Anchorless Newscast

[Carmine5]

Fascinating article on KIAH in Houston doing away with news anchors. I mention it here because KIAH is a Tribune station as is KTLA. Wonder if Tribune will implement this idea here in L.A.

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2011/03/14/49774/kiah-set-to-launch-anchorless-newscast

 

[ercjncpr]

Fascinating article on KIAH in Houston doing away with news anchors. I mention it here because KIAH is a Tribune station as is KTLA. Wonder if Tribune will implement this idea here in L.A.

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2011/03/14/49774/kiah-set-to-launch-anchorless-newscast

So Tribune wants to bring back the movie newsreels because they are too cheap to pay anchors? Yeah, go ahead and put it on KTLA (or WGN and WPIX?) We will hear of the Chapter 11 filing of Tribune Broadcasting shortly thereafter

 

[Carmine5]

Fascinating article on KIAH in Houston doing away with news anchors. I mention it here because KIAH is a Tribune station as is KTLA. Wonder if Tribune will implement this idea here in L.A.

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2011/03/14/49774/kiah-set-to-launch-anchorless-newscast

So Tribune wants to bring back the movie newsreels because they are too cheap to pay anchors? Yeah, go ahead and put it on KTLA (or WGN and WPIX?) We will hear of the Chapter 11 filing of Tribune Broadcasting shortly thereafter

This idea is the brain child of Randy Michaels who is apparently trying to bring voice tracking to TV news. But it's no secret that music radio and television news reporting are totally different beasts. Unfortunately, thanks to the web, a news package that was put together a couple of hours before air is no longer news. By the time most viewers see it they already know more than the report will say or show.

TV news needs live reporters and a desk anchor who can pull the broadcast together into a cohesive whole. This idea will only make television news seem even more irrelevant and unnecessary. A better approach, if cost savings is the issue, is to pool talent from another broadcast or media entity and do a shared newsroom. At least the news will be fresh and not hours old.

 

[LKellerIII]

Fascinating article on KIAH in Houston doing away with news anchors. I mention it here because KIAH is a Tribune station as is KTLA. Wonder if Tribune will implement this idea here in L.A.

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2011/03/14/49774/kiah-set-to-launch-anchorless-newscast

TV news needs live reporters and a desk anchor who can pull the broadcast together into a cohesive whole. This idea will only make television news seem even more irrelevant and unnecessary. A better approach, if cost savings is the issue, is to pool talent from another broadcast or media entity and do a shared newsroom. At least the news will be fresh and not hours old.

Right. I don't think "anchorless" news will catch on. If KIAH is recording all the story intros by the voiceover guy earlier in the day, they'd have to break the format for live breaking news - just throw it to an in-studio reporter or the field reporter. Or if they're keeping the voice-over guy around the studio for live breaking news during the broadcast, how much money can they be saving?

I guess some local DJ/voiceover talent would make less than a TV news anchor, but I would think it's a relative drop-in-the bucket for a large market news operation. At least where I live (SF Bay Area), all the "star" anchors with huge salaries are long gone. These days, when an anchor retires or leaves, they just 'promote' another anchor or reporter from the same station. I can't think of the last time any local station here brought in some expensive new face from another market...the late 1990s, I think.

 

[wolfdreamer]

Regarding "I can't think of the last time any local station here brought in some expensive new face from another market...the late 1990s, I think" what about KTVU FOX2's Dave Clark who relo'd to the Bay Area from an anchor position at KCBS-2 Los Angeles? Didn't that occur in just the past couple of years?

-Wolf-

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

So Tribune wants to bring back the movie newsreels because they are too cheap to pay anchors? Yeah, go ahead and put it on KTLA (or WGN and WPIX?) We will hear of the Chapter 11 filing of Tribune Broadcasting shortly thereafter

They're (supposedly) only rolling this concept out on Tribune stations that don't have "heritage" news broadcasts. KIAH (nee, KHCW => KHWB => KHTV) only began news in the fall of 2000 and it never caught on in the Houston market, despite somewhat high-profile, locally-known talent (Alan Hemberger, former KTRKer and Sherry Williams, former KRIVer) fronting the newscast.

I could see it spreading to KWGN-Denver or KPLR-STL (both Tribune-owned) as a cheap alternative to LocalTV's co-produced newscasts (KDVR, KTVI) in those markets.

 

[ajc_trw]

Regarding "I can't think of the last time any local station here brought in some expensive new face from another market...the late 1990s, I think" what about KTVU FOX2's Dave Clark who relo'd to the Bay Area from an anchor position at KCBS-2 Los Angeles? Didn't that occur in just the past couple of years?

-Wolf-

Is Dave Clark on at 5? If he is there's a joke there somewhere.

That or an excellent ad campaign.

 

[LKellerIII]

Regarding "I can't think of the last time any local station here brought in some expensive new face from another market...the late 1990s, I think" what about KTVU FOX2's Dave Clark who relo'd to the Bay Area from an anchor position at KCBS-2 Los Angeles? Didn't that occur in just the past couple of years?

-Wolf-

I didn't say Bay Area stations never brought in anchors from other markets - though it is getting increasingly rare. The key word in my original post was "expensive." As far as I know, Dave Clark only does the Morning News (no - he's not on at 5:00). I doubt he came north for big money.

What I was referring to was the old (70s through 90s) trend in which stations brought in expensive talent from other markets in the hope of raising ratings for their primary evening and late night newscasts - then spending a lot of money on billboards and commercials promoting the new face. That's rarely done anymore, and probably saves a lot of money.

