Thursday, July 30, 2026

Newsroom-as-set trends/working newsroom feels outside the core Anglosphere


On February 14, 1977, which is a global day to celebrate love being symbolized by hearts, Antenne 2 introduced a new look to its newscasts (in music, intros and presentation).

Jean-Pierre Elkabbach masterminded the 1977 look for the newscasts on Antenne 2.




Since February 14, 1977, Antenne 2's newscasts used a minimalist studio set design, featuring monitors based above the anchors.

November 1977 is when Antenne 2 started utilizing a chroma key backdrop for its newscasts, similar to competitor TF1.





1981 is when TF1 made changes to its news operation.

First, in January 1981, Jean-Marie Cavada, who came from FR3's Soir 3 news program, joined TF1 to replace Henri Marque as its information director.


Under Jean-Marie Cavada, TF1 Actualités, described as being old-fashioned under Henri Marque, was replaced in February 1981 by a new and modern program.



Distinguishing itself from the TF1 Actualités format (which comprised chroma key), the newly modern newscast format on TF1, introduced in February 1981, featured a physical studio set.

This physical set design for this modernized TF1 news format (which was introduced in February 1981 under Jean-Marie Cavada) featured monitors and typewriters.



Having been made in 1981 to look like a high-velocity American news machine, TF1's physical news studio set, filled with typewriters, departed from convention.




January 1985 is when TF1's newscasts underwent its rebrand under Alain Denvers.

David Niles masterminded the 1985 look for the newscasts on TF1, which had monitor banks located between the world map.



Rue Cognacq-Jay is the former main headquarters of TF1, Antenne 2 and FR3.


FR3's Normandie region had two stations, one in Rouen, the other in Caen.




During the early-1980's era, FR3's Caen news operation made its relocation to Rue Fred-Scamaroni.

At Rue Fred-Scamaroni, FR3's Caen news operation introduced the American-esque newsroom-as-set trend/bullpen to France.





19/20 (FR3), upon its May 6, 1986 debut, put the newsroom-as-set trend being seen in FR3's own Caen operation on a national basis via Henri Sannier.




Antenne 2 responded to the immense success being made by 19/20 (FR3) by hiring Henri Sannier.

Coupled with its opening sequence being created by David Niles, during the late-1980's era, Antenne 2 utilized the newsroom as a studio centrepiece under Henri Sannier, but via chroma key.




On September 6, 1989, not long after the 200th anniversary of the 1789 French Revolution, TF1 began tearing down the walls of a world map for a physical mutli-monitor control room backdrop.




Until 1984, both Tagesschau (ARD) and Heute (ZDF) held a national duopoly on the German television news landscape with their news sets being austere, flat and claustrophobic like a cardboard box.

Sat.1 and RTL, both being the first national private television channels in Germany, countered this news formula via ARD/ZDF with their American-style news aesthetics in 1984.





For Sat.1, its own launch on January 1, 1984 (New Year's Day 1984) resulted in the introduction of the American-like newsroom/bullpen to the DACH region.

ORF and SF DRS responded to Sat.1 by using the newsroom set, first in 1984 and then in 1985.





ProSieben embraced the physical newsroom-as-set trend based on WSVN (and BCTV/CNN) for three years since 1996.

N24 (now Welt) has used the physical newsroom-as-set trend since the mid-noughties.



The television iteration of TROS Aktua was one of the first news programs outside the Anglosphere to embrace an American-like newsroom/bullpen, both on a regular basis and in a physical form.

Lasting from October 1974 to October 1984, with an exception that lasted 2 years starting in 1981, the bullpen was a regular studio feature for the television iteration of TROS Aktua.



Wibo van de Linde developed a unique style through his ties to American media.

In 1961, Wibo van de Linde began his career in journalism as an apprentice at the US-based UPI news agency; he was the the official Dutch reporter for Time-Life.

Besides, in 1977, Wibo van de Linde hosted Europe Calling, an English-language program for TROS.



Europe Calling is a Dutch program focusing on international American network approaches, which had aired in August 1977.




For Wibo van de Linde, his vision for TROS Aktua did not just emulate American aesthetics, he made a different form of journalism in the Benelux.




Televisa began using the newsroom-as-set trend designed by BDI in the mid-noughties.

Having been based on BCTV/CNN, Televisa's own newsroom-as-set trend was part of the newly-built expansion of its Chapultepec headquarters.




