What's Your Favorite Local News Channel?

[Chris]

I was curious to know how many people watch what Local News Channel, and what makes it your favorite?

[nativehou]

I was curious to know how many people watch what Local News Channel, and what makes it your favorite?

What about a vote for "Best News Reporting"?

[Original Timmy Chan's]

What about a vote for "Best News Reporting"?

Ummm...why don't we focus on what's important instead? Graphics, sets, and music!

Channel Two's new graphics are SWEEEEEEEEEET...

Honestly, I don't notice graphics, sets OR music. It's just not important AT ALL.

New graphics and music wouldn't make Walter Cronkite any better, would they?

[houstonmacbro]

Ummm...why don't we focus on what's important instead? Graphics, sets, and music!

Channel Two's new graphics are SWEEEEEEEEEET...

Honestly, I don't notice graphics, sets OR music. It's just not important AT ALL.

New graphics and music wouldn't make Walter Cronkite any better, would they?

I can't remember if I voted in this poll or not. But I like local Fox Morning News (but despise their national channel).

What's up with that?

[ArchitecturalPRGirl]

Ummm...why don't we focus on what's important instead? Graphics, sets, and music!

Channel Two's new graphics are SWEEEEEEEEEET...

Honestly, I don't notice graphics, sets OR music. It's just not important AT ALL.

New graphics and music wouldn't make Walter Cronkite any better, would they?

Oh my god, channel 2's graphics are the worst. They're so ridiculous and sensational. Cheesy really. If it was a murder they are reporting, they'll have the sillouette outline of a dead person with one arm up and one down in a little box in the right hand corner of the screen with a yellow CAUTION banner going across. It's disgusting.

[Chris]

Oh my god, channel 2's graphics are the worst. They're so ridiculous and sensational. Cheesy really. If it was a murder they are reporting, they'll have the sillouette outline of a dead person with one arm up and one down in a little box in the right hand corner of the screen with a yellow CAUTION banner going across. It's disgusting.

I'm not a big fan of KPRC's Graphics either. They do have one of the best sets I've ever seen though. Starting in September of 2007 their 4pm newscast will go from 1 hour to 30 minutes. They want to focus more on there 5, 6 and 10pm newscasts. ABC 13 and CBS 11 have the best Graphics.

[Trae]

I voted KHOU all the way down.

[stan the man]

Oh my god, channel 2's graphics are the worst. They're so ridiculous and sensational. Cheesy really. If it was a murder they are reporting, they'll have the sillouette outline of a dead person with one arm up and one down in a little box in the right hand corner of the screen with a yellow CAUTION banner going across. It's disgusting.

Channel 2's graphics are cheap. They look more like you are watching a newscast in Victoria or BCS.

Breaking down the stations:

Channel 2: Cheap graphics, bad music arrangement. Nice set, though.

Channel 11: Graphics are space-age, music sounds prepackaged (it is no Stephen Arnold), set looks more like a fast-casual Mexican restaurant (which is a good thing ironically).

Channel 13: Texas all the way. Graphics are unique, set never seems to age, music is more like a newscast.

Channel 26: Graphics are akin to a local Fox News Channel, music and set go with FNC theme.

Channel 39: Primitive. They need a new set, new music, new graphics. In other words, an extreme makeover is needed.

Channel 45: Some graphics are flashy, some are cheesy (Arial font). Set and music I don't have much information on, though.

Channel 47: Cheap. Need I say more.

[ChannelTwoNews]

Channel 26: Graphics are akin to a local Fox News Channel, music and set go with FNC theme.

That's pretty much on purpose. The same design houses for sets & graphics as well as the same music company who did work for the national news channel were contracted to create a "master" look for all of the local stations owned by the network.

Channel 39: Primitive. They need a new set, new music, new graphics. In other words, an extreme makeover is needed.

Personally speaking, stability is a good thing, especially for a somewhat low-budget but high content newscast as they produce. The graphics are simple but modern, not flashy and intrusive as the other stations seem to be. Heaven forbid one station's graphics don't send you into a seizure while catching the news one evening

Channel 45: Some graphics are flashy, some are cheesy (Arial font). Set and music I don't have much information on, though.

This is a similar situation to KRIV in that the network produced a certain look to appear on all of it's stations. Graphically, there isn't really a difference between KXLN or the Univision stations in Corpus, Laredo or anywhere else in the country for that matter. Set-wise, it is somewhat similar to KPRC's with a faux limestone background. Not bad and they got it a while before KPRC did. They do have one of the best spanish-language news departments in the country, but I think we bypassed content in this thread a while back...

Channel 47: Cheap. Need I say more.

The evening newscasts are produced in DALLAS.

Seriously, they are. A number of Telemundo Owned & Operated stations recieve a regional newscast called "Conteo De Noticias" which is produced at their regional hub up there. That was done as a cost cutting measure earlier in the year.

As for the graphics, these people aren't known for doing "cheap" nor low-quality work.

Maybe we can talk about content sometime maybe perhaps? Just askin...

[stan the man]

Personally speaking, stability is a good thing, especially for a somewhat low-budget but high content newscast as they produce. The graphics are simple but modern, not flashy and intrusive as the other stations seem to be. Heaven forbid one station's graphics don't send you into a seizure while catching the news one evening

I'm not saying Channel 39 should use flashy graphics, but it is beginning to approach that point where new music and graphics would come in.

As far as the set goes, I'm not surprised how the set has existed this long (seven years). It took Channel 2 ten years to dump their newsroom set. Channel 11's had theirs for ten also. 26 had their old one for nine before switching to the FNC version.

Outside of Houston, Channel 39's well-known Chicago sister station (WGN) had their old one for about a dozen, I think.

This is a similar situation to KRIV in that the network produced a certain look to appear on all of it's stations. Graphically, there isn't really a difference between KXLN or the Univision stations in Corpus, Laredo or anywhere else in the country for that matter. Set-wise, it is somewhat similar to KPRC's with a faux limestone background. Not bad and they got it a while before KPRC did. They do have one of the best spanish-language news departments in the country, but I think we bypassed content in this thread a while back...

At least we are discussing content, finally. Why not create a poll for "content" instead of material goods (sets, music)?

The evening newscasts are produced in DALLAS.

Seriously, they are. A number of Telemundo Owned & Operated stations recieve a regional newscast called "Conteo De Noticias" which is produced at their regional hub up there. That was done as a cost cutting measure earlier in the year.

As for the graphics, these people aren't known for doing "cheap" nor low-quality work.

Maybe we can talk about content sometime maybe perhaps? Just askin...

Pyburn of course is a very good company. And channel 47 is a Telemundo O&O. But I have three things to say:

1. Channel 47's website looks cheap in comparison to its Dallas station (KXTX)

2. their studios run out of a leased office building on the northwest Loop, and

3. Telemundo is owned by NBC Universal, which made a lot of cost-cutting moves at Channel 47 and various other places. Moving the newscasts to Dallas was far from the only effect. At NBC, Saturday Night Live's cast was reduced last year. And at other NBC-owned stations, the NBC station in Washington lost their sports director.

[Urbannomad]

KHOU looks the best in HD by far... I don't even bother with the others anymore. I did notice 13 finally went HD in their main set but still like the colors and overall set of KHOU in HD.