Eyewitness News

One of KOCO-TV's stormchasing vehicles outside the station's studios in Oklahoma City; as of April 18, 2013, KOCO no longer utilizes the Eyewitness News name (having rebranded as KOCO 5 News). The vehicle also features one of their Doppler radar brands.

Eyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting that is used by local television stations in different markets around the world. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video. It replaced the traditional "man-on-camera" newscast.[1]

History

Pioneered by Westinghouse

The earliest known use of the Eyewitness News name in American television was in April 1959 when KYW-TV - at the time, based in Cleveland, Ohio and owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting - launched the nation's first 90-minute local newscast (under the title Eyewitness), which was combined with the then 15-minute national newscast.[1] The name was then adopted for use by Westinghouse's other television stations – KPIX in San Francisco, California; WJZ-TV in Baltimore, Maryland; WBZ-TV in Boston, Massachusetts and KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – for their local newscasts.

After the KYW-TV call letters, management, and some staffers moved from Cleveland to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1965 (the result of a government-ordered reversal of a 1956 station swap involving it and Cleveland's WNBK (the current day WKYC) between Westinghouse and NBC) its then-news director, Al Primo, created the Eyewitness News format.[1] In this format, which was meant to be faster in pace than the standard newscast format (in which an anchor simply read headlines), a reporter in the field would be the "eyewitness" to a news event to the anchor in the studio and the viewer at home. The anchors became personalities instead of presenters with the introduction of banter, or "happy talk" as it was named by Al Primo. Anchors would give their own personal comments in between stories to let viewers know their personalities.[1]

Primo used the cue 007 from the 1963 film From Russia with Love as the musical theme. The format quickly became a hit in Philadelphia and allowed KYW-TV to surge past longtime leader WCAU-TV for first place, a position it kept on and off until the late 1970s. KYW-TV's success spawned rival station WFIL-TV to develop the Action News format to compete with it (after NBC was ordered to re-assume control of its Cleveland broadcasting properties in 1965, the Eyewitness News name left that city until WEWS-TV adopted it for its newscasts in the 1970s).

KYW-TV used the name and format until 1991 and re-adopted it in 1998. All five major stations owned by Westinghouse prior to its 1996 acquisition of CBS have used Eyewitness News as their newscast title at some point in time; KYW-TV and WJZ-TV continue to do so. It was a common theme for their local newscast since the CBS logo is shaped like an eye, although until 1995 only KDKA-TV and KPIX were affiliated with CBS.

Expansion to ABC

In 1968, Primo moved to WABC-TV in New York City and took the Eyewitness News concept there with him, choosing music from the 1967 Paul Newman film Cool Hand Luke – the "Tar Sequence" cue (composed by Lalo Schifrin) – as the theme. However, he added a new twist at WABC-TV – light, informal-sounding conversation among the anchors between the news stories and segments, which came to be known as "happy talk". Among the newscasters in the first wave of happy talk on WABC-TV was young reporter Geraldo Rivera, a comical and entertaining weatherman in Tex Antoine, and Bill Beutel and Roger Grimsby as anchormen of contrasting yet complementing styles. WABC-TV has kept the name and format since then, and has been the highest-rated station in New York City for much of that time.

The format, as modified by WABC-TV, was copied by many other stations in the United States, with four other stations owned and operated by ABCKABC-TV in Los Angeles, WLS-TV in Chicago, WXYZ-TV in Detroit and KGO-TV in San Francisco – using both the format and the Cool Hand Luke theme (in the case of KGO, since KPIX was already using the Eyewitness News name, KGO titled its newscasts as Channel 7 NewsScene in 1969 and by 1983 simply Channel 7 News, while WXYZ used the Action News name since rival WJBK-TV was using the Eyewitness News name for its newscasts; KABC and WLS were free to use the Eyewitness News name as did WABC-TV). Ironically, WPVI, which developed the Action News format, is also now an ABC owned-and-operated station.

In addition, U.S. Spanish-language stations also use their own version of Eyewitness News, called Noticias de Primera Plana (Headline News, a concept translation in Spanish of Eyewitness News) on certain owned-and-operated stations of Spanish networks.

A separate, but mostly unrelated, Eyewitness News format was developed by Irv Weinstein in Buffalo, New York for WKBW-TV. This format was mostly based not on the original Eyewitness News (though it used the same logo; in actuality, a slightly modified version of it) but rather on the Action News format of its sister stations in the Capital Cities Communications stable. While based on Action News's brief and numerous reports, Weinstein built his Eyewitness News newscast around attention-grabbing catchphrases and alliterative headlines, along with occasional wisecracking or sarcastic one-liners about the day's news stories.

This version of Eyewitness News was used on WKBW as well as other Capital Cities stations where the Action News name was in use by another station, such as WTVD in Durham, North Carolina. It was also used on a few stations not owned by Capital Cities, including WOKR (now WHAM-TV) in Rochester, New York.

Outside the United States

In Mexico and other Hispanic American countries during the 1970s and 1980s, some local newscasts also used the Eyewitness News format, under the names Noticias de Primera Plana (Headline News) and Noticias de Acción (Action News).

The title was used in Canada, on CTV affiliate CFRN-TV in Edmonton.

In Japan, TV Tokyo branded its newscasts as Eyewitness News, but abbreviated as EyeNews.

In Indonesia, Metro TV branded its newscasts as iWitness, and abbreviated as Eyewitness. It has since become one of the featured segments on the daytime news program Wide Shot.

