Anyone remember "newscasts from the newsroom?"

[seatownmedia]

I posted this in classic tv, but thought it might be of interest here.

TV news originating from the newsroom
I wasn't sure where to place this thread, but classic tv seems to be the best fit. Was watching a Sundance "The Set" repeat of the Mary Tyler Moore Show (Season 4, Episode 7...1973) that dealt with the idea that a new trend in local news was to broadcast it from the actual newsroom. In this episode, it failed. But many stations in the 70's tried this format for their local news and were successful with it.

I believe the CBS stations WBBM Chicago and KNXT in Los Angeles were a couple of large market stations that attempted this approach. WBBM lasted longer than KNXT (now KCBS-TV), but this format expanded quickly and many copycats sprung up in the 70's and well into the 80's. KING-TV Seattle experimented with a "newsroom" format in the mid-70's but was quickly replaced with a traditional desk set after about a year. KIRO-TV (CBS affiliate) in Seattle went to a similar format to WBBM in 1981, and lasted for about a decade.

What other markets went this route, and have any continued to today?

WBBM, perhaps the pioneer of this format, had dropped it by the early 90's. (Although, KTLA apparently tried it as early as the 60's, but failed).

 

[KMan]

There were a few years in the 2000s that Dan Lewis solo anchored the 11PM news on KOMO and he did so from the newsroom.

 

[formeraa]

Definitely remember KING trying it in the late 70's. And, as mentioned, KIRO perfected it in the 80's when they were on top of the game with the "happy talk" format broadcasting from the newsroom along with Chopper 7 and the KIRO News Jet. I do remember WHDH in Boston trying it in the late 80's, introducing 'the anchor stading up and walking around" format. The anchor would walk from desk to desk in the newsroom introducing reporters and their stories.

 

[seatownmedia]

Definitely remember KING trying it in the late 70's. And, as mentioned, KIRO perfected it in the 80's when they were on top of the game with the "happy talk" format broadcasting from the newsroom along with Chopper 7 and the KIRO News Jet. I do remember WHDH in Boston trying it in the late 80's, introducing 'the anchor stading up and walking around" format. The anchor would walk from desk to desk in the newsroom introducing reporters and their stories.

Of course, many of Seattle TV historians remember KIRO trying to something similar in '93-'94, with the "walking around format", though not necessarily depicting a "newsroom". It was clunky, disorganized and failed. However, it may have been ahead of its time even in its failure. Today, almost all major market local news has the anchors rotating from a desk to standing positions. KIRO was doing this more the 20 years ago, but perhaps their presentation AND the audience were not quite ready for it.

 

[crainbebo]

If you count ANY newscast originating from a newsroom, then KOMO's First News at 4 was originating from the newsroom a few years ago...I haven't watched their stream lately to see what they are up to now.

 

[formeraa]

Of course, many of Seattle TV historians remember KIRO trying to something similar in '93-'94, with the "walking around format", though not necessarily depicting a "newsroom". It was clunky, disorganized and failed. However, it may have been ahead of its time even in its failure. Today, almost all major market local news has the anchors rotating from a desk to standing positions. KIRO was doing this more the 20 years ago, but perhaps their presentation AND the audience were not quite ready for it.

Ah yes, KIRO's failed "out of the box" experiment! People just weren't ready for it quite yet. After that experiment, wasn't Gary Justice demoted to mornings and ultimately let go?

 

[seatownmedia]

Ah yes, KIRO's failed "out of the box" experiment! People just weren't ready for it quite yet. After that experiment, wasn't Gary Justice demoted to mornings and ultimately let go?

Well, you never know how that all came about. The following article says Justice left on his own, but sometimes these can be "mutual" decisions. Though not mentioned in the article, it was clear Justice was not happy with the demotion.

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940920&slug=1931591

 

[formeraa]

Well, you never know how that all came about. The following article says Justice left on his own, but sometimes these can be "mutual" decisions. Though not mentioned in the article, it was clear Justice was not happy with the demotion.

