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The worst news opens of all time


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Not to mention their stations are in some of the smallest Nielsen DMA's in existence, including the smallest of all, KXGN in Glendive, MT. 

Alpena is two notches higher on the list, besting North Platte, NE.

 

I don't know how independent KNOP is in North Platte, but since WBKB does their own thing, it could really be the smallest market stand-alone news operation in the whole country.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The only thing worse than a bad open is one that pastes bad, out-of-place graphics on elements that are obviously canned. 

I've seen similar bits of the "STRAIGHT AHEAD" and "PLUS" that WTRF used in their 1997 look. 

Were they part of the package that had the bank of monitors that flew across the screen?

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3 hours ago, kmetz said:

Of all time? That can include international news right? I give to you... Zambia's KBN TV. I pulled the whole clip from this CNN article.

The intro seems awful! 

 

 

 

They couldn't even center the anchor right 😂🤣

 

Poor dude

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6 hours ago, kmetz said:

Capture.PNG.3f4aa0622af242e3522852978c5117d5.PNG

 

Is this some "kiddie" network? Who the hell uses a Gmail address? Seems very unprofessional.

 

 

 

Apparently so since they can't even pay their employees 🤦‍♂️

Edited by Yankees4life
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On 8/13/2018 at 2:00 PM, Yankees4life said:

 

 

Just found this on YT. MERCY that is bad open

This must have been in October or November 1994. I posted the first 8:00 of the 9/17/94 evening news that still used the Fox era opening, bad fit for an NBC but definitely targeting the younger crowd (i.e. Fox local newscasts). Lot of reality-show and MTV-type camera work too in the reports.

 

But if you want a really bad news opening...I wish I had it on video.

 

DAVID LEE voiced the KAPP/KVEW news open a few years back. Yes, that David Lee. The rock station announcer and Westwood One Sports imaging guy. Either it was David or a knockoff of David that sounded just like him.

And the open graphics looked like crap too.

 

This would have been around 2016.

 

Also, don't even get me started on KIMA and KEPR's first graphics package + open(s) when they went to Action News in 2007. Terrible. Terrrrrrrrrible.

 

Edited by VHSgoodiesWA
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43 minutes ago, VHSgoodiesWA said:

This must have been in October or November 1994. I posted the first 8:00 of the 9/17/94 evening news that still used the Fox era opening, bad fit for an NBC but definitely targeting the younger crowd (i.e. Fox local newscasts). Lot of reality-show and MTV-type camera work too in the reports.

 

But if you want a really bad news opening...I wish I had it on video.

 

DAVID LEE voiced the KAPP/KVEW news open a few years back. Yes, that David Lee. The rock station announcer and Westwood One Sports imaging guy. Either it was David or a knockoff of David that sounded just like him.

And the open graphics looked like crap too.

 

This would have been around 2016.

 

Also, don't even get me started on KIMA and KEPR's first graphics package + open(s) when they went to Action News in 2007. Terrible. Terrrrrrrrrible.

 

I found the first one

 

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That's it. And that virtual set they had was yikes with a capitol Y. Definitely a third-rate news station. They've improved with a new set and a new logo (and a much better announcer), but still have that 5 minute 'newscast' at 11pm (with 2.5-3 minutes of commercials) and nothing on weekends except weather forecast bumpers.

 

They had just stopped using Eric Gordon for v/os (who sounds way better), and I guess they were looking around for any person they could find. Hmm...let's use David Lee! 🤮

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On 6/28/2021 at 1:47 AM, Yankees4life said:

I found the first one

(video snipped)

Thanks for this. I remember someone on RD posting about this station using David Lee for voiceovers a while back and wanted to hear it for myself.

 

20 hours ago, VHSgoodiesWA said:

That's it. And that virtual set they had was yikes with a capitol Y. Definitely a third-rate news station. They've improved with a new set and a new logo (and a much better announcer), but still have that 5 minute 'newscast' at 11pm (with 2.5-3 minutes of commercials) and nothing on weekends except weather forecast bumpers.

 

They had just stopped using Eric Gordon for v/os (who sounds way better), and I guess they were looking around for any person they could find. Hmm...let's use David Lee! 🤮

The graphics were terrible, that's a Morgan Murphy specialty. However I didn't David Lee was that bad. He worked better than I thought he would. Then again I'm a big fan of his work. He wouldn't be my first choice though (but I'm not the biggest fan of the "voice of god" type read anyway, at least for news).

I'm guessing it was just a cost-cutting thing. I'm pretty sure he's their voiceover for Rock 94 1/2 out of Spokane and Spokane likely handles their creative services. The retainer was likely up for Gordon and they decided to use David Lee (who they already had a relationship with) until they could find a cheaper talent (the guy who does KVIA). 

Edited by sanewsguy
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On 6/27/2021 at 1:20 PM, kmetz said:

Of all time? That can include international news right? I give to you... Zambia's KBN TV. I pulled the whole clip from this CNN article.

This intro is just awful.

(video snipped)

Not only can they not pay their employees, they can't even pay for their music. Hearing that "audiojungle" audiomark during the open was very grating.

 

 

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KXLY in Spokane used Bill Ratner for their voiceover for the better half of the last 20 years, until he was replaced by Brian Lee. Morgan Murphy probably provided Gordon's services to KVEW because it was cheaper to go with him than Ratner. Ratner has done v/os for a lot of major-market stations, like KCRA and KMGH.

 

I'll have to find that Action News open and re-post it soon. The opening was terrible.

 

KNDO's late '90s open was also bad. The music and voiceover recordings were awful...like it came from a cassette tape or cart used ten times before...muffled and the audio was even unstable. And this wasn't a VCR problem. It happened nightly at 'News 23 NBC'.

