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NewsNation Launch Thread


Sendir
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Thread Notice: On March 1, 2021 WGN America will rebrand as NewsNation. As it will then become a proper cable news network, this thread documenting the start of the show as it existed on WGN America will be closed on that date. Please consider starting new threads to cover other aspects of the new network.

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2 minutes ago, TheGuru said:

I have yet to see NewsNation cut in to WGNA since the AP called the race for Biden. That's quite the bad look when you're trying to compete at the national level.

I checked NN right after FOX called it. It looked the Weekend team was handling it.

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1 hour ago, Sendir said:

Yikes. That production was just bad and that shot of Aaron. I thought this was a national news source?

When Biden took the lead in PA yesterday, they broke in with it and used the same shot you're talking about. 

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1 hour ago, Sendir said:

Yikes. That production was just bad and that shot of Aaron. I thought this was a national news source?

Yeah, it's weird. They prioritized having that graphic on display above him, when normally the priority is to have both people in a double box be on equal zoom levels. It definitely does look odd.

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15 hours ago, MetroCity said:


Nexstar being a publicly traded company is somewhat irrelevant. Nexstar is so big, the NewsNation budget is just a blip in the budget. Yes, they had big launch expenses, but they came at a time when they were integrating new acquisitions into the company, and likely already making big capital purchases. And yes, they do have a significant staff. But in a company of that size, the NN staff isn’t necessarily a stand-out, especially when post-merger layoffs and attrition would have offset them.

 

 

Yes. NN is likely small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. But, in order to make money, they have to spend money. To make NN and WGN America work, they are going to have to spend a lot of money and I doubt many will be willing to silently sit back and wait 5-10 yrs for a return on investment. Plus, with new (and likely better) news options coming in the months/years ahead, they can't afford to wait to make meaningful (and financial) improvements. I'm sure they're aware of this and much more. Hopefully, they start to take the necessary steps before NN and WGN America are no more and that would be unfortunate.  

 

2 hours ago, Spring Rubber said:

Yeah, it's weird. They prioritized having that graphic on display above him, when normally the priority is to have both people in a double box be on equal zoom levels. It definitely does look odd.

 

I've said this before previously that the digital set cameras, lights, etc.. (reportedly) can controlled by the anchor, so Aaron didn't need to be on the main set.  They need to figure out these things because they're starting to look like amateurs.

 

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On 11/1/2020 at 9:27 PM, Megatron81 said:

I thought that the LA car chases were on broadcast TV on KCAL, KTLA etc.

Sometimes but not always. Often they are on the website, app, Facebook only and not on broadcast. They (L.A. car chases) often appear on San Diego tv Facebook, also, which I still don't understand.

On 11/6/2020 at 4:46 PM, Georgie56 said:

I imagine NewsNation will expand to mornings in the future, maybe as soon next year.

LOL. NewsNation is DEAD. 

On 11/7/2020 at 7:43 AM, Sendir said:


Absolutely agree. Perry will play the long game even though he will make changes here and there the operating budget is not that big. They have facilities that are paid for, subscribers and advertisers. That’s why you see the anchors that are on there instead of someone for Shep. 

Not a chance. Revenues in Q4 are going to be abysmal post election in this Covid atmosphere. With the exception of their smaller market GA stations. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

WGN America coming to YouTube TV

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/newsnation-wgn-america-coming-to-youtube-tv-in-january-2021/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

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Would it be a bad idea to have a NN produced half hour newscast run after the local news on Nexstar CW/MyNet stations? It could be done with the MN or local anchors. Why not take advantage of their station to promote NN?

 

To expand my idea in the previous post, make it by state with one station within the state producing the newscast with their anchors for the entire state using NN segments - call it NewsNation Texas (or California or New York)

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2 hours ago, dabx said:

Would it be a bad idea to have a NN produced half hour newscast run after the local news on Nexstar CW/MyNet stations? It could be done with the MN or local anchors. Why not take advantage of their station to promote NN?

 

To expand my idea in the previous post, make it by state with one station within the state producing the newscast with their anchors for the entire state using NN segments - call it NewsNation Texas (or California or New York)

 

That sounds like a great idea!

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Nexstar should absolutely be dropping in half-hour NN nugs in primetime on their non-big 3 stations. We're already seeing this with COX peppering their "National News Tonight" into late-night and overnight slots on some of their stations. It's free marketing for the full WGN newscast, and arguably does a better public service by offering up live news as opposed to, say, another "Modern Family" rerun (ratings would be a different story...)

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Maybe I'm just throwing this out there, but what if they did a companion hour after the main broadcast (at 11/10 Central) dedicated to sports (i.e., "NewsNation Sports)?

 

(I'll pause for the laughter from @CalItalian2to die down....)

 

I think what you would see from such an hour would be highlights of NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and college sports games (those that would finish before 11/10 Central), while highlights can't be shown from games that are still going on after 11/10 Central. They can show sound bites from press conferences and player interviews, maybe more in an extended form than the sound bites that we see on the ESPN networks and on local TV sports broadcasts. Of course, there'd be contributions from Nexstar stations in markets that have professional sports teams, and those stations in markets adjacent to them (like a report on the New Orleans Saints from WGNO and WVLA/WGMB reporters during the NFL season, for example). This also might play well during events such as March Madness, as multiple Nexstar markets might be involved, and also the college bowl season (of course, not so much this year during COVID-19). I can see an entire broadcast of two of "NewsNation Sports" dedicated to March Madness when that time comes, and during the week leading up to the Super Bowl, a broadcast or two from the location of the big game.

 

As for talent, definitely a team with the caliber of Joe Donlon, Marnie Hughes, and Rob Nelson to boot (as all 3 had many years of local TV experience combined before NewsNation)! There are a number of talented local sports anchors/reporters across the country that would definitely jump at the chance to do a broadcast like this..... 😀

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3 minutes ago, J1975am said:

Maybe I'm just throwing this out there, but what if they did a companion hour after the main broadcast (at 11/10 Central) dedicated to sports (i.e., "NewsNation Sports)?

 

(I'll pause for the laughter from @CalItalian2to die down....)

 

I think what you would see from such an hour would be highlights of NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and college sports games (those that would finish before 11/10 Central), while highlights can't be shown from games that are still going on after 11/10 Central. They can show sound bites from press conferences and player interviews, maybe more in an extended form than the sound bites what we see on the ESPN networks and on local TV sports broadcasts. 

 

Sports highlights from the pro leagues are incredibly expensive to air nationally—part of why all of the non-SportsCenter highlights shows (Fox Sports Live, etc) flop after a year or so since they can't generate the numbers to justify the exorbitant cost. If NewsNation is indeed covering costs at its current ad rates (an assertion that's debatable, in my opinion), you can throw that out the window if they start airing extended sports coverage. 

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