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940920&slug=1931591

At the time, I think it was pretty clear that Gary's era had passed at KIRO (in management's eyes). The KIRO glory days of the 80's were long gone by that time.

 

[seatownmedia]

At the time, I think it was pretty clear that Gary's era had passed at KIRO (in management's eyes). The KIRO glory days of the 80's were long gone by that time.

KIRO had an uphill battle to overcome the "out of the box" fiasco, including losing their CBS affiliation for a couple of years, eventually gaining it back in the mid-90's. It was a sheer fight to get back in the fight, mostly with Steve Raible and they brought back Susan Hutchison at some point. They also hired Tony Ventrella for Sports. KIRO in the late 90's was the underdog, but they certainly gave it a good try. KIRO was a contender into the early 2000's, but never really was a winner. KOMO and KING dominated the local news ratings throughout the first decade of the 2000's.

 

[formeraa]

When did the Seattle stations start one hour evening newscasts? I know that there is a Youtube video of a KING one hour newscast in 1979 with Jean Enersen and Mike James anchoring. I certainly remember the 80's KIRO newscast from a newsroom set with John Marler and Gary Justice "Eyewitness News Live at Five" (Susan Hutchison was the live reporter). And I vaguely recall a KOMO newscast with Ruth Walsh and Bill Brubaker at 5 (but not sure if it was an hour long).

One of the things that I remember most is that KING's one-hour newscast was a long-form newscast (assumed the viewer was watching from the start), whereas the KIRO newscast was faster-paced and "updated" the top stories at 5:30 for viewers who tuned in after 5pm). I believe Bob Jordan's reforms began to modernize the KING 5pm newscast and wasn't he the one who started Top Story at 6:30pm bringing Lori Matsukawa over from KOMO paired with Mike James? I loved Top Story since it was like a local version of Nightline.

 

[seatownmedia]

When did the Seattle stations start one hour evening newscasts? I know that there is a Youtube video of a KING one hour newscast in 1979 with Jean Enersen and Mike James anchoring. I certainly remember the 80's KIRO newscast from a newsroom set with John Marler and Gary Justice "Eyewitness News Live at Five" (Susan Hutchison was the live reporter). And I vaguely recall a KOMO newscast with Ruth Walsh and Bill Brubaker at 5 (but not sure if it was an hour long).

One of the things that I remember most is that KING's one-hour newscast was a long-form newscast (assumed the viewer was watching from the start), whereas the KIRO newscast was faster-paced and "updated" the top stories at 5:30 for viewers who tuned in after 5pm). I believe Bob Jordan's reforms began to modernize the KING 5pm newscast and wasn't he the one who started Top Story at 6:30pm bringing Lori Matsukawa over from KOMO paired with Mike James? I loved Top Story since it was like a local version of Nightline.

This is a tough item to research. My best guess is the first hour long evening newscast happened sometime in the 70's. I did find this screenshot from TV Guide from August 1978. Notice KIRO and KOMO were a full hour at 5pm, but KING was actually running the Newlywed Game (!) in the 5:00 slot, followed by their own hour from 5:30 to 6:30, a break in Seattle tradition of running all the network newscasts at 6. KING soon stepped up with their own 5:00 hour 'cast as you point out.

https://www.facebook.com/vintageseattletv/photos/a.997610350291637/2042172012502127/?type=3&theater

 

[KMan]

I believe Bob Jordan's reforms began to modernize the KING 5pm newscast and wasn't he the one who started Top Story at 6:30pm bringing Lori Matsukawa over from KOMO paired with Mike James? I loved Top Story since it was like a local version of Nightline.

Top Story was pre-Bob Jordan by quite a few years.

From an old Matsukawa bio - "Matsukawa was hired at KING 5 in 1983 as a reporter and co-anchor for "Top Story," which takes a daily look at a major local story. She anchored KING 5 Morning News from 1988 to 1990, KING 5 Weekend News from 1990 to 1998 and KING 5 News at 11 from 1998 to 1999."

