicated." I get what they were going for and credit them for shaking it up, but some things work best in their simplest, classic form. It's just too busy.