However, this newsroom-as-set trend was not new for Televisa, as it was already used, shortly after the April 1997 death of Emilio Azcarraga Milmo until 1998, for 24 Horas with Jacobo Zabludovsky.

Plus, Televisa's local stations, like XEWT and XHBC, use the newsroom-as-set trend.



Rival TV Azteca used the newsroom-as-set trend for some Hechos editions from the late-1990's to the noughties.




ECO, which is television's first all-news service in both Latin America and the Hispanic world, used a multi-monitor control room set similar to CNN Headline News.



During the Carlos Menem presidency, newsroom-as-set trends were introduced to Argentina in a more modern and professional manner.




For example, Telenoche (Artear) used a studio set, which featured a multi-monitor control room as its primary backdrop, designed to have a working newsroom feel.



In Chile, from 1990 to 2002, 24 Horas (TVN) utilized a small-sized newsroom-as-set trend.



Also in Chile, Teletrece (UCTV) used the newsroom-as-set trend from the 1990's to the noughties.

However, the newsroom-as-set trend was not new for Teletrece (UCTV), as it was already used for its secondary editions (afternoons/late-nights) during the 1980's.



QAP broke from tradition by using a newsroom-as-set trend, the first of its kind in Colombia.

Based on one for CNN (and in turn, BCTV), the newsroom-as-set trend for QAP conveyed urgency and transparency that other newscasts in Colombia have not.

Since QAP, this newsroom-as-set trend has been used by Colombia's private television services, such as RCN, Caracol and CityTV, the latter being based on the original Toronto version.



Meanwhile, in Peru, Red Global used the Canal De Noticias NBC set, but through chroma key, and in 1997, a physical newsroom-as-set trend was used.



From the early-1990's to 2017, Uruguay's Canal 4 used the newsroom-as-set trend known as the Centro Monte Carlo de Noticias, translated into English as the Monte Carlo News Centre.

The Centro Monte Carlo De Noticias was based on one for CNN, and in turn, BCTV.



Also in Uruguay, Teledoce utilized newsroom-as-set trends, including the one being based upon CNN International from the late-1990's to the mid-2010's.


VTM used newsroom-as-set trends, including one designed by BDI from 1996 to the mid-noughties. 





In August 1986, Aktuellt (SVT) put the newsroom/bullpen behind anchors, but on a temporary basis.

This newsroom/bullpen element for Aktuellt (SVT) became permanent with the launch of ABC, which served as a regional newscast covering Stockholm and Uppsala.




For Aktuellt (SVT), the newsroom-as-set trend on a regular basis lasted until September 2001.

Nyhetshuset was a testing ground for the newsroom-as-set trend for Aktuellt (SVT).




During its first 17 years, TV4 (Sweden) used a hybrid newsroom-control room set à la BCTV/CNN.

Storangskroken 10, based in Stockholm, housed a TV studio, also a permanent venue for TV4's hybrid newsroom-control room studio à la BCTV/CNN from September 1990 to May 1996.





Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), during 1977, broke from tradition by using the American-style multi-monitor control room news set, the first of its kind in Asia.

For TVB, its 1977 news studio design was based on Fred Harpman's futurist, high-tech and cinematic NewsCentre design for NBC, and in turn, the open area for Today (NBC) under Dave Garroway.




Rediffusion Television (Hong Kong), during 1980, broke from tradition by utilizing the American-style newsroom-as-set trend, the first of its kind in Asia, like TVB during 1977.

During 1980, RTV used the ABC News elements under Roone Arledge, like a masthead.





In the mid-1980's era, NHK General TV began using the newsroom-as-set trend for News Centre 9, the first of its kind in Japan, which lasted until its demise in the late-1980's.

This newsroom-as-set trend for NHK's NC9 program was styled after American networks.




During this period, Taro Kimura, born in the United States, and Midori Miyazaki, who formerly did the weather forecasts for this program, anchored NC9 from the newsroom.






Meanwhile, in 1985, All-Nippon News Network (ANN) began using the newsroom-as-set trend, which was based on one for CNN (and in turn, BCTV).




The Ark Broadcasting Centre, to which ANN moved in 1985, was the testing ground for this innovative newsroom-as-set trend within Japan's commercial television sector.

Even with its move to Roppongi Hills, ANN still used the CNN-style newsroom-as-set trend.



Whereas NHK was a pioneer in using the newsroom-as-set trend for News Centre 9, TV Asahi's News Station did the same, but within the commercial television sector.



News Station's launch stemmed from Japan Cable Television, which TV Asahi partly owned, striking a deal with CNN, back in the early-1980's.

