> What's this about?
> The news starts with the anchors just introducing themselves
> straight out of the net, no music or voice-over video.
> Was this a research or a consultant based decision, and why?
>
Hope the station doesn't think it has stumbled onto a new wrinkle in the news. To "earn" their fee, also, consultants obviously will suggest anything, even if it's wrong. The cold open certainly is nothing new, may or may not be seen as right (or wrong), but above all isn't worth a consultant's fee. Anyone who can fog a mirror and has been in the news business for eight hours knows about it.