Mouseboy33 post_id=39839 time=1631632679 user_id=1168 Wrote:But like KCOP Los Angeles it wasnt done very well and it never took off.
Speaking of that... KCOP's attempt was called
Real News, which was the brainchild of former KTLA news producer Jeff Wald. The newscast wanted to differentiate from its competitors by going for in-depth reports and newsmagazine elements, which made the pace sluggish. Additionally, the two-story newsroom they built, looked really garish. They even bought ENG vehicles, an helicopter, and even a large trailer to transport journalists to overseas stories. The news team expanded from what was a shoestring operation to a 100-piece team, and two new anchor teams: Ross Becker and Vicki Liviackis on weekdays, and Ellen Leyva and David Gonzales on weekends, as well as beat leaders Tony Hernandez (sports), Renee Hamblin (features), Garry Franklin (entertainment) and commentator Bill Press, who left shortly after the launch to lead the California Democrats. Liviackis left shortly thereafter to become one of the reporters of Fox's failed attempt to dethrone 60 Minutes,
Front Page, as a result, Leyva moved to weekdays with Becker and reporter Wendy Walsh began co-anchoring the weekend edition with Gonzales. The programme lacked any meteorologist, instead, it relied on a Skyscan Forecast backed by pieces of pop music, which also accompained results and stock market recaps, and to which the anchors acknowledged at the end of each show. With ratings looming, the newsmagazine elements were gradually phased out, and a more conventional style followed suit, with the headline sequence, originally composed of selected sound bites with no VO, was replaced by a more conventional open, right into the top story.
Here's an edition from April 1994, with Gonzales standing in for Becker:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM0kLRtm95o
Shortly after this edition, KCOP management shortened the duration of the newscasts to 30 minutes, and dropped the weekend newscasts altogether. Walsh and Gonzales remained principal fill-in anchors when either Leyva or Becker (or both) were away. It came with a complete redesign of the graphics, making it brasher compared to the previous look. Here's an edition from January 16, 1995, the day UPN launched:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg4Lc_VtWds
With continued low ratings, the newscast went to a more conventional style and format that spring, with anchors now in a desk. This more tabloid/conventional format would be a transition to a more generic brand of
UPN News 13, which would occur that summer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auvXH0N2pIo
The other attempt to ape CityPulse came from Seattle's KIRO. In 1993, they merged their newsrooms into a single operation, promoted under the KIRO News Network. All operations, including radio news, came from the expansive newsroom studio designed by Robert Bovill, which alluded to Mount Raniere, with an assignment desk with a nine-screen video wall which ressembled a ferry boat, and a rotating platform with soft sets. They even asked the Pacific Northern Ballet director Kent Stowell to help anchors roam around the newsroom, and even they had paintings in the newsroom walls. The music, composed by Mark Haffner, was performed by the Seattle Symphony, under conductor Gerard Schwarz. They even began simulcasting the morning drive radio show on the current KZJO (KIRO had a news share agreement with the station, known as KTZZ). Viewers quickly complained about the moving anchors and the constant distracting in the newsroom, helping KING and KOMO in the process. Reporters from radio and the anchors even complained they felt uncomfortable with the new settings, with one threatening to resign. Andy Ludlum and Carrie Krueger, the minds behind the changes, promptly resigned and Gail Neubert was replaced by veteran Bill Lord, which quickly undid the changes, a process which concluded with the UPN switch in 1995.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rcDiq6hROc