JCTV's deal with CNN led to the latter's official introduction to Japan in 1984.



In 1998, a year after its relocation to Odaiba in March 1997, Fuji News Network (FNN) started to use a CNN-style newsroom-as-set trend, lasting until 2013.

Kenzo Tange's ultra-modern building was the permanent home for the FNN newsroom-as-set trend.





Meanwhile, Nippon News Network (NNN) used the CNN-style newsroom-as-set trend, not simply for Plus 1 in its last years, but also for its Real Time program in its first years.



NHK Japan-World opened its headquarters in New York in spring 2021, utilizing the newsroom-as-set trend that Provost Design had created.





December 1, 1980 was when colour television was introduced to South Korea, with full-time national colour services launching on January 1, 1981.

Using NTSC colour, South Korea's television industry had made many improvements.




In the early-to-mid-1980's era, KBS' television services pioneered Western-like aesthetics, including the newsroom-as-set trend and the working newsroom feel, the first of any kind in South Korea.

July 1984 was when KBS adopted its CNN-style newsroom-as-set trend for its flagship 9 p.m. newscast that lasted until the turn of the 21st century.

The brief interruption of the KBS newsroom-as-set trend was from January 1997 to May 1998.



Meanwhile, MBC adopted the newsroom-as-set rend, based on one for the CBS Evening News, which BDI designed in 1996; it lasted during the first half of the noughties.

SBS also used the CNN-style newsroom-as-set trend (with a rotating news desk) for its main newscast from the mid-noughties to the early-2010's.



However, this newsroom-as-set trend was not new for SBS, as it was already used for its main 8 p.m. newscast upon its debut in the early-1990's, like KBS.




With Taiwan's martial law being lifted, TTV began using the newsroom-as-set trend in 1989.

Just as Rediffusion (Hong Kong) was the first television channel in East Asia and the Chinese world to utilize the newsroom-as-set trend, TTV was the first in Taiwan to do so.





NDTV, which is the first independent news broadcaster in India, has endured its dynamic, modern and Western-style news aesthetic since its inception in the late-1980's.

Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, both having trans-Atlantic education, are NDTV's masterminds.



Doordarshan, which had a long monopoly on Indian television, endured a fully-national (and a limited world) news delivery before NDTV.




The World This Week was the first program produced for NDTV.

For its debut, The World This Week used a studio set design, which was made on a physical level with monitor banks, in contrast to Doordarshan's staid design.





With the success of The World This Week, NDTV opened India's doors to global news coverage.

Plus, the success of The World This Week led NDTV to join Doordarshan to co-produce the television coverage of the 1989 Indian general election.




The November 1989 Indian general election was the first to offer televised coverage on a massive and a multi-faceted scale: national, live, prominent and comprehensive.





NDTV masterminds Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy made the newsroom/bullpen a frequent studio set feature in South Asian television for many reasons.




Trained in econometrics and psephology, Prannoy Roy moved from Doordarshan's staid trends.

Britain, housing the televised general elections via the BBC and ITN, led Prannoy Roy to innovate the newsroom/bullpen in South Asia.



Radhika Roy, who, like Prannoy Roy, was educated in the UK, also had American education across the pond, where televised elections were on NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN.




CNN's Gulf War coverage also bypassed state media, introducing Indian audiences to real-time world breaking news.



Li Ka-shing and his company Hutchison Whampoa, in partnership with his son Richard Li, co-founded Star TV in the early-1990's era.

Whereas Li Ka-shing backed Star TV, Richard Li was the driving force behind this venture.




Using AsiaSat 1, partly-owned by Hutchison Whampoa, Star TV provided programming in the English language to Asia.

Hong Kong, a former British territory, served as a testing ground for Star TV.



Rupert Murdoch acquired Star TV from Li Ka-shing, Hutchison Whampoa and Richard Li, in 1993.

Star TV used Western-made broadcast technology, infrastructure and expertise not previously used in a media landscape in some Asian regions dominated by state-run media.



BBC World Service Television, often shortened to WSTV, is one of the original 5 channels included in Hutchvision's Star TV service.


Under Rupert Murdoch, Star TV dropped BBC WSTV and replaced it with entertainment coming from both Hollywood and Asia, the latter having Star Chinese Movies.

CNN International capitalized on the void left by BBC WSTV being removed from Star TV.


Zee TV, which Star TV initially owned in partnership with Essel Group, is India's oldest privately-held television service.