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4 hours ago, VHSgoodiesWA said:

KXLY in Spokane used Bill Ratner for their voiceover for the better half of the last 20 years, until he was replaced by Brian Lee. Morgan Murphy probably provided Gordon's services to KVEW because it was cheaper to go with him than Ratner. Ratner has done v/os for a lot of major-market stations, like KCRA and KMGH.

 

I'll have to find that Action News open and re-post it soon. The opening was terrible.

 

KNDO's late '90s open was also bad. The music and voiceover recordings were awful...like it came from a cassette tape or cart used ten times before...muffled and the audio was even unstable. And this wasn't a VCR problem. It happened nightly at 'News 23 NBC'.

I think I found the second one

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8 hours ago, sanewsguy said:

Not only can they not pay their employees, they can't even pay for their music. Hearing that "audiojungle" audiomark during the open was very grating.

 

 

 

They tried to muffle it out it seems haha.

 

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Same one from KNDO, yep. They could have used the same music and opening montage without resorting to a cassette or cart recording that sounded like it had been taped over 100 times!!

 

I'll get that KIMA one up eventually, I promise. And KEPR used the same package, of course. 'KIMA KEPR Action News'

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1 hour ago, VHSgoodiesWA said:

Same one from KNDO, yep. They could have used the same music and opening montage without resorting to a cassette or cart recording that sounded like it had been taped over 100 times!!

 

I'll get that KIMA one up eventually, I promise. And KEPR used the same package, of course. 'KIMA KEPR Action News'

KNDO has had bad opens for decades it seems. Their open now is God awful too 😂🤣🤦‍♂️

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On 6/27/2021 at 11:03 PM, VHSgoodiesWA said:

This must have been in October or November 1994. I posted the first 8:00 of the 9/17/94 evening news that still used the Fox era opening, bad fit for an NBC but definitely targeting the younger crowd (i.e. Fox local newscasts). Lot of reality-show and MTV-type camera work too in the reports.

 

 

 

Scripps Howard was doing that with all their Fox-turned-Big 3 stations (note that KNXV launched news with the so-called "Fox attitude" when they knew they were becoming ABC). They didn't have time to change their game plan.

On 6/29/2021 at 10:06 AM, VHSgoodiesWA said:

KXLY in Spokane used Bill Ratner for their voiceover for the better half of the last 20 years, until he was replaced by Brian Lee. Morgan Murphy probably provided Gordon's services to KVEW because it was cheaper to go with him than Ratner. Ratner has done v/os for a lot of major-market stations, like KCRA and KMGH.

 

I'll have to find that Action News open and re-post it soon. The opening was terrible.

 

KNDO's late '90s open was also bad. The music and voiceover recordings were awful...like it came from a cassette tape or cart used ten times before...muffled and the audio was even unstable. And this wasn't a VCR problem. It happened nightly at 'News 23 NBC'.

 

It must have been a Pacific Northwest small market thing. I remember seeing KTVZ Bend in 1994 and thinking how low budget they were.

Edited by TVIntheDesert
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3 hours ago, TVIntheDesert said:

 

Scripps Howard was doing that with all their Fox-turned-Big 3 stations (note that KNXV launched news with the so-called "Fox attitude" when they knew they were becoming ABC). They didn't have time to change their game plan.

 

It must have been a Pacific Northwest small market thing. I remember seeing KTVZ Bend in 1994 and thinking how low budget they were.

 

KNXV wound up having the right type of game-changer product for the market anyway. But yes, they were clearly going that direction. One can imagine Tampa was next on the list—though maybe further down the road because their existing building was insufficient when it did end up coming time (as things turned out, the news area had to use third-party production facilities for over a year until the Tampa Stadium studios were finished).

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And KTVZ came really late in the game - 1977 in fact. Bend was just considered part of the Portland market and cable brought TV to Bend.

Yes, our newscasts in Yakima have ranged from decent to laughable over the years. But one thing that stood out from Seattle and big cities was the approach of the word 'community.' They used to serve the whole community, not just report from whichever town had a fatal shooting overnight. Community events were announced on the air and during newscasts (and in some cases, still are). And not just big events like the fair or 4th of July fireworks. In fact, some of those major events, like the Sunfair Parade (part of the Central Washington State Fair), were broadcast live on KIMA each year. Seattle stations did the same thing, but they served a massive audience of (potentially) a couple million. We serve a potential audience of roughly 225,000. Close-knit, in other terms.

But those days are (mostly) over. They keep trying from Tri-Cities but like everywhere, the audience has dwindled down and gone to social media/streaming for news. I keep wondering when KIMA will just hang up shop and send everyone down to Pasco. It can't be THAT far away at this point, sadly.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 6/30/2021 at 5:18 PM, Yankees4life said:

KNDO has had bad opens for decades it seems. Their open now is God awful too 😂🤣🤦‍♂️

KNDO is the better news station in Tri-Cities/Yakima than the other stations, on the other hand! But their WX has been from Spokane since Tim Adams left. I notice that sometimes KAPP and KNDO talk more about Yakima than the YAKIMA-based station actually does! (KIMA) And my family notices the same thing.

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6 hours ago, Yankees4life said:

WBKB does it again. Man, this station is filled with bad opens

 

 

First thought - is this intentionally tacky?  The way they have the anchors pose leads me to wonder...

 

But - I have to be honest, other than the creepy eyes - there is at least an EFFORT to produce a unique opening here.  With cleaner typography (Script font for anchor names) and a "KISS" approach to some of the graphics - it would improve quite a bit.  I actually like the way the words are rendered within the environments - and Northern Michigan has plenty of beautiful spaces to use as inspiration.  I'd also invest in better music and a professional VO.

 

So yes...it's bad.  But there's also some effort here that I can appreciate.  Compared to say...Scripps, there was certainly way more effort and work that went into developing this open.

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