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Fox 61 Morning News thoughts...

scottg

scottg

Well I woke up early today to watch the new Fox 61 Morning News Program on WTIC TV FOX 61.

For a show that has been in the works for so long I was disapointed in what I saw.

First what is up with the Picture Quality coming from the newsroom at Fox 61? I was tuned to WTIC's Digital signal 61-1 at 100% strength and some cameras looked terrible, almost like there was a slight herringbone pattern (lines through the screen). I know WTIC is not doing news in HD yet, but the camera image quality was on par with my 5 year olds Fisher Price video camera. Some of the cameras also looked out of focus or just plain dull.

The lighting was uneven from set to set, one set was brightly set while other sets such as the weather center we really dark. (I did like the set with the video of downtown hartford in the backround)

The graphics were generic, I expected a better graphics package from a news station billing its show as the "Fox" morning news. Even things like the traffic looked horrible, when they shoed the traffic cameras WTIC showed the pure cameras including all the time date information, other stations cover this stuff up with fancy graphics.

This newscast seemed to have some really REALLY long commercial breaks as well.

It appeared that the cameras are not robotic, and the closing shot (zoom out and pan) looked really bad as if the guy running the camera still had his tripod locked down to much and he was unable to get that fluid looking zoom out and pan motion, instead it was a jerky picture as he tried panning to the right.

I felt bad for the all star news cast who did a good job at their duties, but from where I sit

While the news casters were good at what they do, the rest of issues made it seem like they were forced to use some high schools newsroom and equipment. Some of the show looked so bad and so amateur that I had to turn away and just listen to Logan Burns tell me the news.

Fox 61 needs to take a look at the Channel 3 or 30 news and see how they do it and give their news cast the same consistant on air look. They have the talent needed but not the technology, and it really is a shame, with that team they could easily put other local newscasts to shame.
 
I admit, I missed the first 15 minutes of the show, but from what I saw, they had a successful first day.

You could tell they were somewhat nervous, they even admitted it. But their excitement and enthusiasm definitely overshadowed any butterflies they had. The team has good chemistry together and it was great to see Rachel, Logan, and especially Joe back on the air after all these years. It was also nice to see Rebecca's familiar face again.

As for the set, I liked the background of downtown Hartford, you could even see the new Marriott building. This is unique, because none of the "big 3" stations in the state have a fixed background of Hartford or New Haven's skyline anymore. I think it's important because the skylines used to make our market look more sophisticated (look at stations in NYC, LA, Boston, for example). However, today 3, 8, and 30 are all worried about covering the other 167 small and medium sized towns, forgetting that this is called the Hartford & New Haven market for a reason. So, I'm glad FOX61 is showing the skyline. In fact, they're the only TV station left that's still headquartered in the city of Hartford! They also mentioned that the center part of the background (with the FOX61 logo) has the capability to drop down and open up to the newsroom, which is what you see during the News at Ten. I also liked their living room type set, where they had two interviews this morning.

As for the graphics, I was surprised they weren't totally new, but hey you have to start somewhere.

Regarding the traffic maps, I have to say they picked an awesome package! By far, it has the best graphics and interactivity of any other station in Connecticut. They seem to be using "Beat the Traffic" from what the logo said. And I was thrilled to see Rachel back. She did an awesome job, she still has her sense of humor, joking around with everyone; but it was nothing like what she used put up with at channel 3. Remember the weather guy always following her around, acting goofy, and making comments? You can tell Rachel is a lot happier at FOX61!

When it comes to the weather, it'd be great if they had similar graphics as to what they're using for traffic. But I was still pleased with Joe Furey and his forecasting skills. He's a veteran meteorologist in the state, and no stranger to FOX61. I like the fact that he showed two maps of local temperatures this morning: the generic map showing official readings at all the state's airports, and then a second map showing local temperatures at various hand-picked towns. I hope he continues doing this.