In February 1998, Star TV partnered with NDTV to launch Star News, which was India's first 24-hour television news channel, using its hybrid newsroom-control room set à la BCTV/CNN.



Due to NDTV, CNN and India's reforms, television news in South Asia became modernized.

For both Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, their Western education put the newsroom/bullpen on India's television map.



Meanwhile, Pakistan has televised general elections since the first direct one in the post-independence period.





Kargil is the battleground for the late-1990's war between India and Pakistan.

Pervez Musharraf, who was the architect of the Kargil War, also led Pakistan until August 2008, putting liberalization on this nation's map in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in 2001.




During the Pervez Musharraf era, private television stations in India's neighbour exploded.

Issuing the private television stations in India's neighbour is PEMRA.



The newsroom/bullpen became a usual studio feature in Pakistan's television scene during the Pervez Musharraf era.




Bangladesh, formerly Pakistan's eastern province, also endured a private television explosion.




Zee TV's success and popularity led to an hour-long programming block of music sung in the Bengali language via the Asian Television Network (ATN).

ATN's 1996 closure led ATN Bangla in mid-July 1997.




Having been the first privately-owned satellite and cable television service in Bangladesh, ATN Bangla broke the long-standing Bangladesh Television (BTV) monopoly.

Channel I and Ekushey Television (ETV) follow in ATN Bangla's footsteps.




For Channel I, it serves as Bangladesh's first television channel to use equipment on a digital level; for Ekushey Television (ETV), it is the first terrestrial one of its kind.




NTV (Bangladesh) spurred Bangladesh's post-ETV private television boom.

Using a strategic partnership with CNN, NTV (Bangladesh) put the newsroom/bullpen element on the Bangladeshi television map.

For its hybrid newsroom-control room set à la BCTV/CNN, NTV (Bangladesh) broke from tradition.




Led by former US ambassadors Ronald Lauder and Mark Palmer, CME has been a pioneer in bringing Western-influenced (Western European and American) media principles to the Eastern Bloc.




For CME, it facilitates the Eastern Bloc's television modernization by mixing Western-style television presentation (specifically American and Hollywood) with local Eastern content.

Plus, CME exports Western management and marketing strategies to the Eastern Bloc.




During the Cold War, television in Eastern Europe was staid.

However, with the television channels being held by CME, television in Eastern Europe underwent its modernization by adopting newsroom-as-set trends à la BCTV/CNN.



As glasnost and perestroika loosened strict controls on media, Eduard Sagalaev changed the television landscape in the Eastern Bloc with Vzglyad, the 12th Floor, 7 Days and TSN.





Initially based in London, MBC has been a pioneer in bringing Western-style (Western European and American) media principles to the Arab world.



MBC facilitates the modernization of television in the Arab world by mixing Western-style television presentation (specifically American and Hollywood) with local Arab content, similar to CME.

Plus, like CME, MBC exports Western management and marketing strategies to the Arab world.




Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, an American-educated Saudi businessman, ran MBC as the television service of his ARAvision group.

London, known for its liberal and independent media environment, was MBC's first base.




Both CME and MBC are pioneers in bringing Western media principles to the two emerging markets in Eurasia, turning them into pluralistic, commercially-driven media economies.





RCTI, the first privately-owned television channel in Indonesia, has endured its dynamic, modern and American-style news aesthetic since its 1989 inception.

Some of the American-style news elements for the RCTI channel include a news set, which featured a multi-monitor control room backdrop, plus live reports, dynamic graphics and modern music.




During its initial national years, RCTI's newscasts Seputar Indonesia and Buletin Malam have utilized isolated and enclosed studio sets.

However, with Nuansa Pagi and Buletin Siang, both of which started to air in late-August 1993, RCTI introduced an innovation in Indonesian television news: a working newsroom feel.




Pete Langlois is the former news director at a local television station based in the United States, the call letters of which are KCRA-TV, affiliated with the NBC network.





SCTV, with its 2008 move to the high-tech and multi-story SCTV Tower, based as part of the Senayan City office space, was Indonesia's first TV channel to use the newsroom as a studio feature.

Liputan 6, starting in 2008, used the newsroom having an immersive space at the SCTV Tower.



For SCTV, its newsroom-as-set trend doubled down on RCTI's innovative news studio design that Pete Langlois conceived in 1993, due to its 2008 move to the SCTV Tower.



This newsroom/bullpen as a studio set feature for SCTV's Liputan 6, based on 24-hour news channels, including CNN, lasted from August 2008 to the mid-2010's.