In Australia, BTQ-7 in Brisbane adopted the Eyewitness News branding in the early 1970s. The branding was also employed by NWS-9 in Adelaide for its evening newscast. TEN-10 in Sydney and ATV-0 in Melbourne, the principal stations of Network Ten, adopted the Eyewitness News branding in the mid-1970s and it was later adopted by other stations in the Network Ten group (SAS-10 (later SAS-7) in 1976 and TVQ-0 (later TVQ-10) in 1978) as BTQ-7 and NWS-9 later relinquished the brand. Regional affiliates for Network Ten including CTC-7 in Canberra (Ten Capital Eyewitness News, formerly Capital 7 Eyewitness News, Capital Television Eyewitness News and Ten National News), Southern Cross Network in Victoria (Southern Cross/TV8 Eyewitness News formerly TV8 Newshour), and QTV in Townsville (QTV Eyewitness News and later Ten North Queensland Eyewitness News), also used the Eyewitness News name. The Australian version of Eyewitness News more closely resembled Weinstein's version than the original format, but it became one of the ratings winners in the 1980s due to its one-hour duration unlike other newscasts. Network Ten dropped the use of the Eyewitness News name in September 1988 (but retained it in Brisbane until October 31, 1988 on TVQ-10) but later reinstated it in July 1989 for six months, and then again in January 1991 for four more years, this time using its present logo. Network Ten reinstated the "Eyewitness News" branding once again on September 16, 2013.

In South Africa, Eyewitness News is used by Eyewitness News, located in Johannesburg and in Cape Town.[2] It is also used by Talk Radio 702 and 94.7 Highveld Stereo in Gauteng, 567 CapeTalk and 94.5 Kfm in Cape Town.