Her short stint on the KING 5 Morning News provided Don Madsen a co-anchor for the first time, but I recall a new article noting the move was only temporary. She eventually swapped positions with Joyce Taylor.

With these dates, we can assume Top Story ran for 5 years, from 1983 until 1988.

One thing I did like about the Bob Jordan KING 5, was he kept the top story branding and they really hammered the big story of the day at the top of the 5PM news, often with multiple reporters covering different angles.

That big, red "TOP STORY" logo displayed on the chroma key that came up between the anchors on the Bob Jordan set was iconic.

 

[seatownmedia]

Top Story was pre-Bob Jordan by quite a few years.

From an old Matsukawa bio - "Matsukawa was hired at KING 5 in 1983 as a reporter and co-anchor for "Top Story," which takes a daily look at a major local story. She anchored KING 5 Morning News from 1988 to 1990, KING 5 Weekend News from 1990 to 1998 and KING 5 News at 11 from 1998 to 1999."

Her short stint on the KING 5 Morning News provided Don Madsen a co-anchor for the first time, but I recall a new article noting the move was only temporary. She eventually swapped positions with Joyce Taylor.

With these dates, we can assume Top Story ran for 5 years, from 1983 until 1988.

One thing I did like about the Bob Jordan KING 5, was he kept the top story branding and they really hammered the big story of the day at the top of the 5PM news, often with multiple reporters covering different angles.

That big, red "TOP STORY" logo displayed on the chroma key that came up between the anchors on the Bob Jordan set was iconic.

I was thinking the same thing, as in "Top Story" was before Bob Jordan. However, Jordan definitely changed the look and even the culture of KING5 News in the early 80's. First thing he did was build a new set, and picked up the pace and energy of the newscasts. He mostly was responsible for KING doing well for the following two decades.

 

[formeraa]

I was thinking the same thing, as in "Top Story" was before Bob Jordan. However, Jordan definitely changed the look and even the culture of KING5 News in the early 80's. First thing he did was build a new set, and picked up the pace and energy of the newscasts. He mostly was responsible for KING doing well for the following two decades.

My mistake about the timing of Bob Jordan. Who did KING bring in earlier in the 80's to try to improve ratings? I seem to remember an attempt in the early 80's to change the name from KING 5 News to Newscenter 5. There was literally a viewer revolt about changing the name (they had already run ads in the Times touting the change). They also had some intros to their newscasts changed to Newscenter 5, while reporters were still saying "KING $ News". Finally, to appease everyone, they used "Live from Newscenter 5, this is KING 5 News!" Anyone else remember this? It seemed like a huge gaffe to me at the time.

KING seemed mired in the mid-70s, while KIRO's happy-talk, newsroom format seemed fresh and lively. I don't remember much about KOMO...except that Ray Ramsey retired in the mid-80's and was replaced by Steve Pool.

 

[seatownmedia]

My mistake about the timing of Bob Jordan. Who did KING bring in earlier in the 80's to try to improve ratings? I seem to remember an attempt in the early 80's to change the name from KING 5 News to Newscenter 5. There was literally a viewer revolt about changing the name (they had already run ads in the Times touting the change). They also had some intros to their newscasts changed to Newscenter 5, while reporters were still saying "KING $ News". Finally, to appease everyone, they used "Live from Newscenter 5, this is KING 5 News!" Anyone else remember this? It seemed like a huge gaffe to me at the time.

KING seemed mired in the mid-70s, while KIRO's happy-talk, newsroom format seemed fresh and lively. I don't remember much about KOMO...except that Ray Ramsey retired in the mid-80's and was replaced by Steve Pool.

