Two Feeds of Fox Radio News?

[Gregg.]

I was listening to a Talk station on line. At the top of the hour, it went to Fox News. I was surprised to hear someone I know anchoring. (We had worked together some years ago.) That's odd, I thought. I've heard him do features on Fox News before but never anchor. So I reached over to my radio and tuned in the station in my area that runs Fox News on the hour. And there was the usual anchor, a woman, doing the newscast. How did that happen?

I know ABC has two feeds at the top of the hour, one for the ABC Information Network and one for the ABC Entertainment and Directions Networks. The second one is shorter in length and presumably with a softer delivery. But I didn't think Fox also had two different top-of-the-hour newscasts.

The Fox Network is only 10 or so years old and it had no history as ABC did of running multiple networks. And there's no need for a shorter newscast. The Fox news at the top of the hour is two minutes, a one minute commercial and then two more minutes of news. If a station only wants the first two minutes (plus the spot) they can end it after three minutes. Or even run the spot later in the hour.

It wasn't a case of my former co-worker doing a special newscast for this station I was hearing on the internet. It's a small station in a small Arizona town. And I don't think they had delayed the bottom of the hour newscast to run at the top of the hour. As far as I know, the Fox newscast at the bottom of the hour, I think one minute in length, is anchored by the same person that delivers the news at the top of the hour. Plus this station is small market and wouldn't bother delaying a newscast to shave a minute off the time. (I didn't listen to see if my former co-worker did a full two-one-two newscast.)

Does anyone know if Fox has two feeds at the top of the hour? And why?

 

[PTBoardOp94]

FOX News Radio does offer 1 minute TOH cast and they have for quite a while now.

I presume they did it because several of their competitors (CBS, ABC, AP Radio) all offer 1 minute TOH news.

 

[umfan]

But are there two separate feeds for the TOH? I honestly didn't know and couldn't find a straight answer to Gregg's question. I generally hear the same feed on WDTK and WAAM for Fox TOH news in SE Michigan.

 

[FredLeonard]

It was mentioned in an earlier thread that some stations delay the TOH news, even running it an hour later (but slightly off schedule). Could have been one feed and two newscasts?

 

[JRH]

There are three different types of Fox affiliates.

There are the one-minute affiliate, they get a 1:00 cast at :45, refed at :00, and you only have to run four minutes of spots per day. The cast is done by a different anchor than the 5-minute TOH.

There are the 5-minute affiliate, with the 5:00 TOH with a spot at :02.

And there are the Clear Channel stations, which get the TOH with a different spot. CC pays cash for the feed and doesn't air the Fox spot, substituting their own.

 

[Ravens]

There are three different types of Fox affiliates.

There are the one-minute affiliate, they get a 1:00 cast at :45, refed at :00, and you only have to run four minutes of spots per day. The cast is done by a different anchor than the 5-minute TOH.

There are the 5-minute affiliate, with the 5:00 TOH with a spot at :02.

And there are the Clear Channel stations, which get the TOH with a different spot. CC pays cash for the feed and doesn't air the Fox spot, substituting their own.

And to muddle up things even more, some of the 5 minute affiliates don't run the last two minutes. They just run 2 minutes of news and a network spot.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

And to muddle up things even more, some of the 5 minute affiliates don't run the last two minutes. They just run 2 minutes of news and a network spot.

Presumably this is the most common configuration. The full 5 minute cast is likely only cleared on stations with very light spot loads and no local news, or during off-prime dayparts.

 

[JRH]

Presumably this is the most common configuration. The full 5 minute cast is likely only cleared on stations with very light spot loads and no local news, or during off-prime dayparts.

We have a nearby Fox affiliate that runs the full 5-minutes nights and weekends, shorter during the day weekdays followed by local news. But I've noticed at least some hours on weekends, following the news there is an additional minute of sports, done by the news anchor. This sports segment is always labeled "Fox News/Talk" which sounds odd as this is a country station.

 

[Ravens]

Presumably this is the most common configuration. The full 5 minute cast is likely only cleared on stations with very light spot loads and no local news, or during off-prime dayparts.

We run all 5 minutes, but we like to give the news part of news/talk some love.

 

[FredLeonard]

All the networks have a 3/5 format, which means the last two minutes is throw-away and stories in the first three minutes don't get much time.

And the term "news/talk" refers to that wonderful time when commercial stations actually did news blocks during morning and/or afternoon drive. Now only public radio does that.

 

[NewsStud]

All the networks have a 3/5 format, which means the last two minutes is throw-away and stories in the first three minutes don't get much time.

Not sure what you mean by 3/5.