United States stations that use or have used the Eyewitness News format or name

Market Name Station Affiliation Currently uses Other notes
Albany, New York WTEN ABC No Identified as 10 Eyewitness News 1986–1995; known as News 10 since 1995
Albuquerque, New Mexico KOB NBC Yes Identified itself in 1970 as TV-4 Eyewitness News, in 1984 as Eyewitness News Network, and in 1994 as Channel 4 Eyewitness News. Now known as Eyewitness News 4.
Amarillo, Texas KFDA-TV CBS No Used 1974–1980; has identified as NewsChannel 10 since 1995
Atlanta WXIA-TV NBC No Used from 1969–1972; has identified as 11 Alive News since 1976
WAGA-TV[3] Fox (formerly CBS) No Used from 1980s–1998; has identified as Fox 5 News since 1998
Augusta, Georgia WRDW CBS No Had identified as News 12 since 1998
Austin, Texas KXAN-TV (formerly KTVV) NBC No Used from 1973–1984; has identified as KXAN Austin News since 2007
KEYE-TV CBS No Branded itself K-EYEwitness News with its callsign until 2001; has identified as KEYE-TV News since 2009
Bakersfield, California KBAK-TV CBS Yes Identified itself as 29 Eyewitness News 1992–2009, currently identifies as KBAK Eyewitness News
KBFX-CD Fox Yes Currently airs "Eyewitness News on Fox 58" produced by sister station KBAK-TV
Baltimore, Maryland WJZ-TV1 CBS (formerly ABC) Yes Has identified as "Eyewitness News" since 1965
Bangor, Maine WVII-TV ABC No Currently identifies as Your Bangor News
Binghamton, New York WIVT ABC No Identified as 34 Eyewitness News from 1993 to 1998; has identified as NewsChannel 34 since 1998
Boise, Idaho KBOI-TV (formerly KBCI-TV) CBS No Identified as CBS 2 Eyewitness News from 2007 to 2009; currently identifies as KBOI 2 News
Boston WBZ-TV1 CBS (formerly NBC) No Used 1966–1993; has identified as WBZ News since 2007
Buffalo, New York WKBW-TV ABC Yes Originally used 1970–2003; identified as 7 News from September 8, 2003 to October 27, 2008, when Eyewitness News was restored. Its version of Eyewitness News is in name only and uses elements of the Action News format instead.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa KCRG-TV ABC No Used name from early 1970s to late 1980s; has identified as "KCRG TV-9 News" since 1994
Charleston, South Carolina WCBD-TV NBC No Used name from mid-to-late 1980s as an ABC affiliate; has identified as "News 2" since 1998
Charleston / Huntington, W.V. WOWK-TV (formerly WHTN-TV) ABC (Now a CBS affiliate) No Identified as "Eyewitness News" in the early 1970s until it was purchased by Gateway, who re-branded the newscast as "Action News".
WCHS-TV ABC Yes Used a lowercase "e" logo 2002–2005 and identified as Eyewitness News 8 since 2002 without using the channel number (8) in their news title.
Charlotte, North Carolina WSOC-TV ABC Yes Has identified as Channel 9 Eyewitness News since 1996
Charlottesville, Virginia WVIR-TV NBC No Identified as Eyewitness News 1973–1980; has identified as NBC 29 HD News since 2008
Chattanooga, Tennessee WRCB-TV NBC Yes Has identified as Channel 3 Eyewitness News since 1999
Chicago WLS-TV2 ABC Yes Identified as Eyewitness News 1969–1996 and since October 26, 2013; as ABC 7 News 1996-2013
Cincinnati WLWT NBC No Identified as Eyewitness News 5 1998–2004; has been rebranded as News 5 since 2004
WKRC-TV ABC (now a CBS affiliate) No Identified as Eyewitness 12 News 1977–1992; has identified as Local 12 News since 2004
Cleveland WEWS-TV ABC No Used 1967–1990, has identified as NewsChannel 5 since 1990
WKYC1 NBC No The first station (as KYW-TV) to use the Eyewitness News name, in 1959, used until 1965; has identified as Channel 3 News since 1984
Colorado Springs / Pueblo, CO KOAA NBC No Identified as Eyewitness News 1980–2002. Currently identifies as News 5
Columbia, South Carolina WOLO ABC No Has identified as ABC Columbia News since 2005
Columbus, Georgia WRBL CBS No Was identified as 3 Eyewitness News, now identified as News 3 On Your Side
Columbus, Ohio WBNS CBS No Known as 10TV Eyewitness News 1977–2007; rebranded as 10TV News HD in April 2007
Corpus Christi, Texas KIII-TV ABC No Identified itself as 3 Eyewitness News (1977–2000); has identified as 3 News since 2000
KZTV CBS No Identified as Eyewitness News 1969–1974; has identified as Action 10 News since 2004
Dallas / Fort Worth KDFW Fox (formerly CBS) No Identified as Eyewitness News 1975–1978; has identified as Fox 4 News since 1996
Dayton, Ohio WDTN NBC No Identified as Eyewitness News from the late 1970s to 1984; has identified as 2 News since 1996
Denver, Colorado KWGN-TV CW No Identified as TV-2 Eyewitness News 1981–1983; has identified as Channel 2 News since July 2011
Des Moines, Iowa WHO-DT NBC No Identified as "Eyewitness News" in the mid–1970s; has identified as "Channel 13 News" since 2001
WOI-TV ABC No Identified as Channel 5 Eyewitness News 2001–September 2006; has identified as Local 5 News since 2015.
Detroit WJBK Fox (formerly CBS) No Identified as Eyewitness News 1970–1997, has identified as Fox 2 News since 1997
WWJ-TV CBS No Identified as 62 CBS Eyewitness News at 11 in 2002. Newscast was produced by WKBD-TV, which shut down its news department later that year.
Duluth, Minnesota WDIO-TV ABC Yes Used since 1988
Elmira, New York WENY-TV ABC No Used from the 1970s through the 1990s. Station now brands as "WENY-TV News."
Erie, Pennsylvania WSEE CBS No Used 1968–1978; currently identifies as WSEE NewsWatch. Station operated by WICU-TV in a local marketing agreement since 2002, with news departments being consolidated since 2009.
Eugene, Oregon KEZI ABC No Identified as Eyewitness News from the 1970s to the late 1990s; has identified as KEZI 9 News since 2007
