International News Presentation: Past and Present

ARD, Germany, 1982; the Falkands War is the lead story:

RAI Due, 1982 -- the World Cup football final is the lead story; as you can see, RAI was one of the first broadcasters anywhere to use a permanent on-screen bug/ DOG:

some small changes for the RTP1 and RTP Informação bulletins:

first, the picture on the screens behind/next to the presenters has changed from a spinning globe (for both channels) to different pictures for each channel, but both with world maps. also, the set had small changes in the back panels, so it's no longer just blue all over (those changes were reflected on the Porto virtual sets).
Jornal da Tarde (RTP1): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKDkxk8iwWo
(Jornal da Tarde is also using the Telejornal beds more often, but still uses its own theme for the opening sequence and sometimes in the closing sequence, since apparently the JT theme doesn't sound serious enough).
18/20 (RTP Informação): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya8FQiHvKx
Telejornal (RTP1): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EZCOdB9O8Q

more recently, the closing titles have also changed to a completely different version, also removing the set design and music design credits and the copyright notice. and, like the screens, it now has different versions for each channel - white for RTP1, red for RTP Informação:
Telejornal (RTP1): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2g_CM-CFgY
Tarde Informativa (RTP Informação): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a5nydx0bhc

Why does that opening music sound like " you just LOST our star prizes,




also What with " EYE Witness news?? "

"Eyewitness News" was a fast-paced format adopted by American local stations; the format placed a stronger emphasis on reporters, who were frequently seen on-air, acting as "eyewitnesses" to the day's events. (Previously, many news stories were read entirely by the anchors, and reporters -- if heard at all -- were rarely seen.) Elements of the original format have been widely adopted by broadcasters around the world, but the Eyewitness News branding continues to be used by some U.S. stations.

BTW, this clip from 1989 shows the Eyewitness News brand being used in Australia:

Memories! Imagine how good that looked LIVE, without the scratches of being transferred from my BetaMax VCR to my VHS one and then, much later, to DVD and YouTube! (Yep, it's one of my clips.) This Channel 10 era sure is rare - I've only seen one other brief clip from Melbourne and an Adelaide clip. But it was sort of "newscast perfection" for me (!) - the world-class theme, the snappy open, the intriguing mix of sophistication (the font and the overall understated style) with parochialism (the "Eyewitness" name and the selection of state politics as lead story over the Berlin Wall), the simple and stylish open that outdoes anything Ten News has done since, the "perfect" set, and Ron and Anne themselves. I'm biased but for local news, I love this! So classy for 1989.

Speaking of classy for 1989, I love RAIDUE!

It was unfortunate they soon moved from that very attractive set to a vastly inferior one. I think you told me once that they had to move to another facility because of the financial difficulties their parent company was having at the time, right?

For everyone else, here's a clip of the same station from 1991, after having dropped and reintroduced the Eyewitness News name:



And here's ATV-10 in Melbourne using the Eyewitness News name in 1980 -- along with an American news theme:

Hi WWU! Great to see your posts. Ten was a train wreck in '89 (even worse than now!). Eyewitness News was doing OK - it was #1 some nights - but the network was in turmoil. They left the "million dollar set" but that was more about a change in direction - they were still in the building for several months. National Nine News with Brian Henderson had the momentum and, from 1990, both Seven and Ten Sydney ditched anchor duos for similar old men solo acts - Roger Climpson on Seven and Ian Leslie on a re-named and more serious Ten Evening News . Seven was virtually identical to Nine - an old man with glasses and a blue map with vertical stripes (Nine had horizontal stripes). Seven picked up viewers but Ten's Ian Leslie, a former 60 Minutes reporter, was an uncomfortable anchor and the Ten Evening News went nowhere. Mid-year, Ian Leslie left on health grounds and Ten picked up Eric Walters - another old white man with glasses! They also sold their rambling headquarters and moved into a cheap inner-city warehouse. To complete the carbon-copy effect across channels 7, 9 and 10 at 6PM that year, Ten opted for a blue world map set - with squares as a point of difference. Personally, the late Eric was the warmest and most accomplished and able of the old guard triumvirate. In 1991, after a year's absence, Ten executives revived the "Eyewitness News" brand because viewers apparently still referred to it as that anyway! Later, Ten further embraced its roots by reverting to anchor duos, big hair, happy chat, live eyes, consumer news and all the rest that had carried it through the 80s. Speaking of...:







...and a classic Eyewitness News open from TVO Brisbane, 1982.

Does anyone know when will TVE's news division finally go widescreen?? All other TVE programs have been 16:9 for some time but their news channel and all national news bulletins are still 4:3.

What a wonderful history, fox1! It seems like Ten in this period often tried to fix things that weren't really broken in the first place. (That Fast Forward sketch about them not knowing what they were doing seems spot on!)



A wonderfully "1980s" look and feel there... and theme music that sounds like a remix of Eleanor Rigby .

Speaking of the 1980s, here's another American compilation from that decade:

That Fast Forward sketch, I might note that the writers/comedians on that show were in Melbourne (as is most TV comedy and variety here) and the sketch was likely based on their view of Melbourne's Channel 10.


TVO Brisbane Eyewitness News 1980 - a classic (this is a late night variation of the early evening Eyewitness News with 2 anchors).


ATV 10 Melbourne Eyewitness News 1988

and TVO Brisbane Eyewitness News Open 1987 - stay classy Mike Higgins.

And that's the current tagesschau opening, in use since Thursday (full bulletin):