08-02-2023, 12:14 AM
30 years ago on February 4, KIRO launched its infamous News Out of the Box experiment. The rationale for this was declining ratings for KIRO's longtime Eyewitness News format, given KING's recent investments by The Providence Journal, which had just bought the King Broadcasting group from the Bullitt family. As a result, under the initiative of KIRO, Inc. president Ken Hatch, who worked with Radio News director Andy Ludlum and veteran executive producer Carrie Krueger, the TV and radio sides, then owned by Bonneville International (the commercial arm of the LDS Church), merged their newsrooms by June 1992 into a single operation, promoted under the KIRO News Network.
Behind the scenes, the staid Eyewitness News format was being dropped in favour of a walk-and-talk format deliberately stolen from CityPulse. The changes were promoted with a massive advertising blitz which mocked indirectly its rivals. On the day of the relaunch, the final ten minutes of the noon news were used to preview the new format and expansive newsroom studio before debuting at 5pm.
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All of the walk-and-talk activity 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. That desk also served as home base for all news operations. KIRO management wanted also a piece of cake of the lively Northwestern arts scene, so they 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. Alongside the changes, news anchors were completely shuffled, with longtime sports anchor Steve Raible being moved to anchor the noon news with stalwart Susan Hutchinson.
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The merged newsroom also meant the introduction of radio news to TV. Immediately after the relaunch, KIRO began simulcasting the morning drive radio show on current Fox O&O KZJO (KIRO had a news share agreement with the station, then known as KTZZ).
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However, the "revolutionary" experiment backfired almost immediately: viewers quickly complained about the moving anchors and the constant distracting noise in the newsroom, helping KING to boost its audience in the process, but also helping KOMO to formally overtake KIRO in some slots. Reporters from the radio side and even many anchors even complained they felt uncomfortable with the new settings, which was not wasted by KING's original comedy show Almost Live to mock the changes.
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The death knell for the experiment came as Susan Hutchinson threatened to resign after her contract was up. As a result, Ludlum and Krueger promptly resigned and Gail Neubert was replaced by veteran news executive Bill Lord, which quickly undid the changes. Lord returned to a straightforward news format, including sitting anchors in a desk and placing Raible as its evening news anchor; the remains of the newsroom were used to build a new set and Mark Haffner composed a new, more conventional theme based on his Seattle Symphony package. The brand was also changed to News Channel 7, but was reverted to KIRO News shortly after KIRO dumped CBS for UPN. The Eyewitness News brand returned in 1997, after Cox bought the station and KIRO reverted to the Eye.
www.youtube.com
www.youtube.com
Behind the scenes, the staid Eyewitness News format was being dropped in favour of a walk-and-talk format deliberately stolen from CityPulse. The changes were promoted with a massive advertising blitz which mocked indirectly its rivals. On the day of the relaunch, the final ten minutes of the noon news were used to preview the new format and expansive newsroom studio before debuting at 5pm.
www.youtube.com
www.youtube.com
www.youtube.com
All of the walk-and-talk activity 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. That desk also served as home base for all news operations. KIRO management wanted also a piece of cake of the lively Northwestern arts scene, so they 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. Alongside the changes, news anchors were completely shuffled, with longtime sports anchor Steve Raible being moved to anchor the noon news with stalwart Susan Hutchinson.
www.youtube.com
The merged newsroom also meant the introduction of radio news to TV. Immediately after the relaunch, KIRO began simulcasting the morning drive radio show on current Fox O&O KZJO (KIRO had a news share agreement with the station, then known as KTZZ).
www.youtube.com
However, the "revolutionary" experiment backfired almost immediately: viewers quickly complained about the moving anchors and the constant distracting noise in the newsroom, helping KING to boost its audience in the process, but also helping KOMO to formally overtake KIRO in some slots. Reporters from the radio side and even many anchors even complained they felt uncomfortable with the new settings, which was not wasted by KING's original comedy show Almost Live to mock the changes.
www.youtube.com
The death knell for the experiment came as Susan Hutchinson threatened to resign after her contract was up. As a result, Ludlum and Krueger promptly resigned and Gail Neubert was replaced by veteran news executive Bill Lord, which quickly undid the changes. Lord returned to a straightforward news format, including sitting anchors in a desk and placing Raible as its evening news anchor; the remains of the newsroom were used to build a new set and Mark Haffner composed a new, more conventional theme based on his Seattle Symphony package. The brand was also changed to News Channel 7, but was reverted to KIRO News shortly after KIRO dumped CBS for UPN. The Eyewitness News brand returned in 1997, after Cox bought the station and KIRO reverted to the Eye.
www.youtube.com
www.youtube.com