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The Hearst Thread


aleckrohto

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  • 3 weeks later...

I know Hearst standardized their severe weather crawl where there is a graphic that displays the type of weather warning that is occurring, next to it the counties and until what time they are affected and below it more detailed information in a ticker stream. Here is what it currently looks like:

WBAL-Severe-WX-Crawl-2-300x168.jpg

 

Then today I started wondering what kind of digital on screen bug do other Hearst stations use during severe weather when the crawl is not in place. You can see one in the above picture on the lower right hand side. However it appears differently during the newscasts - the main thing is that it adds the peacock logo and the 11 is now yellow instead of translucent. Take a look:

WBAL-Severe-WX-Bug-300x168.jpg

With all of these differences in graphics made me wonder what other Hearst stations do to alert viewers to severe weather. Do they use the same type of illustration (the storm clouds or snowflake) integrated with their logo to alert viewers or is it completely different? Please share. Secondly if any one has a guide or listing to all the different types of warning logos please share. I remember in the late 90s - early 2000's WBAL used to print out a pamphlet outlining all of their different logos for severe weather (I think there were about 9 different type of alerts) along with tips of what to do in such a situation. I believe the alert logos are the same today as they were in the late 90's.

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I don't really know about Hearst so I expect to learn some things from the thread but I have to say, having the severe stuff at the top is really awkward cutting the top half of Fallons head off like that. Wouldn't a colored picture of the counties and what type of warning plus county name be simpler? That and the ticker stuff at the very bottom.

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I don't like how their ticker is three lines. Line 3 is redundant since it repeats the same information from line 1. All of the stations here have one line tickers for severe weather; and one of them has a one-liner with a map of the viewing area. I just think that ticker WBAL uses is way too busy.

 

They also tell us that there is a winter weather warning twice. Talk about redundacy in more ways than one.

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Regarding the cutting off of Jimmy Fallon's head - the issue is fixed and as of tonight they squeeze the picture to fit everything on screen.

 

As for a map of the counties I don't think it is necessary in this region although WBAL has the compatibility to do so through their WSI weather system. There are only twenty four counties (including the city of Baltimore) in the state of Maryland but the Baltimore DMA only consists of 11. WBAL's ticker displays severe weather warnings for the entire state, which I believe has to do with their sister radio station being the primary entry point for the entire state and somehow the encoders are connected. Second in Maryland there is more of an awareness of the county that a person resides and works in because most of the services provided in the state are handled by the individual counties where as in Pennsylvania individual townships provide the services (I asked someone who moved out of state what county they are in and they didn't know and responded with a township.) A third and final reason is that when a station overlays the state map on screen with only certain parts colored it is not aesthetically pleasing and because of its size on screen it's difficult to ascertain which areas are which.

 

Currently the Sinclair triopoly consisting of WBFF, WNUV and WUTB are the only stations that overlay the state map on screen during severe weather which is color coded and rotates through different maps if there is more than one warning. The map is translucent and is about 150 pixels wide by 120 high. The text stating the alert type despite it being bold and colored is difficult to read because the background is translucent to the program. In addition these stations do not give the additional information that the crawl that WBAL, WJZ and WMAR offer which includes a description of the storm type, size, it's current location in the area, where it's heading and when the alert is set to expire.

 

I believe the severe weather ticker was placed at the top so they could easily add a third line for additional information such as a different alert type. Even though the image I posted has the third line repeating the same information - the current ticker that was used tonight during a thunderstorm warning displayed information pertaining to a flash flood warning that was also issued. Furthermore they probably placed it at the top of the screen so they can display additional information such as closings and delays simultaneously.

 

Yes, there is a sense of redundancy in the screen captures that I provided, how ever the ticker is not on screen all the time. The ticker appears when the alert is first issued, the information is repeated twice and then disappears leaving the bug/logo on screen by itself. This process is then repeated after every commercial break. The only time it is constantly on the screen is when there is a tornado watch or warning.

