Hey, both stations have a "3" in 'em.
Posted on 07/25/2010 5:36:48 PM PDT by smokingfrog
Channel 39 will end its traditional newscasts by this fall to launch a new format called NewsFix, which discards on-camera anchors and reporters and focuses on natural sound and video to tell stories.
KIAH employees were informed Thursday about the changes, which apparently involve reassigning anchors and reporters to new, off-camera duties and signal a sharp reversal from the station's recent advertising campaign focusing on its lead anchor, Mia Gradney.
Roger Bare, Channel 39's general manager, said KIAH will be the pilot program for Tribune Broadcasting's NewsFix, which is expected to launch in late September or early October.
"The core concept is to focus more on storytelling by allowing those in the story to tell the story and to place video and audio at the center of all that we do," Bare said, repeating a sentence included in a memo given to employees.
One Channel 39 employee, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the station's behalf, said employees were told that the newscast would feature fast-paced stories, added special effects and a minimum of on-camera appearances by reporters or anchors.
"It's not going to be as much of a newscast as a collection of stories that will roll into each other," the employee said. "There will be natural sound, and you won't see the reporters.
"It will be news for people who don't watch news, which sounds a lot like opening a bar for people who don't drink."
NewsFix is the brainchild of Lee Abrams, the former radio executive who is Tribune Co.'s chief innovation officer. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Abrams said the company wants to "bring us into the 21st century in terms of what (viewers) see and hear.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
>> “The core concept is to ...”
Cut costs.
Didn’t the NFL once broadcast a game without any commentary?
I thought that was Monday night football
What about CASEY CURRY?
She is the supreme weather hottie and helps me start my day!
Hey, both stations have a "3" in 'em.
Huh?
I’d be more interested to hear that they ended their preachy “Going Green” assault.
LOL Yeah, this will work...
You beat me to it. NBC did it in the early '80s. And it was a complete flop.
On Dec. 20, 1980, NBC aired the New York Jets at the Miami Dolphins. The Jets were 3-12 entering the game and the Dolphins were 8-7. (Jets won 24-17). Since the game had no playoff implications, NBC decided to let the sounds from the stands and the PA announcer serve as the sole audio. No players were miked. Dick Enberg set the scene for viewers at the beginning of each quarter and then viewers were taken to the stadium.
I loved it, but no one else did. Apparently, we prefer chatter in between Cialis ads.
They should really get innovative - cut the sound and video.
Is Lee Abrams another Harvard graduate?
Let me guess. Little video-Photoshopped halos over the heads of Democrat politicians, and little horns and gotees superimposed on the heads and faces of Republican politicans.
While the broadcast didn’t go over well with viewers, many of the ideas—notably increased use of graphics and better miking of crowd noise sounds—became part of football telecasts since then.
Only a matter of time before this is the norm- I kinda like it. I stopped watching TV about nine years ago- completely. Don’t miss it at all. I really don’t miss the news- you know, the anchors (male and female) as Dad and Mom, the “other girl” as Sis, sports guy as “Precocious Little Brother’, and the weather guy/gal as some other kind of buffoon.
I don’t miss the phony pained looks on their faces reacting to bad news, either.
It’ll save them a pile of money, and cause a panic in the plastic surgery industry.
I predict: Fewer overpriced airheads, no change in content. Total failure.
Teeheevee news -- isn't.
You need teeheevee to start your day?
Local weather from a hot chick?
Hell yes.
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