Eureka, California KIEM NBC No Identified as Eyewitness News from around the early 1970s until 1996; currently identifies as NewsChannel 3
Evansville, Indiana WEHT ABC Yes Used since December 1, 2011, after the station merged its news operations with WTVW as part of a local marketing agreement.
WTVW The CW (formerly Fox and ABC) Yes Used from the mid-1970s to 1996; identified as Fox 7 News 1996–2004 and 2005–2011, WTVW NewsChannel 7 2004–2005 and Local 7 News from July 1 to December 1, 2011, when WTVW began identifying as "Eyewitness News" again after the station entered into a local marketing agreement with WEHT.
Fargo/Grand Forks KXJB-TV CBS No Identified as KX 4 Eyewitness News from 1980 to 1987. Currently identifies as Valley News Live; news department shared with KVLY
Flint / Saginaw / Bay City WEYI-TV NBC No Used Eyewitness News name in parts of the 1970s and 1980s; Used variant WEYI-witness News in the early 1990s; currently known as NewsCenter 25
Florence / Myrtle Beach, S.C. WBTW CBS No Used from the early 1980s to 1995; currently identifies as "News 13"
Fort Myers, Florida WBBH NBC No Identified as TV-20 Eyewitness News from the late 1970s to 1996; has identified as NBC 2 News since 1996
Fort Wayne, Indiana WPTA ABC No Identified as Eyewitness News from the early 1970s to 1978; has identified as "21Alive News" since 2012 switch of newscasts to high-definition
Fresno, California KGPE CBS Yes Identified as 47 Eyewitness News from 1985 to 1992; has identified as CBS 47 On Your Side News since 2004. On 10/9/2013 rebranded as CBS 47 Eyewitness News
Grand Rapids / Kalamazoo, Michigan WZZM-TV ABC No Identified as Area 13 Eyewitness News 1975–1984 & 1995–1997, and Eyewitness News 13 1984–1995. Currently identifies as WZZM 13 News
Green Bay, Wisconsin WFRV-TV CBS No Used from the mid-1970s to 2001; has identified as Channel 5 News since 2007
Greensboro / High Point / Winston-Salem, N.C. WGHP Fox (formerly ABC) No Identified as TV-8 Eyewitness News from June 17, 1974 to 1986; has identified as Fox 8 News since 1995
Greenville / New Bern / Washington, N.C. WITN NBC No Used variant EyeWITNess News for several years; has identified as WITN News since 2007
WNCT CBS No Identified as Eyewitness News 9 from 1998 to 2012, now identifies as "9 On Your Side"
Greenville / Spartanburg / Asheville WSPA CBS No Identified as Eyewitness 7 News from 1974 to 1979, and as 7 Eyewitness News from 1979 to 1994; has identified as 7 On Your Side since 2011
Harlingen / Brownsville / McAllen, TX KRGV-TV ABC No Used in the mid-1970s; has identified as "NewsChannel 5" since 2000 and as of September 2009, it is now known as Channel 5 News
KGBT CBS No Identified as Eyewitness News from 1967 to 1977; has identified as Action 4 News since 2003
Harrisburg / Lancaster / York / Lebanon, PA WHP-TV CBS No Identified as Eyewitness News 21 from the mid-1990s until 2002; has identified as WHP CBS 21 News since 2004
WLYH-TV CW No Identified as Eyewitness News at 10 from 1995 to 1999 and as 15 Eyewitness News from 2001 to September 2003, when the newscast was dropped; current newscast is identified as CBS 21 News at 10; sister station to WHP-TV
Hartford / New Haven, CT WFSB CBS Yes Has identified as Channel 3 Eyewitness News since 1974
Honolulu, Hawaii KHON-TV Fox No Used from the early-to-late 1970s; has identified as KHON 2 News since 2003
Houston KTRK-TV2[4] ABC Yes Has identified as 13 Eyewitness News since 1973, a clone of WKBW-TV's Eyewitness News Format
Huntsville, Alabama WAAY-TV ABC No Used from 1977 until the late 1990s; has identified as WAAY 31 News since 2000
Idaho Falls / Pocatello KPVI NBC No Identified as Channel 6 Eyewitness News during the 1990s; currently known as KPVI News 6; was a clone WKBW-TV's Eyewitness News Format
KIDK CBS Yes Has identified as Channel 3 Eyewitness News since 2007
Indianapolis WTHR NBC Yes Identified in the early 1970s as Eyewitness News, and in 1976 as Eyewitness NewsCenter 13; has identified as Channel 13 Eyewitness News since 1995
Jackson, Mississippi WAPT ABC No Used Eyewitness News 16 during the early 1990s; has identified its newscasts as 16 WAPT News since the late 1990s.
Jackson, Tennessee WBBJ ABC Yes Identified as just Eyewitness News from 1994 to 1999, then as 7 Eyewitness News from 1999 to 2007; has identified as ABC 7 Eyewitness News since 2007
Jacksonville, Florida WJXT Independent (formerly CBS) No Identified as Eyewitness News from 1967 to 2005; has identified as Channel 4 News from 2005; "News4Jax" since 2008.
Johnson City, Tennessee WJHL-TV CBS No Identified itself in 1985 as TV-11 Eyewitness News, and in 1989 as Eyewitness News 11; has identified as News Channel 11 Connects since 2009
Kansas City, Missouri KCTV CBS No Used Eyewitness News branding 1966–1984; has identified as KCTV 5 News since 1999
Knoxville, Tennessee WATE-TV ABC No Used various versions of the Eyewitness News moniker 1969–2001, currently known as WATE 6 News
Lafayette, Louisiana KLFY CBS No "Eyewitness News" was used to identify the 6 & 10 p.m. newscasts; was first used in the mid-1980s through 2011. Now known as "News 10."
Laredo, Texas KLDO Univision No Identified as Laredo Eyewitness News in the 1980s as an ABC affiliate; now identifies as Spanish-language Noticias Univision 27
Las Vegas, Nevada KLAS CBS No Identified as Eyewitness News 8 from 1982 to 1989 and as Channel 8 Eyewitness News from 1989 to 2009; currently identifies as 8 News Now
Lexington, Kentucky WTVQ ABC No Used variant TVQ Eyewitness News for several years; has identified as ABC 36 News since 2009