As far as the traffic cameras, they're provided in partnership with ConnDOT and the State Police. All of the stations get the same raw feed stamped with information concerning the camera number, highway name, city/town, direction of travel, etc. The other stations usually put a banner over these details, but I've seen them slip up and show the raw feed with no banner before. This usually happens when the state rolls out new camera locations, or the stations pick up a lesser used camera, where no banner templates have been made yet. But it's all a work-in-progress. I'm sure FOX61 will be critiquing things after the first show, the first week, month, etc.

As for the studio and camera angles, I did notice some funny things. It seemed like when all four personalities were at the desk, the camera angle was ****-eyed to the side. I also noticed the same thing when the two hosts were sitting on the couch. And the weather center did look a little dark to me. I agree there. And when they zoomed into the plasma screen on the front of the desk to show tornado video, there were some funny effects at the top of the plasma screen. But that could have just been the video feed.

Another thing, Rachel and Joe seemed out of breath at times. They do weather and traffic every 10 minutes on the 6's for WTIC-TV FOX61, then doing the same on radio station WTIC-AM in the meantime. They actually mentioned how they have to run between the two different studios. It was also noticeable that they were still in 'radio mode' when on TV, speaking in the typical high-speed radio voice. But this is no different than NBC 30, where "Mark the Shark" apparently has to run up and down the stairs to prepare his traffic reports for WTIC-FM (ironically). You can definitely tell when he's short of breath and radio speed-reading while doing the TV segment.

As for content, they hit the jackpot. The whole show overall was a breath of fresh air. I was getting tired of how "heavy" the news content on 3, 8, and 30 had become. I know the morning news is designed to repeat itself every 5-10 minutes, so that anyone tuning in - at any time - can get a quick update on the day's events, weather, and traffic. But if you watch 3, 8, or 30, for more than 10-15 minutes at a time, you'll seriously get a headache. From the anchors to the reporters in the field, they just repeat the same nonsense, the same video feeds, same script, etc. The only thing that's ever different is the traffic and current temperatures - obviously!

But I was able to watch the FOX61 Morning Show from 6:15-8 and still want more. I wasn't bored, I wasn't annoyed, I didn't feel like they repeated the same things over and over. It was a lot lighter and not so in-your-face. They didn't bombard you with crazy graphics and music every 10 minutes like Channel 3. The anchors didn't talk down to you like Brad Drazen does on NBC30, or yell at you while they were reading the telepromptor like Irene O'Connor on Channel 3. Has anyone ever tried listening to them for long periods of time? Then there's Scott Haney who tries to scare you over a little black ice or fog, or telling you to stay home for the day over a couple of inches of snow - it's always the end of the world with him! So I was really pleased with FOX61.

As I mentioned before, they had two interview segments this morning, with three guests. It's also a nice change of pace, something you don't see on the other state channels. Having a few guests each morning would generate a lot of viewers. All the morning radio shows do this, so why not on TV? There's definitely a niche, and this could blossom into something great if they did it on a regular basis. Between all the politicians in Hartford, Connecticut's sports figures, all of the universities in the area, all the entertainers living in Connecticut, and musicians, etc. visiting the XL (Civic) Center, there's an infinite amount of guests they could line up.

They also had 2 reporters live in the field this morning. This was a surprise, I can't tell you the last time I saw the other stations have more than 1 person out in the field during the morning show, aside from winter weather events. And before cutting to a commercial, they'd show some live shots from around the state (they weren't traffic cams). One showed a New England-looking country road, lined with snow covered stone walls. Another showed students walking to class on a large college campus, probably UConn. Maybe they're trying to get the younger kids to watch the show. Viewers even sent in e-mails. This is important, because if you look at Channel 3 or 30, they have a cult following in the morning, with the same people e-mailing their local temperatures, snowfall totals, and traffic updates. They even mention the viewers' names on air, and show the weather-related pictures they often send in. This is the wave of the future, and if FOX61 is open to, and embraces this interactivity, they'll also develop a strong, personal relationship with their viewers.

Overall, I think they did a great job this morning. I was pleased and thankful to have another alternative for the morning news. It's a nice change of pace, and I don't think I could ever go back to watching the other stations' morning shows. So, this is a good sign for their first day, because I'm sure the FOX61 Morning Show will only improve over time.

