Local News Stand-up format

[Sammi Brie]

KCRA does have a big ego, partly justified of course. It has since probably the Hearst acquisition, maybe a bit before. It's one of the few stations in the country with its slogan as a registered trademark (yes, Where the News Comes First has been KCRA/Hearst's registered trademark since circa 1980 in the Kelly era!), one of the few "total local dominance" stations (not on the level of WNEP maybe, but more on the level of sister WCVB or WJAR in Providence), and it has a very rich history in local news (a lot like WFAA come to think of it).

When you're in a TLD market and you're not the leader, it can be hard to catch up (read: WLNE, WYOU).

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

Our anchors are always sitting...but our reports generally front their package standing, in front of the LCD.

We have the largest reporting team in the market (Great Falls) and I think they began doing the "front the package live" schtick as a way to show that off.

 

[TheBigA]

Hmmm...show off what?

 

[TheRob]

If you see anchors with folded or rolled pieces of paper, it means they don't trust the teleprompter to work, or the teleprompter operator to keep up with them when they move off the desk.

 

[TVWorldwide]

Here's a clip from the 1970s with the anchor not just standing but also walking when delivering the news -- making the whole format look way ahead of its time (for better or for worse):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qTfl7AEdHg

 

[LKellerIII]

Since we're sharing clips, here's a You Tube clip of KTLA news openings that the station put together for their 60th anniversary. The infamous George Putnam is about 46 seconds in - standing as always.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEPdDwozZOQ

 

[recto101]

I noticed that TV Patrol in the Philippines since Noli De Castro Left ABS-CBN has been doing the Stand up format for 10 years.

 

[searadiofreak]

Since we're sharing clips, here's a You Tube clip of KTLA news openings that the station put together for their 60th anniversary. The infamous George Putnam is about 46 seconds in - standing as always.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEPdDwozZOQ

The George Putnam intro is fascinating. It's almost as if they are trying to "add" to his presence, perhaps predicting a time in the near future when the great Mr. Putnam would not be the star. Beyond that, this intro is an example of "as California goes, everyone will be doing the same within five years". And that was true...within the decade and into the 80's, the helicopter "action" intro was the norm. KTLA appears to be an early example, if not the first.

As for the Indianapolis "walking around" format, yes this was tried in several markets around the late 70's/early 80's...it was meant to bring the news into a more "raw, realistic" presentation, even taking it to the extreme in this vid where the anchor sits on the side of the reporters desk. Never really caught on, but was a nice experiment.

 

[LKellerIII]

Since we're sharing clips, here's a You Tube clip of KTLA news openings that the station put together for their 60th anniversary. The infamous George Putnam is about 46 seconds in - standing as always.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEPdDwozZOQ

The George Putnam intro is fascinating. It's almost as if they are trying to "add" to his presence, perhaps predicting a time in the near future when the great Mr. Putnam would not be the star. Beyond that, this intro is an example of "as California goes, everyone will be doing the same within five years". And that was true...within the decade and into the 80's, the helicopter "action" intro was the norm. KTLA appears to be an early example, if not the first.

Yes - that George Putnam clip (probably about 1973 or 74) was near the end of his tenure as a news anchor. He was a much bigger presence in the 50s and 60s. It was reported at the time that his ratings were finally eroding because his act was considered corny and passe. He was still making big money, and Gene Autry (owner of Golden West and KTLA) was reportedly sick of paying George his big salary. It wasn't much after the clip that Putnam left KTLA and Hal Fishman became anchor.

As early as the mid 50s, KTLA was the first station in LA to do extensive live coverage, and the first to have a "Telecopter" - so naturally, they always bragged about it in their promos and news openings.

 

[hintomedia]

The only station or stations that I know does very well in the stand up format is CITY-TV in Canada. All of the citytv stations, CITY, CKVU, CKEM, CHMI, CKAL have anchors that stand up only.

I hardly count any of the stations other than the Toronto one as doing news these days. That said, CITY started it in 1987 and they had it nailed very early on. A couple other stations in Ontario also do it, and they do it well.