NET. incorporated the newsroom/bullpen, not as a centrepiece via SCTV, but as a backdrop.

Designed in 2013 by BDI, the hybrid newsroom-control room studio for NET. was based on one which was notably used by BCTV/CNN.




iTV, which was the first television service to be operated independently on the UHF band in Thailand, broke from tradition by adopting the CNN-style newsroom-as-set trend upon its 1996 launch.



During its first 3 decades, from the mid-1960's to December 31, 1993, MediaCorp's precursors utilized isolated and enclosed news sets, either using a skyline or a plain backdrop.




However, spurred by Singapore Cable Vision (SCV), the first of its channels being NewsVision (whose schedule comprised CNN International), television news in Singapore made some changes.

For instance, Channel 5 (Singapore) began using CNN-like newsroom studio set.



On December 14, 2017, VTC broke from tradition by introducing a real and physical newsroom-as-set trend, which was the first of its kind in Vietnam.






Many Vietnamese television services, like VTV, have utilized traditional and enclosed news sets, either physical or virtual, for years.

This physical VTC newsroom set, inspired by global news broadcasters, like CNN and the BBC, lasted from December 2017 until its digital TV services ended in mid-January 2025.

posted by JohnnyInigoMontoya @ 9:30 PM   0 Comments

Newsroom-as-set trends in South Asia

NDTV, which is the first independent news broadcaster in India, has endured its dynamic, modern and Western-style news aesthetic since its inception in the late-1980's.

Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, both having trans-Atlantic education, are NDTV's masterminds.



Doordarshan, which had a long monopoly on Indian television, endured a fully-national (and a limited world) news delivery before NDTV.




The World This Week was the first program produced for NDTV.

For its debut, The World This Week used a studio set design, which was made on a physical level with monitor banks, in contrast to Doordarshan's staid design.





With the success of The World This Week, NDTV opened India's doors to global news coverage.

Plus, the success of The World This Week led NDTV to join Doordarshan to co-produce the television coverage of the 1989 Indian general election.




The November 1989 Indian general election was the first to offer televised coverage on a massive and a multi-faceted scale: national, live, prominent and comprehensive.





NDTV masterminds Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy made the newsroom/bullpen a frequent studio set feature in South Asian television for many reasons.




Trained in econometrics and psephology, Prannoy Roy moved from Doordarshan's staid trends.

Britain, housing the televised general elections via the BBC and ITN, led Prannoy Roy to innovate the newsroom/bullpen in South Asia.



Radhika Roy, who, like Prannoy Roy, was educated in the UK, also had American education across the pond, where televised elections were on NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN.




CNN's Gulf War coverage also bypassed state media, introducing Indian audiences to real-time world breaking news.



Li Ka-shing and his company Hutchison Whampoa, in partnership with his son Richard Li, co-founded Star TV in the early-1990's era.

Whereas Li Ka-shing backed Star TV, Richard Li was the driving force behind this venture.




Using AsiaSat 1, partly-owned by Hutchison Whampoa, Star TV provided programming in the English language to Asia.

Hong Kong, a former British territory, served as a testing ground for Star TV.



Rupert Murdoch acquired Star TV from Li Ka-shing, Hutchison Whampoa and Richard Li, in 1993.

Star TV used Western-made broadcast technology, infrastructure and expertise not previously used in a media landscape in some Asian regions dominated by state-run media.



BBC World Service Television, often shortened to WSTV, is one of the original 5 channels included in Hutchvision's Star TV service.


Under Rupert Murdoch, Star TV dropped BBC WSTV and replaced it with entertainment coming from both Hollywood and Asia, the latter having Star Chinese Movies.

CNN International capitalized on the void left by BBC WSTV being removed from Star TV.


Zee TV, which Star TV initially owned in partnership with Essel Group, is India's oldest privately-held television service.




In February 1998, Star TV partnered with NDTV to launch Star News, which was India's first 24-hour television news channel, using its hybrid newsroom-control room set à la BCTV/CNN.



Due to NDTV, CNN and India's reforms, television news in South Asia became modernized.

For both Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, their Western education put the newsroom/bullpen on India's television map.



Meanwhile, Pakistan has televised general elections since the first direct one in the post-independence period.





Kargil is the battleground for the late-1990's war between India and Pakistan.

Pervez Musharraf, who was the architect of the Kargil War, also led Pakistan until August 2008, putting liberalization on this nation's map in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in 2001.




During the Pervez Musharraf era, private television stations in India's neighbour exploded.

Issuing the private television stations in India's neighbour is PEMRA.