 

 

As a side note here's their graphic when there's an amber alert:

 

[tweet]https://twitter.com/rkolsen/status/441632698906738689[/tweet]

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I don't think it's all that standardized. I don't think WISN uses anything like that - I've never seen it, at least.

 

Yeah, they don't use anything like what WBAL has. WISN has had the same general design for their severe weather ticker since 2011, except sometime between then and now they decided to scale down the program video and add "WEATHERWATCH 12" sidebars to it, for a grand total of four '12' logos on the ticker graphic alone.

 

I thought I had a screenshot, but you'll just have to take my word for it. This market is terrible when it comes to weather tickers.

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Here in AZ you do need a map. Counties are huge in size (we have 15, 11 are in the Phoenix DMA) and the NWS likes to issue warnings for non-county areas here. We have 40 different forecast areas in AZ, including "Northeast Plateaus and Mesas (N of Highway 264)", "Southern Gila/Tonto National Forest Foothills" and "Northwest Deserts" (full list).

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Yeah, they don't use anything like what WBAL has. WISN has had the same general design for their severe weather ticker since 2011, except sometime between then and now they decided to scale down the program video and add "WEATHERWATCH 12" sidebars to it, for a grand total of four '12' logos on the ticker graphic alone.

 

I thought I had a screenshot, but you'll just have to take my word for it. This market is terrible when it comes to weather tickers.

You mean this variant:

 

3612684643_158a74d6e0_z_d.jpg

 

This one was introduced in 2008 was used up until they started using the current weather crawl right a few months before they launched the diagrid graphics - so my estimation is January 2012 the new style was introduced.

 

As for my thinking this was standard aided was because of a press release from the EAS encoder manufacturer saying Hearst bought 30 encoders/receive which receives the alert and is interfaced into the graphic system to generate the crawl. I've seen it in use from air checks from WESH (which actually did a splay spring with one side golf and the other side weather and they have the ability to broadcast both audio programs) and WPBF. I think WCVB used it as well.

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WISN's looks a bit difficult to read, I think it's mainly the red on blue background that's making it difficult rather than the size.

 

However the the width of the stylized pillar boxes looks to be bit off. Maybe it's because of the height of the ticker skewing some of the ratios.

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I don't know if it is just a coincidence, but the style of WBAL's reminds me a lot of something that Milwaukee's NBC affiliate WTMJ would do. WTMJ's is different, of course, but were they to use WBAL's ticker exactly as is, it wouldn't look at all out of place. It seems to match Journal's graphics style quite well.

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KMBC's ticker looks absolutely nothing like any of those. It's so minimalist and perfect. I don't have a picture, but all it consists of is a map of the viewing area and a ticker encased by a small grey box. There is none of that multi-colored boxes taking up the bottom or top sixth of the screen thing, it's "transparent" so to speak.

 

Again, with no pictures, but has anyone noticed their Hearst station using more "tabloid-y" graphics lately? I'll try to take screens later, but KMBC has been using a ton of stuff with full screen graphics with headlines and a video box to tell half the story. They didn't use to do this.

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You mean this type of full screen graphic http://www.rkolsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/image.jpg where inside the parallelogram there's the occasional live video feed? Or this one http://www.rkolsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/image1.jpg where instead of the first bullet point it's a small video box?

 

I don't think it's necessarily tabloid like WHDH and WSVN are, rather they are just using what's available to them.

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You mean this type of full screen graphic http://www.rkolsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/image.jpg where inside the parallelogram there's the occasional live video feed? Or this one http://www.rkolsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/image1.jpg where instead of the first bullet point it's a small video box?

 

I don't think it's necessarily tabloid like WHDH and WSVN are, rather they are just using what's available to them.

 

Neither. If I can ever manage to get a photo uploaded up on here I'll show you what I mean. "Tabloid-y" is possibly the wrong terminology to use. I primarily said it because KMBC's product has become increasingly so over the past few years.