 

[recto101]

Fascinating article on KIAH in Houston doing away with news anchors. I mention it here because KIAH is a Tribune station as is KTLA. Wonder if Tribune will implement this idea here in L.A.

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2011/03/14/49774/kiah-set-to-launch-anchorless-newscast

TV news needs live reporters and a desk anchor who can pull the broadcast together into a cohesive whole. This idea will only make television news seem even more irrelevant and unnecessary. A better approach, if cost savings is the issue, is to pool talent from another broadcast or media entity and do a shared newsroom. At least the news will be fresh and not hours old.

Right. I don't think "anchorless" news will catch on. If KIAH is recording all the story intros by the voiceover guy earlier in the day, they'd have to break the format for live breaking news - just throw it to an in-studio reporter or the field reporter. Or if they're keeping the voice-over guy around the studio for live breaking news during the broadcast, how much money can they be saving?

I guess some local DJ/voiceover talent would make less than a TV news anchor, but I would think it's a relative drop-in-the bucket for a large market news operation. At least where I live (SF Bay Area), all the "star" anchors with huge salaries are long gone. These days, when an anchor retires or leaves, they just 'promote' another anchor or reporter from the same station. I can't think of the last time any local station here brought in some expensive new face from another market...the late 1990s, I think.

Roger Grimsby to NYC WABC7 from KGO 7 in the 1960's? That is the last big profile when an achor was hired from another market and The Late Pete Wilson from KTXL 40 Sacramento to replace the Late Jerry Jensen at KGO 7 in 1983 or 1984.

 

[Rollo-Smokes]

Fascinating article on KIAH in Houston doing away with news anchors. I mention it here because KIAH is a Tribune station as is KTLA. Wonder if Tribune will implement this idea here in L.A.

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2011/03/14/49774/kiah-set-to-launch-anchorless-newscast

So Tribune wants to bring back the movie newsreels because they are too cheap to pay anchors? Yeah, go ahead and put it on KTLA (or WGN and WPIX?) We will hear of the Chapter 11 filing of Tribune Broadcasting shortly thereafter

A variant of what Tribune calls "NewsFix" has been on in New York since last October. WPIX replaced an anchor pairing that had been together for 12 years in favor of one person who basically introduces each feature. The whole idea is to deemphasize the role of the anchor -- except viewers dislike the anchor (Jodi Applegate) and the format is really awful A 60-minute newscast now features 11 minutes of hard news and 49 minutes of longer fluff pieces, including two nightly commentaries from former radio host "Lionel" and "bad-boy" anchor Larry Mendte. WPIX recently dropped its sports department and now the anchor reasd the sports stories in a 60-second segment.

WPIX wants the 18-34 year-old woman who watched Gossip Girl, 90210 or America's Next Top Model to stay tuned to the news. I don't think they're succeeding. I wouldn't be surprised if more viewers have defected to Fox-owned WNYW since the new format launched.

 

[radiorob2.0]

Regarding "I can't think of the last time any local station here brought in some expensive new face from another market...the late 1990s, I think" what about KTVU FOX2's Dave Clark who relo'd to the Bay Area from an anchor position at KCBS-2 Los Angeles? Didn't that occur in just the past couple of years?

-Wolf-

Is Dave Clark on at 5? If he is there's a joke there somewhere.

That or an excellent ad campaign.

Now now, you're base that on bits and pieces, over and over, anyway you want it, because can't you see that she's mine.

 

[Ultimajock]

Regarding "I can't think of the last time any local station here brought in some expensive new face from another market...the late 1990s, I think" what about KTVU FOX2's Dave Clark who relo'd to the Bay Area from an anchor position at KCBS-2 Los Angeles? Didn't that occur in just the past couple of years?

-Wolf-

Is Dave Clark on at 5? If he is there's a joke there somewhere.

That or an excellent ad campaign.

Now now, you're base that on bits and pieces, over and over, anyway you want it, because can't you see that she's mine.

...glad all over. I like it like that...

 

[KeithE4]

Regarding "I can't think of the last time any local station here brought in some expensive new face from another market...the late 1990s, I think" what about KTVU FOX2's Dave Clark who relo'd to the Bay Area from an anchor position at KCBS-2 Los Angeles? Didn't that occur in just the past couple of years?

-Wolf-

Is Dave Clark on at 5? If he is there's a joke there somewhere.

That or an excellent ad campaign.

Now now, you're base that on bits and pieces, over and over, anyway you want it, because can't you see that she's mine.

...glad all over. I like it like that...

You try too hard. ;D

 

[KyDXIn]

Regarding "I can't think of the last time any local station here brought in some expensive new face from another market...the late 1990s, I think" what about KTVU FOX2's Dave Clark who relo'd to the Bay Area from an anchor position at KCBS-2 Los Angeles? Didn't that occur in just the past couple of years?

-Wolf-

Is Dave Clark on at 5? If he is there's a joke there somewhere.

That or an excellent ad campaign.

Now now, you're base that on bits and pieces, over and over, anyway you want it, because can't you see that she's mine.

...glad all over. I like it like that...

You try too hard. ;D

Whadda think this is? Some American bandstand or something?? (Apologies to Dick-- do you know Dick?)

 

[1069_KIFR]

Yes I remember when stations used to promote the $%!T out of a new anchor coming to the station. "Starting Monday April 11 (Insert name) Joins ActionNews13 at 5, 6 and 11!"

Those days are gone. Now when you tune into the news, its simply "Good Evening I'm (insert name) here are the top stories..."