KOMO tried a "living room" set in the very late 70's into the very early 80's where there was no desk, just a couple of comfy chairs. Wasn't to last...they eventually went back to more traditional desk set/skyline background and then to a green screen type background (I believe circa 1982), that lasted into 1987, when Dan Lewis was hired. It can be seen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z53pdngPvg&t=23s

A more traditional desk started in '87, modified a few times until KOMO expanded their studios in the very late 90's (?) which opened up more space. The eventual new Fisher Plaza set can be seen here about 2013.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcFzoUayArU

Just for fun, here are some KOMO opens starting in the 80's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETnryimICfQ

 

[DMK]

So an hour after clicking on KOMO opens link above and going through KING, KIRO, KSTW and KCPQ opens. I stumbled on this clip from the first day of KTZZ Channel 22. I remember my dad buying a UHF antenna just so we could watch this new channel. Anyone remember a rotator for your antenna? We had one so we could watch KVOS and CBUT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=falrzCTlVis

 

[KMan]

Just for fun, here are some KOMO opens starting in the 80's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETnryimICfQ

The KOMO opens are notable because while KIRO went through total turmoil in the 1990s, with a half dozen different looks, KOMO settled on a great theme, and stuck with it. One that remains as iconic to this day as the Bob Jordan KING5 theme that it competed with.

Also notable is how many anchors and anchor pairs they went through from the early 1980s until finally settling on Dan and Kathi as their weekday evening team for all three evening newscasts in the early 1990s.

Ted Warren
Keith Eldridge
Jeff McAtee (who resurfaced on NWCN years later)
Jim Harriott
John Siegenthaler
Eric Slocum
Dan Lewis
Kathi Goertzen
Kerry Brock
Connie Thompson

etc etc etc

That was a ton of talent in a short period before they finally settled in on the Dan and Kathi pairing.

 

[seatownmedia]

The KOMO opens are notable because while KIRO went through total turmoil in the 1990s, with a half dozen different looks, KOMO settled on a great theme, and stuck with it. One that remains as iconic to this day as the Bob Jordan KING5 theme that it competed with.

Also notable is how many anchors and anchor pairs they went through from the early 1980s until finally settling on Dan and Kathi as their weekday evening team for all three evening newscasts in the early 1990s.

Ted Warren
Keith Eldridge
Jeff McAtee (who resurfaced on NWCN years later)
Jim Harriott
John Siegenthaler
Eric Slocum
Dan Lewis
Kathi Goertzen
Kerry Brock
Connie Thompson

etc etc etc

That was a ton of talent in a short period before they finally settled in on the Dan and Kathi pairing.

True, but Ted Warren, Keith Eldridge, and the late Eric Slocum were weekend anchors. Looking back, they all were quite good though I never appreciated them at the time.

Jim Harriott, Kerry Brock, John Siegenthaler, and Jeff McAtee were the weekday faces of KOMO in the early to mid 80's. Lewis didn't start until '87, and was teamed with Goertzen I believe since his hiring.

 

[KMan]

True, but Ted Warren, Keith Eldridge, and the late Eric Slocum were weekend anchors. Looking back, they all were quite good though I never appreciated them at the time.

Jim Harriott, Kerry Brock, John Siegenthaler, and Jeff McAtee were the weekday faces of KOMO in the early to mid 80's. Lewis didn't start until '87, and was teamed with Goertzen I believe since his hiring.

Slocum actually started on weeknights for a brief period teamed with Kerry Brock on one newscast. I'm not sure of the exact timeline, because when Brock and Siegenthaler left, they were anchoring weekends together. Slocum slipped into that spot after their departures.

Keith Eldridge, I believe, did anchor weeknights in the early to mid 80s.

 

[seatownmedia]

Was in range of the SEA market yesterday, and the KOMO 4pm 'cast appears to back on the main studio set after years in a newsroom setting. (Of course, this could be temporary, don't know). But my thought is the newsroom setting was nice for Steve Poole with his "weather deck", and now that he is on medical hiatus, perhaps that is the reason.