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Ugh, a virtual set...

Not virtual - although it was designed to give it that look with the monitor walls. It's just Hearst's way of being creative using a green screen - it would have been perfectly fine with out the monitor wall. I've seen it in use at WCVB, WESH and I believe WPBF.
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Recently I've noticed WBAL doesn't use talent opens/rejoins anymore it seems. They used to use all of their talent rejoins/opens when they switched to the new graphics (they've used each talent at least one time) then they switched to only using the 5PM talent, and now instead of talents they use promos for streaming news casts, 11 News Today, and 11 News at 11PM and now in-place of the 5PM talent at 5:30, they just use the 5PM open. Just something I've noticed recently.

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Not virtual - although it was designed to give it that look with the monitor walls. It's just Hearst's way of being creative using a green screen - it would have been perfectly fine with out the monitor wall. I've seen it in use at WCVB, WESH and I believe WPBF.

 

Yeah, that is indeed part of the standard Hearst graphics package. WISN uses that as well.
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Interesting tonight on WISN. Matt Serwe flew over from fellow Hearst station KETV to do fill-in on weather. It's the first time I've seen them pull talent from other Hearst stations for fill-in help for the studio.

 

Chief Meteorologist Mark Baden is on vacation this week, and Chris Gloninger (normally weekend evenings) filled in for him during the week. Normally one of the remaining morning meteorologists (Sally Severson [weekdays] and Jeremy Nelson [weekends]) would pull the weekend evening coverage shift, but apparently neither were available or willing.

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Recently I've noticed WBAL doesn't use talent opens/rejoins anymore it seems. They used to use all of their talent rejoins/opens when they switched to the new graphics (they've used each talent at least one time) then they switched to only using the 5PM talent, and now instead of talents they use promos for streaming news casts, 11 News Today, and 11 News at 11PM and now in-place of the 5PM talent at 5:30, they just use the 5PM open. Just something I've noticed recently.

 

I've noticed that too and when they display the names on the lower thirds it typically only lasts five seconds which is just long enough to read it. I'm willing to guess their lack of use is mainly due to the fact that their newscasts are not personality driven as opposed to say WJZ's morning news with Don and Marty. However their PoP promos they do display the anchors names while they cut from footage of anchor speaking.

 

I am also thankful they don't put the anchors twitter accounts in the lower thirds because the blue twitter T logo does not look good against the background in addition the @ sign looks a bit messed up.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Maybe it's just me but I really dislike these picture in picture over the shoulder video graphics that seemed to have been rolled out in the past year at various Hearst stations.

 

Here's a iPad screenshot from tonight's 11 PM newscast on WBAL showing various weather graphics:

 

20140701-000900-540003.jpg

 

It looks a bit better on television in HD.

 

But, I don't understand why they use it to show either live helicopter footage or a taped piece from the ground. Why would they choose to relegate good footage that is procured and transmitted to the station in HD to such a tiny picture frame? I'd rather they air the video full screen with the anchor doing the voice over. If they are gung-ho on keeping the anchor in frame why don't they put the footage on the 100" rear projection screen behind the anchor. In the past they have blocked the camera angle where the anchor presenting the segment fits perfectly with the monitor behind them keeping everything in the 4:3 safe zone.

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Maybe it's just me but I really dislike these picture in picture over the shoulder video graphics that seemed to have been rolled out in the past year at various Hearst stations.

 

(image clipped)

 

Here's a iPad screenshot from tonight's 11 PM newscast on WBAL showing various weather graphics:

 

It looks a bit better on television in HD.

 

But, I don't understand why they use it to show either live helicopter footage or a taped piece from the ground. Why would they choose to relegate good footage that is procured and transmitted to the station in HD to such a tiny picture frame? I'd rather they air the video full screen with the anchor doing the voice over. If they are gung-ho on keeping the anchor in frame why don't they put the footage on the 100" rear projection screen behind the anchor. In the past they have blocked the camera angle where the anchor presenting the segment fits perfectly with the monitor behind them keeping everything in the 4:3 safe zone.

