SFTV 484 Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 KRON is set to move across town in a few weeks leasing the third floor of KGO's Broadcast Center. You can see the FX box in the photos http://news.kron4.com/news/photos-less-than-a-month-until-kron-moves-to-our-new-building/ '> http://news.kron4.com/news/photos-less-than-a-month-until-kron-moves-to-our-new-building/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Block 1487 Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 What a waste for a new set to go to a station without any viewers to see it on air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caliwxdude 252 Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I was half-expecting they'd go with a virtual set vs. spending money on something that will probably only see a few years of use. FX isn't surprising—doesn't Media General use them exclusively? It doesn't look half-bad though, and the backgrounds/color palette hint at a new graphic look as well. From the brief article, it sounds like Monday, November 17 is the first day for broadcasts from the new facility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFTV 484 Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 Who knows how long this new set will last. Their current set is run to the ground and they never properly use the set like you see in this portfolio clip. All the monitors on the set jump images or you see snow. I've never seen them use that stand up next to the stairway after living here for 2 years now and wow the desk even moves? Lol but a shame they don't use a jib cam because these studio shots are not bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caliwxdude 252 Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Who knows how long this new set will last. Their current set is run to the ground and they never properly use the set like you see in this portfolio clip. All the monitors on the set jump images or you see snow. I've never seen them use that stand up next to the stairway after living here for 2 years now and wow the desk even moves? Lol but a shame they don't use a jib cam because these studio shots are not bad. All the fun stuff they used to do on that set ended around 2006, when Young slashed their budget (again, after another serious slash in 2003). I'd guess the extra camera operator needed for the jib was among the first things to go. Those old 4:3 CRT TVs are probably still in that standup location, which might be why you never see it anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkolsen 1675 Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Someone posted a link to the FX Facebook page in the no emotion box showing the set under construction. But it's quite sad seeing a once dominant news station relegated to renting such a small space from its competitor. The only upside is that it appears they have gotten new equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Block 1487 Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 It's unbelievable that they even sustain a news department at this point. I was able to sit down and watch a full hour of their morning news a few weeks ago, and while I knew that they did this, I didn't realize just how much they relied on producing sponsored content to make money. There were 4-5 packages in the commercials for all the best lasik operators and acai berry drink salesmen that you could imagine, and their sponsored content uses pretty much the same lower thirds only in blue. It's the kind of newscast that's great for souped up traffic reports, people behaving badly segments, and 1 live truck hit per hour along with on-air talent that appeals to the 65+ demographic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanewsguy 509 Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Well, the new set fits them well. They don't do much with their current set and you can't do much with this one so it doesn't seem much of a waste. Sad to see what was once a good station deteriorate in to this. It also makes me wonder whether they'll go to Canvas or keep the Instant Classics theme... The writing in that article was painful and it reminds why I can't stand their online presence. Every time they have a picture, they have to put "KRON4.com" on it. It just looks so stupid. Go look at their FB. They do it on every story... It's unbelievable that they even sustain a news department at this point. I was able to sit down and watch a full hour of their morning news a few weeks ago, and while I knew that they did this, I didn't realize just how much they relied on producing sponsored content to make money. There were 4-5 packages in the commercials for all the best lasik operators and acai berry drink salesmen that you could imagine, and their sponsored content uses pretty much the same lower thirds only in blue. It's the kind of newscast that's great for souped up traffic reports, people behaving badly segments, and 1 live truck hit per hour along with on-air talent that appeals to the 65+ demographic. Also their new GM hire just goes to show how much MG cares about the station... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 This weekend must be moving weekend - KRON appears to have suspended all newscasts until Monday morning and are running a strange "behind the scenes" special in the newscast blocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NewsHound Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 This weekend must be moving weekend - KRON appears to have suspended all newscasts until Monday morning and are running a strange "behind the scenes" special in the newscast blocks. That must be a Media General thing, I know WJBF in Augusta, GA did the same thing when they moved to the new building across town a couple years ago. It was weird, it was like 3 days of "special features" until Monday morning. WAGT's move was more seemless, they moved in the next week and was working in their old studio up until the night before. You could tell it was more seemless because WJBF was riddled with technical problems for a couple months and WAGT made sure the bugs were worked out in that extra