If Cumulus, through their Westwood One network, wanted to create a new-sounding national Top-of-The-Hour newscast, they've succeeded. But I'm not sure I like it. All the Cumulus News/Talk stations are running it. ABC News is out as of the new year. (I wonder how drastically the ABC affiliate list has been cut? I don't know of any station in my region carrying it anymore.)
This new network is "powered by CNN" but they never say CNN on the air. Even if they use a CNN correspondent, they don't identify that person as being with CNN. I'm hearing it on 770 WABC NYC only when they don't have their own anchor doing the news, which means most nights after 7 or 8pm. Even overnight, WABC never takes more than the first two minutes. Also nearby, Cumulus stations 1230 WFAS White Plains and 600 WICC Bridgeport also carry it. WFAS used to carry a different feed than the one heard on WABC. I suppose WFAS was with the ABC Entertainment or Directions Network, while WABC was with the ABC Information Network. Now everyone uses the same WW1 feed.
The anchor starts by listing two or three quick headlines, then says his name. But there's no mention of a network. The writing is extremely fast. They get three or four stories in by the first minute, several with either an actuality or voiced by a reporter. But no story can go into any depth at all with this fast pace.
At the one minute mark, the anchor pauses briefly for some stations to break away. Then he continues for a second minute, also jamming four or more stories within the next 60 seconds. Then he says his name and a one-minute spot plays. WABC leaves after this spot every time I've heard it, even overnight. But sometimes WFAS and WICC carry the third minute of the newscast. Again it's four or more stories in the third minute. The anchor says his name again, and the final spot plays.
Sometimes I notice there's a music bed playing throughout the newscast. I have to listen carefully because I'm not always aware of it. Maybe they're still adjusting the volume for this music bed. The music sounds like a popcorn machine, something you'd play under a traffic report, not a newscast.
I know we have shorter attention spans these days. But these newscasts sound so rushed, I wonder what important facts they're leaving out? Suppose an eyewitness says something really dramatic but it goes more than four or five seconds? Then we'll never hear it. And because correspondents are so limited in their reports, they can only tell us three sentences, with usually no audio to accompany their reports. They might be in Moscow or Beijing or Washington but they're simply another voice reading us three sentences. They don't even give us an outcue. The anchor says "That's John Smith in Rome."
CBS, ABC and Fox have longer top-of-the-hour newscasts. And they don't give stations the chance to leave after one minute. Instead, they have alternate feeds with shorter newscasts. But I guess Cumulus doesn't want to pay for numerous newscast feeds. One top-of-the-hour report fits all stations, whether they want to jump off after 60 seconds or they stay for all three minutes of news and two minutes of spots.
This new network is "powered by CNN" but they never say CNN on the air. Even if they use a CNN correspondent, they don't identify that person as being with CNN. I'm hearing it on 770 WABC NYC only when they don't have their own anchor doing the news, which means most nights after 7 or 8pm. Even overnight, WABC never takes more than the first two minutes. Also nearby, Cumulus stations 1230 WFAS White Plains and 600 WICC Bridgeport also carry it. WFAS used to carry a different feed than the one heard on WABC. I suppose WFAS was with the ABC Entertainment or Directions Network, while WABC was with the ABC Information Network. Now everyone uses the same WW1 feed.
The anchor starts by listing two or three quick headlines, then says his name. But there's no mention of a network. The writing is extremely fast. They get three or four stories in by the first minute, several with either an actuality or voiced by a reporter. But no story can go into any depth at all with this fast pace.
At the one minute mark, the anchor pauses briefly for some stations to break away. Then he continues for a second minute, also jamming four or more stories within the next 60 seconds. Then he says his name and a one-minute spot plays. WABC leaves after this spot every time I've heard it, even overnight. But sometimes WFAS and WICC carry the third minute of the newscast. Again it's four or more stories in the third minute. The anchor says his name again, and the final spot plays.
Sometimes I notice there's a music bed playing throughout the newscast. I have to listen carefully because I'm not always aware of it. Maybe they're still adjusting the volume for this music bed. The music sounds like a popcorn machine, something you'd play under a traffic report, not a newscast.
I know we have shorter attention spans these days. But these newscasts sound so rushed, I wonder what important facts they're leaving out? Suppose an eyewitness says something really dramatic but it goes more than four or five seconds? Then we'll never hear it. And because correspondents are so limited in their reports, they can only tell us three sentences, with usually no audio to accompany their reports. They might be in Moscow or Beijing or Washington but they're simply another voice reading us three sentences. They don't even give us an outcue. The anchor says "That's John Smith in Rome."
CBS, ABC and Fox have longer top-of-the-hour newscasts. And they don't give stations the chance to leave after one minute. Instead, they have alternate feeds with shorter newscasts. But I guess Cumulus doesn't want to pay for numerous newscast feeds. One top-of-the-hour report fits all stations, whether they want to jump off after 60 seconds or they stay for all three minutes of news and two minutes of spots.