Lincoln, Nebraska KLKN ABC Yes Uses similar imaging/graphics as sister stations WOI-TV, WHBF-TV, and KCAU-TV, currently known as Channel 8 Eyewitness News
Little Rock, Arkansas KARK-TV NBC No Identified as Channel 4 Eyewitness News from the 1970s to the mid-1980s and again from the late 1980s–1994; has identified as KARK 4 News since 2005
Los Angeles, California KABC-TV2[5] ABC Yes Identified as Channel 7 Eyewitness News 1969–1997, then ABC7 Eyewitness News since then.
Louisville, Kentucky WLKY CBS (formerly ABC) No Identified as 32 Eyewitness News from 1969 to 1977 when it was an ABC affiliate; has identified as WLKY News since 2008
Lubbock, Texas KCBD-TV NBC No Identified as "Eyewitness News" from the 1970s to early 1980s, has identified as "Newschannel 11" since 1997
Madison, Wisconsin WISC CBS No Identified as TV-3 Eyewitness News from September 13, 1971 to April 24, 1982, has identified as News 3 since 1989.
WKOW ABC No Used "Eyewitness News" from the mid-1980s to 1995, currently identifies as "WKOW 27; We've Got You Covered"
Macon, Georgia WMAZ CBS Yes Identified itself as Eyewitness NewsCenter from 1977 to 1979 and as Eyewitness News from 1979 to 1992. Now identifies as 13 WMAZ Eyewitness News
Medford / Klamath Falls, Oregon KOBI/KOTI NBC No Currently identifies as "NBC 5 News"(KOBI)/"NBC 2 News"(KOTI)
Memphis, Tennessee WHBQ-TV Fox (formerly ABC) No Identified as Eyewitness News from the early 1970s to 1995 and Fox 13 Eyewitness News from 1995 to 1997; has identified as Fox 13 News since 1997
WATN-TV (formerly WPTY) ABC No Has identified as Eyewitness News since 2000–2010, news department shared with WLMT
Minneapolis / Saint Paul, Minnesota KSTP-TV ABC (formerly NBC) Yes Has identified as "5 Eyewitness News" since 1973
KMSP-TV Fox (formerly ABC, Independent, UPN) No Used 1969–1973 as an ABC affiliate; has identified as Fox 9 News since 2002
Miami WPLG ABC No Used 1983–2002; has identified as Local 10 News since 2005
Milwaukee, Wisconsin WISN-TV ABC No Used the title when it was a CBS affiliate from 1973 to 1976. Has identified as 12 News since 2003
WITI Fox (formerly CBS) No Identified as TV-6 Eyewitness News mid-1980s–1990; currently known as Fox 6 News
Nashville, Tennessee WKRN-TV ABC No Used 1969–1972 as WSIX-TV; has identified as News 2 since 1994
Nashville, Tennessee WTVF CBS No Used the early 1970s–1989; has identified as NewsChannel 5 since 1989
New Orleans, Louisiana WWL-TV CBS Yes Identified itself as Eyewitness News from 1968 to 1989, then as Channel 4 Eyewitness News since then.
New York City WABC-TV2 ABC Yes Originally identified as just Eyewitness News, then as "Channel 7 Eyewitness News" beginning 1984-1998; was identified as ABC 7 Eyewitness News 1999–2003 before reverting to Channel 7 Eyewitness News in 2004.
Norfolk / Portsmouth / Newport News WTKR CBS No Identified as Channel 3 Eyewitness News 1992–1994, has identified as NewsChannel 3 since 1995
WAVY-TV NBC No Identified as Area 10 or Channel 10 Eyewitness News 1969–1982, has identified as WAVY News 10 since 1989
Oklahoma City KOCO-TV ABC No Identified as "Channel 5 Eyewitness News" 1974–1977, then as "Eyewitness News 5" 1998–2013; now identifies as KOCO 5 News
KWTV CBS No Used "Eyewitness News" title 1966–1971, has identified as "News 9" since 1997
Orlando / Daytona Beach WESH NBC No Identified as Channel 2 Eyewitness News 1968–1974; has identified as WESH 2 News since 2005
WFTV ABC Yes Has identified as Channel 9 Eyewitness News since 1976
WRDQ Independent Yes WFTV produces newscasts identified as Eyewitness News This Morning and Eyewitness News at 10PM
Philadelphia KYW-TV1 CBS (formerly NBC) Yes The Eyewitness News format was originally introduced at this station in 1965; dropped name from 1991 to use different names for different dayparts; rebranded as News 3 in 1994 and reverted to Eyewitness News in 1998.
Phoenix KTVK Independent No Used 1980–1983 (at that time an ABC affiliate); currently identifies as 3TV News
KPHO-TV CBS No Used in the 1970s (at that time independent); has identified as CBS 5 News since 2004
Pittsburgh KDKA-TV1 CBS No Used from 1965 to 1996; has identified as KDKA-TV News since 1996
Panama City, Florida WMBB ABC No Identified as 13 Eyewitness News from 1987 to 1996; has identified as News 13 since 2003
Portland, Maine WMTW ABC No Has identified as "News 8 WMTW" since 2000
WCSH NBC No Identified as "WCSH Eyewitness News" in the 1970s; has identified as "News Center 6" since 1986
Portland, Oregon KATU ABC No Used 1967–1973; has identified as "KATU News" since 2003
Providence, Rhode Island WPRI CBS Yes Identified as "Channel 12 Eyewitness News" 1989–1996, has identified as "Eyewitness News" since 2002, produces "Eyewitness News at 10 on Fox Providence" for WNAC
Quad Cities - Davenport, Iowa / Moline, Illinois / Rock Island, Illinois / Bettendorf, Iowa / East Moline, Illinois WHBF-TV CBS No Used the same imaging/graphics as sister station WOI-TV, identified as Channel 4 Eyewitness News 2002–2007, has identified as Local 4 News since 2015
WQAD-TV ABC No Identified as Eyewitness News 1975–1978, has branded as Quad Cities' News 8 since 2009
Raleigh/ Durham WTVD2 ABC Yes Used "Eyewitness News" until dropping for "WTVD 11 News" in 1985; this was a clone of WKBW's "Eyewitness News" format. Brought back title in 2000 as ABC 11 Eyewitness News. Also produces Eyewitness News at 10 on CW22 for WLFL-TV.
Reno, Nevada KOLO-TV ABC No Identified as Eyewitness News from mid-'70s to early 1990s; has identified as "KOLO 8 News Now" since 2007
Richmond, Virginia WRIC-TV ABC No Used from the late 1980s to 1992; has identified as "8 News" since 1992