By the way, they put out some funny commercials promoting the new show. I think you can still watch them on the fox61.com website.
 
I watched it from about 6:30AM until 7AM. I thought it was pretty good. I'm almost looking forward to the next snow storm to see if they handle school closings like the other 3. (4 if you count the school closings they run from Channel 8 on WCTX/59).

Also does anyone think they're gonna take a bite out of the ratings of the 7AM hour of Good Morning Connecticut that runs on "MY TV 9" WCTX/59?
 
Good, Lord those are the longest posts I've ever seen!!!

Rachel does not do WTIC traffic, BTW.
I think we need more time and a few more reviews before getting a solid idea how things will go. I'm skeptical that Mr and Mrs. Joe Public will turn away from their normal morning routines of 3, 8 or 30 depending on their preferences. I could be wring though.

I do wish Fox 61 well with this project.
 
Yes, Rachel's radio contract is with Clear Channel and not CBS. She's hot so it's nice to have her with us again! As for Logan Byrnes, how did he fail at channel 30 twice?
 
The Courant has a review of the debut in today's paper. Not exactly a glowing endorsement. I think that's interesting since they're both owned by tribune. Seems as if they're questioning the viability of a 4th morning news program in this market. It isn't NY or Philly that's for sure.

I haven't seen the show yet, but I think it's only fair to give it time.
 
KML-224 said:
As for Logan Byrnes, how did he fail at channel 30 twice?
Click to expand...

Logan didn't fail at Channel 30 twice. The last time it was his own decision to leave Channel 30. At the time NBC was having financial problems. They wanted him to renegotiate his contract for less money or leave and take a nice payment. He opted to leave and take a nice payment. The article was in the Hartford Courant last week.
 
Thank you for clearing that up. As for FOX 61, I'm all for it! We're a top 30 market and I can't see how we didn't have a newcast from them already. If it means less people are tuning in to Scot Haney (channel 3), the better!

Anyways, I wonder how much this is costing Tribune? Certainally this will get better ratings than whatever was on from 6 to 8 AM before.

Lastly, I did read that article while waiting to get a haircut. (Funny how they had to put that little disclaimer in the story about Tribune also owning the paper!) How long until somebody is needed to do a fill-in, due to weather, personal commitments and whatnot for their newscast?
 
Early days yet, but I wonder if they would consider a 5pm/6pm newscast a la WNYW Fox 5 in New York and WTXF Fox 29 in Philly?
 
scottg said:
I know WTIC is not doing news in HD yet, but the camera image quality was on par with my 5 year olds Fisher Price video camera...
Click to expand...

That reminds me... Whatever happened to the "ViewMaster" TM ? ;D
 
I kinda see what Scott was talking about, especially watching a couple minutes this morning on WTIC-DT: a faint pattern of vertical lines across the screen. Then I checked the show on analog cable channel 6 in the other room. Not quite as bad.

Anyways, I was able to catch a big blooper this morning. Logan Byrnes slipped up and said "NBC 30", to which he then said "I was there for over 8 years!". Joe Furey quips with "I also work WTIC-AM and FM, so that shouldn't really be a problem with me!". Rachel Lutsker then made reference to doing traffic for two rock stations and said the name of station A while doing the update for station B. WHOOPS! :p
 
KML-224 said:
Anyways, I was able to catch a big blooper this morning. Logan Byrnes slipped up and said "NBC 30", to which he then said "I was there for over 8 years!".
Click to expand...

I saw that too and burst out laughing. I was waiting for that to happen. And actually what he said was log onto "NBC30.COM". He didn't even realize he said it until Rebecca Stewart called him out on it.
 
I caught that too! That's something to keep handy for the bloopers when he retires or they do an anniversary show.

Around Christmas time, Leon Collins said "live from New Haven, Leon Collins, NewsChannel 8." I think he's been at channel 3 for quite a few years now. I felt bad, he was so embarassed, but it was definitely funny. Then Al Terzi said something like, "we've all worked there before." haha
 
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