CBS Radio News On The Hour does three minutes of news, followed by a one minute commercial, followed by one minute of news. Both ABC's "Information" cast and Fox's "Five Minute Service" cast do two minutes of news, followed by a one minute commercial, followed by two minutes of news.

BTW, Fox is not the only radio network to offer more than one top-of-hour product to radio stations. ABC famously operates multiple networks with differing newscasts (Though I don't know the status of that come 2015).

CBS did as well. Its old RadioRadio network (later renamed "CBS Spectrum") was, in its prime, a truly separate network from the flagship CBS Network. RadioRadio had its own staff (from anchors to reporters to editors), its own news-gathering agenda and affiliate base. If you were hired for RadioRadio you did NOT work for the CBS Radio Network, or vice-versa.

Consolidation and cost-cutting prompted the end of that practice, and the actual RadioRadio/Spectrum product died out. However, the service was used to produce brandless morning drive newscasts which Westwood One used as product to fill commitments to affiliates of its inherited "NBC Radio News" and "Mutual Radio News" networks. That practice, too, has ended I believe. WW1's newer "NBC News Radio" is actually produced by NBC (and for the life of me, I can't find an affiliate which actually airs it).

 

[FredLeonard]

What I mean is they do three minutes of real news, then a spot and then some throw-away items. Rather than filling the entire newscast with real news. The CBS World News Round-up is an even bigger sham: With three minutes of real news and the rest is throw away to cover local cutaways for spots and throw-away because most stations have already bailed. Nothing in greater depth. Almost no world news. The commercial radio networks have completely abdicated anything other than quickie headlines with some sound-bites from TV to NPR.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

What I mean is they do three minutes of real news, then a spot and then some throw-away items. Rather than filling the entire newscast with real news.

I don't necessarily agree. I have a station that runs the full FNR 5-minute 'cast and find that the second two minutes are often worthwhile. During the business day they always have a detailed update from Wall Street, for example. I also heard a story about Chelsea Manning (nee Bradley Manning) during the FNR second segment this week that I literally didn't hear anywhere else, including NPR's 9-minute 'cast (during Morning Edition).

I don't currently have an affiliate of the ABC Information Net, but the last time I heard one of their 5-minute 'casts it was as you asserted.

 

[Ravens]

All the networks have a 3/5 format, which means the last two minutes is throw-away and stories in the first three minutes don't get much time.

And the term "news/talk" refers to that wonderful time when commercial stations actually did news blocks during morning and/or afternoon drive. Now only public radio does that.

Unless it's a heavy news day, Fox repeats the lead story to start off the third minute. And more commercial stations do news blocks than you think. Not a majority, but it's not uncommon anymore.

 

[JayR]

WW1's newer "NBC News Radio" is actually produced by NBC (and for the life of me, I can't find an affiliate which actually airs it).

WFTL 850 AM airs NBC News Radio at the top of the hour.

The CBS World News Round-up is an even bigger sham: With three minutes of real news and the rest is throw away to cover local cutaways for spots and throw-away because most stations have already bailed. Nothing in greater depth. Almost no world news.

Granted, the CBS World News Roundup doesn't air world news as the name implies but I wouldn't necessarily call it a sham. A quote from Wikipedia: "Despite the name of the broadcast, it no longer emphasizes world news and often is devoted to the same national, political and lifestyle stories as the shorter top of the hour news broadcasts."

 

[JeffM]

Granted, the CBS World News Roundup doesn't air world news as the name implies but I wouldn't necessarily call it a sham. A quote from Wikipedia: "Despite the name of the broadcast, it no longer emphasizes world news and often is devoted to the same national, political and lifestyle stories as the shorter top of the hour news broadcasts."

The CBS World News Roundup is itself an outgrowth of what was originally The CBS European Roundup, begun in 1938 as a sort of shortwave round-robin of reports from various European capitals as what became WW II was brewing. Synchronizing the reports in those days was pretty much a matter of "synchronize your watches and start talking."

The "late edition" of the CBS WNR started as The World Today, which became (for many years) The World Tonight. For as long as I can remember, the later portions of the programs have always been to some extent "back-of-the-book" features, with the headlines in the first portion; much like a news magazine or newspaper. Until fairly recent years, both programs were 15 minutes each, rather than the current 10.

Our local CBS affil still carries the morning WNR complete, but the late edition is lopped off at 3 minutes to insert either a voice-tracked local News McNugget or a clip of the Wall Street Journal Report if no one shows up; then it's Dennis Miller's whine-and-sleaze party. Last Christmas, when they took the day to play holiday music, they played the full 9 minutes on the late Roundup; I later talked to the engineer on duty then and he was surprised the show ran that length...he actually didn't know! (No "sham", Sherlock...)