Roanoke, Virginia WSLS NBC No Used during the 1960s and 1980s, has identified as "WSLS 10 On Your Side" since 2007
Rochester, New York WHEC NBC No Used from the early-to-late 1970s; has identified as "News 10 NBC" since 2000
Sacramento KXTV ABC No Used 1978–1985; has identified as News 10 since 1985
St. Louis, Missouri KSDK NBC No Identified itself in 1969 as just Eyewitness News, then in 1976 as Channel 5 Eyewitness News Central, and in 1979 as Channel 5 Eyewitness News. Now identifies as NewsChannel 5
Salt Lake City, Utah KSL-TV NBC (formerly CBS) No Identified as Eyewitness News from the 1970s to 2002, and as KSL 5 Eyewitness News from 2002 to 2009; currently identifies as KSL 5 News
San Antonio, Texas KENS-TV CBS Yes Identified as "Channel 5 Eyewitness News" 1970–1998, has identified as "KENS 5 Eyewitness News" since 1998
San Diego, California KNSD NBC No Used 1973–1977; has identified as NBC San Diego News since 2011.
San Francisco KPIX1 CBS No Identified as "Channel 5 Eyewitness News" from the 1970s to 2005 (aside from a brief period in the mid-1990s when it identified as KPIX 5 News), has identified as CBS 5 Eyewitness News from 2005 until 2013. Station adopted KPIX 5 News" branding again in early 2013.
KGO-TV2 ABC No Has identified as ABC7 News since 1998, which follows the Eyewitness News format though not in branding.
Scranton / Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania WBRE NBC Yes Identified as "28 Eyewitness News" from the 1980s to 2001 and "WBRE Eyewitness News" since 2008
Seattle KIRO-TV CBS No Previously used 1981–1987 and 1997-2015, currently identified as KIRO 7 News
Shreveport KSLA CBS No Used from the 1980s to the 1990s; currently identifies as "KSLA News 12"
KTBS ABC No Used from the 1970s; currently identifies as "KTBS 3 News"
Sioux City, Iowa KCAU-TV ABC No Uses similar imaging/graphics as sister stations WOI-TV, WHBF-TV, and KLKN; identified as Channel 9 Eyewitness News from 2001 to 2013; has identified as ABC 9 News since 2013
South Bend, Indiana WSBT CBS No Identified in 1978 as 22 Eyewitness News and in 1983 as WSBT Eyewitness News; has identified as WSBT News since 2007
Spokane, Washington KHQ NBC No Identified as "Q-6 Eyewitness News" in the 1970s, currently identifies as "KHQ-6 Local News"
Springfield, Missouri KSPR ABC No Identified as "33 Eyewitness News" 1986–1989, has identified as "KSPR News" since 2007
Syracuse, New York WTVH CBS No Identified as "Eyewitness News 5" 1999–2002, has identified as "CBS 5 News" since 2005
WSYR (formerly WNYS and WIXT) ABC No Identified as "Eyewitness News" 1974–1989, currently identifies as "Newschannel 9"
WSYT Fox No Identified as "Fox 68 Eyewitness News" 2000–2006; produced by WTVH. No longer carries a newscast.
Tallahassee, Florida WCTV CBS Yes Identified as "Eyewitness News" from the 1980s until 2001, now known as "WCTV Eyewitness News"
Tampa / St. Petersburg, Florida WTVT Fox (formerly CBS) No Branded as Channel 13 Eyewitness News 1989–1996 and briefly as Fox 13 Eyewitness News 1996–1997; has identified as Fox 13 News since 1997
WTSP CBS (formerly ABC) No Used 1974–1977, currently identifies as 10 News since 2010
WTOG CW No Used from 1982 to 1985. Viacom shut down the station's news department in 1998.
Terre Haute, Indiana WTWO-TV NBC No Identified as TV-2 Eyewitness News 1973–1994, has identified as simply WTWO since 2006
Toledo, Ohio WTOL CBS No Identified as Eyewitness News from 1966 to 1974; has identified as WTOL 11 News since 2010
Topeka, Kansas KTKA ABC No Identified as "49 Eyewitness News" before local news was dropped in 2002, bought by new owners and brought back news in 2006 and currently identifies as "49 News"
Traverse City, Michigan WGTU ABC No Name used in the 1970s; local news now limited on the station
Tucson, Arizona KVOA-TV NBC No Was Eyewitness News at least since the early 1970s, identified as Eyewitness News 4 from 1999 to February 2006, identified as "News 4" since February 2006
Tulsa, Oklahoma KOTV CBS No Identified as "Eyewitness News" 1978–1986, has identified as The News On 6 since 1986
Tyler, Texas KYTX CBS No Identified as "CBS 19 Eyewitness News" 2004–2008; currently identifies as "KYTX CBS 19 News"
Utica, New York WUTR ABC Yes Identified as Eyewitness News in the 1980s and early-to-mid-1990s. Stopped newscasts in 2003; revived newscasts under the Eyewitness News name in 2011.
Waco, TX KXXV ABC No Previously identified as Eyewitness News 25 from 1985 to mid-1990s; currently identified as NewsChannel 25
Washington, D.C. WUSA CBS No Previously identified as Channel 9 Eyewitness News 1972–2002, has identified as 9News Now since 2006
West Palm Beach, Florida WPBF ABC No Identified as Eyewitness News 25 1998–2004; has identified as WPBF 25 News since 2009
WPEC CBS No Used from the late-1980s to the mid-1990s, has identified as CBS 12 News since February 1, 2008
Wichita, Kansas KWCH CBS Yes Identified as Eyewitness News 1969–1977 and again 1983–1995 and then Channel 12 Eyewitness News 1995–2001. Has identified as KWCH 12 Eyewitness News since 2001.
Wichita Falls, Texas / Lawton, Oklahoma KAUZ-TV CBS No Used title Channel 6 Eyewitness News 1974–1988; currently identifies as Newschannel 6
Wilmington, North Carolina WWAY ABC No Identified as Eyewitness News 3 1983–1995; has identified as "NewsChannel 3" since 1995
Youngstown, Ohio WYTV ABC No Identified as "33 Eyewitness News" from the late 1970s to 1999; has identified as "33 News" since 2004. Both the news department and the station as a whole have been operated by WKBN-TV in a shared services agreement since 2007.
Yuma, Arizona/El Centro, California KYMA-DT NBC No Used from 1988-1990, now known as News 11