The newsroom/bullpen became a usual studio feature in Pakistan's television scene during the Pervez Musharraf era.




Bangladesh, formerly Pakistan's eastern province, also endured a private television explosion.




Zee TV's success and popularity led to an hour-long programming block of music sung in the Bengali language via the Asian Television Network (ATN).

ATN's 1996 closure led ATN Bangla in mid-July 1997.




Having been the first privately-owned satellite and cable television service in Bangladesh, ATN Bangla broke the long-standing Bangladesh Television (BTV) monopoly.

Channel I and Ekushey Television (ETV) follow in ATN Bangla's footsteps.




For Channel I, it serves as Bangladesh's first television channel to use equipment on a digital level; for Ekushey Television (ETV), it is the first terrestrial one of its kind.




NTV (Bangladesh) spurred Bangladesh's post-ETV private television boom.

Using a strategic partnership with CNN, NTV (Bangladesh) put the newsroom/bullpen element on the Bangladeshi television map.

For its hybrid newsroom-control room set à la BCTV/CNN, NTV (Bangladesh) broke from tradition.

posted by JohnnyInigoMontoya @ 8:48 PM   0 Comments

Allie Nicole (indie-soul singer)

Allie Nicole (b. 1981), also known as Allison Nicole Noriega, is an indie-soul singer.

For Allie Nicole, she has pop, rhythm & blues/soul, gospel and country genres; her singing voice has a soulful, emotional and tearful rhythm & blues-influenced tone.



The Walt Disney Company is one of the involvements for Allie Nicole (Allison Nicole Noriega).



Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand are early vocal idols for Allie Nicole.

Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, both inspired by the earlier's honorary aunt Aretha Franklin, are some other vocal idols for Allie Nicole.



TheAllieNicole is a social media handle being used by Allie Nicole.



Southern California is a region in which Allie Nicole (Allison Nicole Noriega) was born and raised.

Nashville, Tennessee is the secondary base for Allie Nicole (Allison Nicole Noriega).





May 5, 1981 (Cinco de Mayo) is when Allie Nicole (Nashville-based indie-soul singer) was born.

Cinco de Mayo is a popular holiday in the United States for celebrating Mexican-American culture and heritage.

Incidentally, Allie Nicole (Nashville-based indie-soul singer) has Mexican roots.




Having been involved in the Disney ecosystem, Allie Nicole (Allison Nicole Noriega) is described as a crying Disney princess, but with a modern pop and rhythm & blues/soul twist.




Saddleback Church is where Allie Nicole was exposed to rhythm & blues/soul and gospel music via its Magnification Team.






Dabbling in country music, Allie Nicole juxtaposes her soulful rhythm & blues-like singing voice with Nashville's twangy country sound.




Besides her work as a singer, Allie Nicole has paperie through her eponymous online shop called Allie Nicole Paperie.

Plus, Allie Nicole releases her own video series called Allie's Album Diaries.



Spring has the Wood element symbolizing youth, true to Allie Nicole as a youthful icon.

Rain also acts as a bridge between the sky (air) and earth (ground) elements, which proves to be true to Allie Nicole's status/reputation as a spring girl in music.



Mirroring human tears, rain uses water droplets, true to the sob-choked, soulful and emotional singing voice being possessed by Allie Nicole (Nashville-based indie-soul singer).




The Water element represents the lowest and the deepest frequencies, but also the dark and mysterious depths of the ocean; this holds true for Allie Nicole (Nashville-based indie-soul singer).

A husky, sultry voice like Allie Nicole's mirrors moving water's fluid, echoing quality.



Danielle Fishel is also born on Cinco de Mayo 1981, besides Allie Nicole (Allison Nicole Noriega).

Like Allie Nicole (Allison Nicole Noriega), Danielle Fishel is a 1981-born girl involved in the Disney ecosystem.


Britney Spears is the most famous and most successful 1981-born female figure being involved in this Disney ecosystem having Maltese roots, besides Danielle Fishel.


Marco Marinangeli, besides Disney, works with Allie Nicole (Nashville-based indie-soul singer).



Allie Nicole (Nashville-based indie-soul singer) covers A Sunday Kind of Love (notably sung by Etta James) in a soulful singing voice, released on YouTube via TheAllieNicole.



For her cover of A Sunday Kind of Love, Allie Nicole (Nashville-based indie-soul singer) sings with emotion, soul and a tearful quality.


