Well! What a shock at ten o’clock! Familiar news music, entirely new graphics on KOTV Channel 6. Change is difficult for everyone, and there will be critics – but here is a list of what is great about their new approach.
They kept the music. Not that it’s special, necessarily…but maintaining that familiarity keeps a continuity with the past and eases the burden on viewers who are disinclined to having their product tinkered with.
Sacred cows have been brought down.
No more of that foolish “Asking questions – so you’ll know more” label. I’m not sure they were even the right questions.
Tradition. News has always been this way. Why? Who says the old way is the best way? Since the 50’s it has always been an anchor at the desk, who introduces a reporter out somewhere with a microphone, who introduces the subject of the news item, who says a sentence or two. The reporter is shown again with the microphone clutched to the chest for the close, followed by the pompous identification and newscast-slugline.
The new format tosses aside much of the old tradition. Graphics introduce some of the stories with an anchor voiceover. Straight to the news video. No opening standup. The best part? Multiple clips from the news subject to emphasize points. The package-style has been altered. For the better. Tera Vreeland voiced a package without a single on-camera appearance. (Ironically, she is one of the few who professionally delivers news without affectation. Meanwhile, Chris Wright was seen with his standard pompous closer.)
The weather and sports had minor changes. They could have been shaken up for the better, but any start is something.
Television news has been mired in routine for decades (and radio even longer). The sameness has been disguised by new and powerful graphic capabilities. Sort of like opening a can of chocolate frosting and spreading a thick layer over an old moldy layer cake. Who wants a bite of that? They’re baking it up new at KOTV and even if the recipe needs a dash of this or that – it’s certainly a fresh visual treat.