Music package

Eyewitness News is also the name of a syndicated news music package, composed by Frank Gari, founder of music production firm Gari Media Group (formerly Gari Communications).

Beginning in 1968, ABC owned-and-operated stations in major markets had used the Cool Hand Luke "Tar Sequence" theme for their newscasts. In 1983, these stations started using News Series 2000, an updated version of the original Schifrin theme, composed by Gari, that had been originally commissioned by WLS-TV in Chicago.

However, in the early 1990s, Schifrin raised his royalties for using the Cool Hand Luke "Tar Sequence" music and its variations to a level that effectively priced the theme out of the local news market. As a result, in 1994, Gari was commissioned by ABC's New York City flagship WABC-TV to compose a new music package called Eyewitness News. This new package, based slightly on the "Tar Sequence" theme, has been updated several times. WABC-TV currently uses the Series 4 version, which was specifically updated for the station in 1999.

Besides being used in America, the Eyewitness News music package has also been licensed for use overseas. Hong Kong Cable News uses the theme for its morning newscast, while POP TV in Slovenia has used it for its main newscasts. It is also used by Nine Network in Australia and its owned-and-operated stations for their newscasts. Its rival network, Network Ten, used "Move Closer to Your World" as the theme for the Eyewitness News newscasts on its stations except for TVQ-0 in Brisbane, from 1976 to 1988 (Network Ten did not reach Perth until May 26, 1988), a record twelve years before the theme music was changed to reflect the full reach of the network across Australia's five major cities. By then, Frank Gari's "Turn To News", Ten's then news theme in both Brisbane (in 1986) and later in Adelaide (in early 1987), was adopted by Ten's stations in Melbourne, Sydney, and later in Perth that year.

Another news theme, "Team to Watch", used by KNXT-TV (now KCBS-TV) in Los Angeles in the 1980s, was used as the Ten News update theme on almost all its stations, and in the mid-1980s became the Eyewitness News theme on TEN-10 Sydney. Presently, Ten Eyewitness News uses the current theme music first used in 1995, when it was renamed Ten News.

A station using the Eyewitness News music package might not necessarily use the Eyewitness News title for its newscasts, and vice versa. For example, WXYZ-TV in Detroit uses the music package, but uses the Action News format and branding, and in 2006 KGO-TV started using the "Eyewitness News" package but brands its newscasts as ABC 7 News.

In 2005, Gari Communications renamed the "Eyewitness News: New Generation" news package to the "ABC O&O News Collection", as the packages are now only commissable by ABC owned-and-operated stations and affiliates. Despite this, many still refer to the package as "Eyewitness News". In Buffalo, New York, "Move Closer to Your World" is known as the Eyewitness News theme; it has been used by WKBW-TV from 1972 to 2003, and again since 2008.