The YouTube link for Allie Nicole (indie-soul singer) doing a soulful and emotive cover iteration of A Sunday Kind of Love is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVbS5TEzy84.






Louis Prima, who co-wrote A Sunday Kind of Love (notably sung by Etta James and covered by Allie Nicole), also voices King Louie and sings I Wan'na Be Like You for Disney's The Jungle Book.





101 Dalmatians (1961), released 6 years just prior to The Jungle Book, features a bluesy tune named Cruella De Vil by Mel Leven.

Mel Leven, besides Disney, works with Peggy Lee and the Andrews Sisters.




Peggy Lee's own cover version of the rhythm & blues tune Fever, co-written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell for Little Willie John, is her signature tune.

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy by the Andrews Sisters is an early example of the jump blues genre.



As for her Disney work, Peggy Lee is in Lady and the Tramp.



Charles Wolcott is also a rock music pioneer associated with Disney.

Though he didn't work at Disney directly, Charles Wolcott introduced the rhythm & blues-rooted rock music genre to the mainstream through Blackboard Jungle.


For Blackboard Jungle, Charles Wolcott made the revolutionary decision to include Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets over its opening credits.



Annette Funicello, Peggy Lee, Charles Wolcott, Mel Leven and Louis Prima are some individuals who juxtapose Disney with rhythm & blues/rock/soul music.



Cinco de Mayo also births the other female Disney voices who passed away in July of the years of the Tiger zodiac: Ilene Woods and Pat Carroll.

Ilene Woods was born nearly 3 years after Marilyn Monroe's June 1, 1926 birth.


Just 2 years before Ilene Woods was born, Pat Carroll did the same, 11 months after Marilyn Monroe's birth on June 1, 1926.


Generally, Marilyn Monroe is an iconic pop culture icon born in 1926 and died in 1962, whereas Ilene Woods died in 2010, Pat Carroll in 2022

1926, 1962, 2010 and 2022 are Tiger years.



Marilyn Monroe inspires Mariah Carey, who, in turn, inspires Allie Nicole (Allison Nicole Noriega).





Both Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, whose key idols are based on Marilyn Monroe, follow the Disney-to-pop music star path made by Annette Funicello; they are key idols for Allie Nicole.




Marilyn Monroe attended University High School (Uni) from February to June 1942, just a few months before Annette Funicello's October 1942 birth.



For Allie Nicole (indie-soul singer), she is a modern Annette Funicello, but with a soulful twist

Indeed, Marilyn Monroe, Aretha Franklin and Annette Funicello have all smiles for Madonna, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé and Allie Nicole (indie-soul singer).





Three dimensions define Allie Nicole's soulful singing persona echoing the name of Marilyn Monroe's early-1950's film being released after her breakthrough in 1950:


  • As young as she feels: Young, hot, sexy, sultry, dynamic, energetic, classy, emotive, passionate, beautiful, vibrant, soulful, fierce/fiery, smouldering, gut-wrenching and poignant

  • As young as she looks: Young, hot, sexy, sultry, steamy, seductive, beautiful, charismatic, kind, charming, fierce/fiery, gorgeous, smouldering and emotive

  • As young as she sounds: Young, hot, sexy, sultry, beautiful, smooth, steamy, seductive, soulful, fierce/fiery, soft, soothing, breathy, cooing, smouldering, gut-wrenching and emotive






Plus, both Britney Spears and Allie Nicole (Allison Nicole Noriega) have ties to the Disney brand.




As a Mouseketeer, Britney Spears is in the 1990's version of the Mickey Mouse Club.

Meanwhile, Allie Nicole (Allison Nicole Noriega) is in Disney theme parks.



On the other hand, both Britney Spears and Allie Nicole (Allison Nicole Noriega) have soulful singing voices.

For Marilyn Monroe, Britney Spears and Allie Nicole (indie-soul singer), they use a beauty mark.





Both Christina Aguilera and Allie Nicole (indie-soul singer) have ties to the Disney brand.



Like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera appears in the 1990's version of the Mickey Mouse Club as a Mouseketeer.

Allie Nicole (indie-soul singer) is in Disney theme parks.




Girls/women sing the Aretha Franklin version of Respect while doing everyday tasks, such as taking a shower.



For girls/women, like Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Minh Tuyet and Allie Nicole (Allison Nicole Noriega), they use a mole/beauty mark.

Marilyn Monroe uses a mole on her lower left cheek, whilst Madonna has one being based on her right upper lip, Mariah Carey on her chin and Britney Spears on her shoulder.


