Cable News, Links

Anatomy of breaking news on cable

Much like the ‘Anatomy of a news package’ post, The Onion News Network has posted this instant classic on breaking news coverage in America.

Warning, the video does contain some colorful language.

Networks, Online

WNNFans.com directs users to Facebook page

World News Now, ABC News’ overnight news broadcast has been promoting the domain “WNNFans.com” on the air as an easier way to get viewers to visit its Facebook page.

The domain automatically sends users who enter it to www.facebook.com/ABCWorldNewsNow (it’s worth nothing the directory name ABC uses “ABCWorldNewsNow” is a bit long, clunky and hard to remember, making the domain even more of a good idea).

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Cable News, Online

MSNBC.com adds @breakingnews to homepage

Following its agreement to take over the @breakingnews Twitter account, MSNBC.com has started including the tweets on its homepage under under the “Just in” tab.

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Networks, Sports

Getting anchors involved in the story doesn’t always come off well

Watch this video, where Australian TV hosts try their hand at some participatory journalism by taking the Wii Fit Olympics game for a spin, to see what we mean.

Graphics, HD, Local News, Networks, Online, Set Design

ABC, Fox duop debuts new set, graphics

WGXA-TV, the Fox affiliate serving Macon, Ga., added ABC programming to its digital subchannel and launched newscasts with shared facilities and talent under the “NewsCentral” banner. Along with this, a new set and graphics debuted.

Another photo and commentary after the jump.

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NewscastTip

NewscastTip: Dressing down can look good if done right

Although formal business attire has been a mainstay of television news wardrobes, more casual attire is becoming popular for afternoon, morning and weekend newscasts, as well as for programs and stations who want to portray a more laid back or youthful look.

For men, a more casual wardrobe typically means going without a suit jacket or opting for just a sweater or sweater vest with a tie.

If you go this route, however, talent should be sure they purchase dress shirts that fit well to prevent the fabric from looking rumpled or bunched up, especially around the arms. If your talent presents the news both standing and sitting, this should be taken into consideration when fitting clothing. Sweaters and sweater vests shouldn’t be overly thick or “lumpy.”

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Local News, Online

Barrington Broadcasting rolls out new Web design to its stations

Barrington Broadcasting Group has rolled out a new design to 26 station Web sites around the country.

The new design, based heavily off of its previous layout, has a much cleaner look, dropping the different colored news categories.

The new site design was also built heavily around search engine optimization. Read the rest of this entry »

Online, Traffic, Weather

Detroit station streaming live video from city snow plows

WDIV-TV, the Post-Newsweek station in Detroit, reached a deal earlier this year to equip 25 city snow plows with smartphones capable of broadcasting live video via Sprint 3G service and Streambox, reports Broadcasting & Cable.

“On big weather days, the question is always, ‘How do we show people what the conditions on the road are and what’s going on?’” says WDIV News Operations Manager Jeff Liebman. “Then we had an idea: Why don’t we show people what the inside of the county snowplows are looking at? They’re traveling on the roads themselves, and you’ve got to figure they’re pretty safe.”

Unfortunately, the setup hasn’t gotten much use this winter since Detroit has managed to avoid a heavy number of major storms. However, the idea is certainly interesting and worth considering for other types of coverage.

Cable News, Graphics, HD

CNBC debuts new ‘modern’ graphics in the US and Europe

CNBC and CNBC Europe today launched new graphics with a cleaner, more modern, look.

The graphics replaced most elements of the previous package including the ticker, stock market bar, l3, slates, etc. Also, some shows had new intros with  updated fonts and a peacock symbol as the dominant element.

Continue reading for more grabs.

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Site Updates

NewscastStudio to be media partner for NAB Show 2010

NewscastStudio has signed on to be an official media partner for the NAB Show 2010.

The show, which is scheduled for April 10-15 in Las Vegas, features thousands of square feet of exhibits plus numerous educational sessions and networking opportunities.

“From broadcasting to broader-casting, the NAB Show has evolved over the last eight decades to continually lead this ever-changing industry,” reads the show’s official Web site. “And while the solutions at your fingertips have changed to keep pace with consumer habits and technologies, your aspirations to produce and deliver memorable content have remained constant. From conception through distribution, the NAB Show proudly serves as the incubator for excellence – helping to breathe life into content everywhere.”

As part of our partnership with NAB, we’re pleased to offer our readers a free exhibits-only pass. To sign up, visit www.nabshow.com and use code W100.

Graphics, Networks, Sports

Olympics designer posts images, video

Lead Designer David Barton has posted samples of the 2010 Winter Olympics graphics package he and his team developed for NBC’s coverage.

More commentary and a link to the site after the jump.

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Graphics, HD, Set Design, SetStudio, Site Updates

SetStudio and Graphics updated with WEWS-TV and ‘Inside the NFL’

We’ve added new photos to SetStudio of Showtime’s “Inside the NFL” studio.

Also, we’ve added screen grabs of WEWS-TV, the Cleveland ABC affiliate, to the graphics section. WEWS-TV is using an HD version of the Scripts TV Station Group package.