United States stations that use or have used Eyewitness News music package

DMA# DMA Name Station Affiliation Years Used Other Notes
1. New York City, New York WABC-TV ABC 1994–present First station to commission Series 1 in 1994 and Series 4 in 1999, Commissioned New Generation 3 (exclusively for WABC) in 2010.
2. Los Angeles, California KABC-TV ABC 1995–present First station to commission Series 1 in 1995 and New Generation Series 1 in 2006 after starting high definition broadcasts. Also commissioned New Generation 1 in 2007 and New Generation 2 in 2008.
KDOC-TV Independent 2014–present 7 p.m. newscast is produced by KABC
3. Chicago, Illinois WLS-TV ABC 2013–present Commissioned Series 1 and New Generation 2 in 2013; used for morning newscasts. Gari's "Stimulus (formerly "News Series 2000 Plus") New Generation 2", originally commissioned for WLS, is used for all other newscasts.
5. San Francisco, California KGO-TV ABC 2006–present Commissioned New Generation Series 1
KOFY-TV Independent 2007–present 9 p.m. newscast is produced by KGO
8. Washington, DC WJLA-TV ABC 2006–2015 Commissioned New Generation Series 1 in 2006 and started using Series 1 for breaking news after starting HD newscasts in December 2008
10. Houston, Texas KTRK-TV ABC 1995–present Commissioned Series 1 and 2 in 1995, Series 5 and New Generation Series 1 in 2006
11. Detroit, Michigan WKBD-TV The CW (formerly UPN) 2002–2004 Aired a 10 p.m. newscast produced by WXYZ
WXYZ-TV ABC 2001–2009 Commissioned New Generation Series 2 only for its opens and bumpers, but uses Series 4 for closes. Also used New Generation 1 for promos of its 5pm and 11pm newscasts. Also commissioned Series 1 for opens and Series 3 for bumpers in 2001
12. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida WFTS ABC 2007–2009 Commissioned Series 1 for IDs, Series 4 for weather stingers, and New Generation Series 1 and 2
13. Phoenix, Arizona KNXV-TV ABC 2007–2009 Commissioned Series 1 and New Generation Series 1 after starting high definition broadcasts
17. Cleveland, Ohio WEWS-TV ABC 2007–2009 Commissioned New Generation Series 1 after starting high definition broadcasts, used New Generation Series 1 for opens and talent rejoins
18. Denver, Colorado KMGH-TV ABC 1995–1997 and 2006–2012 Commissioned Series 2 in 1995 after the 3-way affiliation change with KCNC and KUSA, and New Generation Series 1 in 2006
19. Orlando, Florida WFTV ABC 1995–1997 and 2006–2009 Commissioned Series 2 in 1995 and New Generation Series 1 in 2006, used Series 3 for weather alerts
WRDQ Independent 2007–present Newscasts produced by WFTV
21. St. Louis, Missouri KTVI Fox 1995–1998 Commissioned Series 2 after the affiliation switch with KDNL.
25. Indianapolis, Indiana WRTV (channel 6.1) ABC 2004–2012 Commissioned Series 3 in 2004, New Generation Series 1 in 2006, and first station to commission New Generation Series 3 in 2008 after starting high definition newscasts
6 News 24/7 (formerly NewsChannel 64 – WRTV-DT 6.2) Local news 2004–2012 24 hour cable news channel produced by WRTV
28. San Diego, California KGTV ABC 2006–2012 Commissioned New Generation Series 1 in 2006 and New Generation Series 2 in 2008
29. Raleigh, North Carolina and Durham, North Carolina WTVD ABC 1995–present Commissioned Series 2 in 1995, Series 1 in 2000, Series 3 in 2005, Series 4 in 2006 and New Generation Series 1 in 2007
WLFL The CW (formerly The WB) 2006–present 10 p.m. newscast is produced by WTVD
43. Las Vegas, Nevada KTNV-TV ABC 2003–2011 Commissioned Series 4 in 2003, New Generation Series 1 in 2006, and New Generation Series 2 in 2008 after starting high definition broadcasts
51. New Bedford, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island WNAC Fox 2002–2004 Newscast produced by sister station WPRI
WPRI CBS 2002–2004 Commissioned Series 2 and 3
58. Dayton, Ohio WDTN NBC (formerly ABC) 2002–2004 WDTN commissioned Series 1 before the affiliation switch with WKEF and the ownership change from Hearst-Argyle to LIN TV.
62. Tulsa, Oklahoma KTUL ABC 2006–present Commissioned Series 4 and New Generation Series 1
66. Flint, Michigan WJRT ABC 1997–present Commissioned Series 2 in 1997 and New Generation Series 1 in 2006
69. Green Bay, Wisconsin WBAY-TV ABC 2006–present Commissioned Series 2 for closes and New Generation Series 1 for opens after a licensing dispute with Stephen Arnold Music, the producer of their previous theme, "Counterpoint".
70. Toledo, Ohio WTVG ABC 1997–present Commissioned Series 2 in 1997, Series 3 in 1999, Series 4 in 2005, and New Generation Series 1 in 2006
71. Tucson, Arizona KVOA-TV NBC 1999–2007 Commissioned Series 2 and 3 in 1999
73. Des Moines, Iowa WOI-TV ABC 2006–present Commissioned New Generation Series 1
85. Madison, Wisconsin WMTV NBC 1999–present Commissioned Series 2, 3 and New Generation Series 1; one of only two NBC stations that currently use this package
88. Waco, TX KXXV ABC 2007–present Commissioned New Generation Series 1
89. Cedar Rapids, Iowa KGAN CBS 1996–2004 Commissioned Series 2 and 3
90. Burlington, Vermont WVNY-TV ABC 1999–2003 Commissioned Series 2 and 3 from 1999-2003, when its separate news department closed. News department now shared with WFFF-TV.
96. Savannah, Georgia WJCL ABC 2005–present Commissioned Series 2 for morning newscasts and Series 3 for other newscasts
97. Davenport, Iowa WQAD-TV ABC 2009–present
100. Charleston, South Carolina WCIV ABC 2007–present Commissioned Series 3 and New Generation Series 1
101. Evansville, Indiana WTVW The CW (formerly Fox) 2004 and 2005 Commissioned Series 2 and 3
104. Lincoln, Nebraska KLKN ABC 2007–present Commissioned New Generation Series 1 in 2007 and New Generation Series 2 in 2008
111. Tyler-Longview, Texas KLTV ABC 2007–present Commissioned New Generation Series 1
125. Salinas, California KION (formerly KMST) CBS (formerly UPN) 1997–2006 Commissioned Series 2 and 4
126. Bakersfield, California KERO ABC 2007–present Commissioned Series 2 and New Generation Series 1
128. Columbus, Georgia WTVM ABC 2006–present Series Type Unknown
143. Sioux City, Iowa KCAU-TV ABC 2006–present Commissioned New Generation Series 1 in 2006 and New Generation Series 1 in 2007
147 Lubbock, Texas KLBK CBS 2007–present Commissioned Series 3.
154. Anchorage, Alaska KYUR (formerly KIMO) ABC 1996–2007 Commissioned Series 2, flagship station of "Alaska's Superstation" network
176. Lake Charles, Louisiana KPLC NBC 2013–present One of only two NBC stations that currently use this package
180. Jonesboro, Arkansas KAIT ABC 2007–present Commissioned New Generation Series 1
182. Charlottesville, Virginia WVAW-LD ABC 2006–present Commissioned New Generation Series 1 in 2006 and New Generation Series 2 in 2008
188. Lafayette, Indiana WLFI CBS 1996–2000 Commissioned Series 2

The theme music for Rising Star, which is coincidentally broadcast on ABC, is loosely based on the Eyewitness News package.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Michael D. Murray. Encyclopedia of television news By. p. 73. While a large number of local television stations used the name "Eyewitness News" for only a relatively short period, ... Eyewitness News had five key provisions: emphasis on visual elements and "action" video, sometimes in the form of ...
  2. Eyewitness News: Contact us (in South Africa)
  3. WAGA Eyewitness News at 6:00pm Open
  4. KTRK Channel 13 Eyewitness News Tonight Intro 10/17/90
  5. ABC 7 Eyewitness News at 11 Open

External links

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