 

Seems like a waste of a projection screen just to have some background graphic when that can be easily accomplished with duratrans for a fraction of the cost. If you're going to pay the extra money to have one, then use it well. It would've been great to use that screen to show that footage. Or if they have some plasma on a stand by the cameras with the anchor still in the background, then that would be a better idea too.

 

I really wish stations here would use the projection screen like they do in Australia. THAT is how you use a projection screen/plasma. And the sets aren't even that elaborate.

so you can see how they use their set there and why so many US stations fail with their set designs.

 

Also a minor thing but you couldn't have found a better cap? That anchor's facial expression is very creepy... :p

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Seems like a waste of a projection screen just to have some background graphic when that can be easily accomplished with duratrans for a fraction of the cost. If you're going to pay the extra money to have one, then use it well. It would've been great to use that screen to show that footage. Or if they have some plasma on a stand by the cameras with the anchor still in the background, then that would be a better idea too.

 

I really wish stations here would use the projection screen like they do in Australia. THAT is how you use a projection screen/plasma. And the sets aren't even that elaborate.

so you can see how they use their set there and why so many US stations fail with their set designs.

 

Also a minor thing but you couldn't have found a better cap? That anchor's facial expression is very creepy... :p

Most of the time the do use their rear projection screen like they do in the video where it usually shows videos pertinent to the story and occasionally graphics with the story headline for the first two stories of every "block". Then when they do round up summary of brief news they use over the shoulder graphics where unlike other Hearst stations they do them only on the left side of the screen regardless of anchor positions (WJZ keeps the OTS on the right). The camera shoots the anchor close up with either the projection screen showing a generic diagrid background or they use the dura trans. I will say I prefer the use of one sided OTS graphics because it keeps the text in the same area of the screen when the other anchor takes over. I found that my eyes don't have adjust/refocus to read text on the other side of the screen (this is attributed to bad eyesight). Second, I do not like how Hearst designed the OTS graphics for the right side of the screen where the spinning diagrid cone takes up the bottom corner of the screen rather than the top - this sometimes cuts off what an anchor is wearing and interferes with the lower third graphics.

 

They also have a few different camera angles that show content on a second monitor which is just an 80" projection tv that is used in the weather center. The shot is angled in a way where they can shoot the anchor and an interview subject who sits on the left side of the desk next to the weather center with the tv in the background which is displays supplemental information (If you've seen their set or any Hearst FX set you know how the layout). In front of the news desk they have a 50" monitor that most of the time displays a static logo or the date but during the noon newscast when they report on the stock markets they will pull out the shot and use this monitor to display stock market data while they give a brief update.

 

To the right of they anchor desk, they have the standard FX Group design for Hearst monitor tree which is essentially one 50" plasma mounted on a pole with two 20" monitors stacked on each side of it. The monitor tree is used for traffic where the big monitor displays the maps and the smaller ones show various feeds, during sports the big one shows the prominent footage with the others showing a generic sports logo or if they have supplemental video it is shown on the smaller ones. The final area of the set is a multipurpose type of area where they do exercise segments / interviews / pet segments / demonstrations on a "stage" that is probably 15 feet wide and 7 feet deep elevated a foot off the floor that has a second 100" projection screen built in behind it which will display the number of reps for exercises and questions for the veterinarian. On occasion they also use this area when they interview / do cross talk with the Washington bureau with their reporter on screen.

 

Wow, I didn't expect to write an essay on their camera shots but I did. I also realized that they do use the monitors on the set for a purpose other than to show a the city scape background (which is what WCVB did with their 9x3 monitor wall refresh).

 

As for the screen capture that was actually the best one that I could get using the OTS shot.

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