The standup format is really mainly associated with the CHUM group of stations, which of course included CITY as well as the NewNet A-Channel /A\ stations. The major exception is CIVI Victoria, which despite going on air with the stand-up format in 2001, abandoned it and installed a desk in 2004 with the arrival of Hudson Mack as anchor/ND from competing CHEK-TV. CTV Atlantic (owned by CHUM until 1997) also has its anchors standing up for "Live at 5", although that's really more a magazine program than a newscast anyway.

Baton/CTV-owned CIVT in Vancouver also had its anchors standing up from its launch in 1997 until 1999. Supposedly the people at CHUM weren't too happy when they found out Baton/CTV was ripping off of the CityPulse format (especially considering CHUM lost the CIVT license to Baton).

These days Citytv Toronto doesn't really use too many different camera angles on its newscasts. They might as well have Gord Martineau and Mark Dailey sit down. I don't watch their late news that much, but seems like Mark Dailey's sitting at the assignment desk/whatever that area is half the time anyway.

I haven't seen too many U.S. stations where newscasts are done entirely standing up. All the Detroit stations have some standing components to their newscasts, but WDIV and WXYZ stick mainly to the desk. Don't know about WJBK since I rarely watch them.

True. At most stations, the main purpose of having segments done standing up is just to spice up the production. Although, Seattle's KOMO currently has a solo anchor standing up for the entirety of their 4pm newscast, anchored out of their newsroom. So far seems to have worked out better than KIRO's out-of-the-box experiment.

 

[JeeperOne]

Don't forget that WSVN has been doing the stand up for quite sometime now as has sister station WHDH. Also KMGH 7 & KDVR 31 here in Denver tend to do a little stand up during their newscasts. I think you could also probably lump KWGN 2 in there as well.

But what I find impressive is that neither station overdoes it though.

JMO.....

Cheers

 

[searadiofreak]

The only station or stations that I know does very well in the stand up format is CITY-TV in Canada. All of the citytv stations, CITY, CKVU, CKEM, CHMI, CKAL have anchors that stand up only.

I hardly count any of the stations other than the Toronto one as doing news these days. That said, CITY started it in 1987 and they had it nailed very early on. A couple other stations in Ontario also do it, and they do it well.

The standup format is really mainly associated with the CHUM group of stations, which of course included CITY as well as the NewNet A-Channel /A\ stations. The major exception is CIVI Victoria, which despite going on air with the stand-up format in 2001, abandoned it and installed a desk in 2004 with the arrival of Hudson Mack as anchor/ND from competing CHEK-TV. CTV Atlantic (owned by CHUM until 1997) also has its anchors standing up for "Live at 5", although that's really more a magazine program than a newscast anyway.

Baton/CTV-owned CIVT in Vancouver also had its anchors standing up from its launch in 1997 until 1999. Supposedly the people at CHUM weren't too happy when they found out Baton/CTV was ripping off of the CityPulse format (especially considering CHUM lost the CIVT license to Baton).

These days Citytv Toronto doesn't really use too many different camera angles on its newscasts. They might as well have Gord Martineau and Mark Dailey sit down. I don't watch their late news that much, but seems like Mark Dailey's sitting at the assignment desk/whatever that area is half the time anyway.

I haven't seen too many U.S. stations where newscasts are done entirely standing up. All the Detroit stations have some standing components to their newscasts, but WDIV and WXYZ stick mainly to the desk. Don't know about WJBK since I rarely watch them.

True. At most stations, the main purpose of having segments done standing up is just to spice up the production. Although, Seattle's KOMO currently has a solo anchor standing up for the entirety of their 4pm newscast, anchored out of their newsroom. So far seems to have worked out better than KIRO's out-of-the-box experiment.

True, KOMO Seattle's 4pm newscast is all standup, but it is really a half newscast/half entertainment hour. Lots of weather quizes, health reports, etc. But, their 5pm serious cast continues with standups in front of the monitors. They always return to the desk, though, so this element must still be important. Seems the popular format today is a combination of desk/standup...yes, with the anchor holding a rolled up script! Theater, or a necessity?

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

Hmmm...show off what?

The size of our reporting staff. For whatever reason, our competition doesn't air many reporter-fronted stories, instead relying heavily on the anchor voice-over.