week. Here's to hoping that KRON's transition is seemless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFTV 484 Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 KRON 4 Final Broadcast Segment from 1001 Van Ness: Also pictures of the new studio with rehearsals on KRON's Facebook page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Block 1487 Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 That doesn't look bad. It'll be interesting to see whether the new facility will have any impact on the quality of their programming. My guess is no, but anything's possible. It's too bad they couldn't get a video backdrop of some sort for the main desk considering how long they're on the air everyday. And the way they hid what looks like the traffic producer desk behind a set piece is....unusual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFTV 484 Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 The desk already looks a mess with 2 KRON 4 logos on the front. I like the desk to the left which has a 4 embedded in the desk. The current rear projection used at the Van Ness studios wasn't even used properly. The evening newscasts was always solo anchored so they always did the 45 degree side shot which you would rarely see the main set. I guess the Duratrans would suit better for them. The only time you'll see the backdrop is in the mornings since they have an anchor team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caliwxdude 252 Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Watching the 9:00am hour right now and while the new studio looks OK, they are still broadcasting in 16:9 standard definition with the exact same graphic look and still using Instant Classics for music. While I'm not surprised the music and graphics have remained the same, the standard-def thing is a bit shocking. From the construction photos, it looked like the control room gear was entirely new. Can you even buy a new non-HD switcher these days? That being said, this show is using very minimal graphics; just lower-thirds. Maybe something is up on the technical side and they're just doing a bare-bones show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkolsen 1675 Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Watching the 9:00am hour right now and while the new studio looks OK, they are still broadcasting in 16:9 standard definition with the exact same graphic look and still using Instant Classics for music. While I'm not surprised the music and graphics have remained the same, the standard-def thing is a bit shocking. From the construction photos, it looked like the control room gear was entirely new. Can you even buy a new non-HD switcher these days? That being said, this show is using very minimal graphics; just lower-thirds. Maybe something is up on the technical side and they're just doing a bare-bones show. You can buy a non HD switcher but they are designed for very small operations, like an elementary school broadcast. The control room is looks brand new but the fact that they discontinued newscasts over the weekend makes me think that they brought some critical equipment with them. I would think that if everything was new they could have a seamless transition to the new facility, much like KNBC and KXAS did. Edit: After I posted this I realized that Young Broadcasting does not have the deep pockets that NBC has through Comcast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGSJenkins 431 Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Edit: After I posted this I realized that Young Broadcasting does not have the deep pockets that NBC has through Comcast. Young Broadcasting doesn't exist anymore, Media General owns KRON. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caliwxdude 252 Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Edit: After I posted this I realized that Young Broadcasting does not have the deep pockets that NBC has through Comcast. Media General acquired Young back in 2013. While Young originally put the 1001 Van Ness building up for sale three years ago, they weren't exactly motivated sellers. The search for a new home really heated up once the acquisition closed. MG sold the building land for $26 million this year. I realize KRON is a bit of an ugly stepchild in the Media General family, but you'd think they would have at least added new HD gear into the budget for the new facility. They're a Ross OverDrive shop (actually served as the Ross POC with Young), which works with a variety of recent Ross switchers. Should have been a fairly simple upgrade with the move. Bummer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbc11newsclips 0 Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Here are some screengrabs from the 5pm newscast: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess 1110 Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Good lord. There are no words. If that's what their talent looks like, they're better off staying in standard def. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEOMatrix 1295 Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 According to Wikipedia, KRON's newscasts in the studio are in HD. The field stuff is in SD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caliwxdude 252 Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 According to Wikipedia, KRON's newscasts in the studio are in HD. The field stuff is in SD. Shocker - Wikipedia is wrong. Here's a full-res screenshot I captured OTA; it's clearly in standard definition. Good lord. There are no words. If that's what their talent looks like, they're better off staying in standard def. I have to wonder if HD might make them look a little better. But yeah, that's the state of KRON talent these days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus Sezek 3 Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Pleasantly surprised, this is very nice. The "4" desk on the right side is great looking. Overall not bad and like the new direction, but the SD quality video is not doing them any justice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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