Similarly, Minh Tuyet and Allie Nicole (Allison Nicole Noriega) use a mole on their necks.


Set to jazz and big-band music, Marilyn Monroe delivers sexy, sultry and steamy performances.

Females based on Marilyn Monroe, like Madonna, Mariah Carey and Britney Spears, use hot, sexy and sultry aesthetics set to modern music, like rhythm & blues/soul, dance-pop/EDM, etc.

posted by JohnnyInigoMontoya @ 7:33 PM   0 Comments

Monday, July 20, 2026

Marilyn Monroe's twist of the newsroom-as-set trend/working newsroom feel

Marilyn Monroe is one of the most famous popular culture icons in the world; her spirit also extends to broadcast journalism.



The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is one of the most famous broadcasters in both the United States and the world.

Having been the first (and oldest) major broadcaster in America since its 1926 inception, NBC is also a pioneer/innovator in this industry; its innovations shape modern radio and television.



Incidentally, both Marilyn Monroe and NBC are iconic and world-famous entites born in 1926.



Los Angeles, California is Marilyn Monroe's main base, but also the epicentre of Hollywood.

New York City is Marilyn Monroe's second main place, but also the largest city in the United States.




Chicago joins New York and Los Angeles in a group called America's Big Three cities.

With New York being America's largest city, Chicago had been its second-largest from 1890 until April 1984, when Los Angeles shed its longstanding third place status.

For Chicago, it belongs to Marilyn Monroe via the temporary statue.






The Front Page is a play about news, co-written by former newspaper reporters Ben Hecht and Charles McArthur.

Premiering 2 years after Marilyn Monroe's birth, The Front Page, set in Chicago, uses film adaptations, many of them being connected to Marilyn Monroe's friends.





For its first film version, Howard Hughes, who produced Marilyn Monroe's key idol Jean Harlow in her breakthrough film Hell's Angels, also produced The Front Page.

Howard Hawks, who directed Marilyn Monroe in Monkey Business and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the earlier being written by Ben Hecht, also directed the second film version of The Front Page.




Billy Wilder directed the 1974 film version of The Front Page.

Like Howard Hawks, who directed Marilyn Monroe in both Monkey Business and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Billy Wilder directed her in both The Seven Year Itch and Some Like It Hot.

The 1974 film version of The Front Page has Marilyn Monroe's friends.




Chicago, housing The Front Page, the film adaptations of which feature Marilyn Monroe's friends, also houses the eponymous Chicago School, both architectural and television.




Hollywood Star Playhouse, which was heard from April 24, 1950 to mid-February 1953 on all the Big Three networks, features film stars, true to its name.



One of the Hollywood Star Playhouse episodes is Statement in Full, aired in 2 versions.

The second Statement in Full version, which includes Marilyn Monroe, was heard 7 and a half months after the launch of the iconic Today (NBC) program from the RCA Exhibition Hall.

Dave Garroway, who put the Chicago Style on the New York map via Today (NBC), also anchored the first edition of the Monitor radio program, which featured Marilyn Monroe.


Search/Probe has its main character being played by Hugh O'Brian.

Besides television, Hugh O'Brian appears in There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), starring Marilyn Monroe.



Directed by Richard Fleischer, Fantastic Voyage (1966) stars Marilyn Monroe's Fox successor Raquel Welch.

Richard Fleischer also directed The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing, which Marilyn Monroe rejected.





Fred Harpman also worked with Raquel Welch on the cult classic called Myra Breckinridge, the latter using Mae West, Farrah Fawcett, John Huston and Toni Basil.

Marilyn Monroe is partly based on Mae West, but also inspires Farrah Fawcett.




Besides, Toni Basil also dances to Ray Charles' What I'd Say in Elvis Presley's Viva Las Vegas film, in addition to singing Mickey/Hey Mickey.

Mickey/Hey Mickey is Toni Basil's version of the British rock tune Kitty.





John Huston directed Marilyn Monroe The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and The Misfits (1961).

The Boston Strangler, which Richard Fleischer directed, stars Tony Curtis, with whom Marilyn Monroe worked on Some Like It Hot.


Robert Fryer produced The Boston Strangler and Myra Breckinridge, both involving Marilyn Monroe's friends/successors.




Switching Channels, which is the modern 1980's film incarnation of The Front Page, echoes the hybrid newsroom-control room studio design by BCTV/CNN.

Martin Ransohoff produced Switching Channels, with Ted Kotcheff as its director.


Besides, Martin Ransohoff produced films with Marilyn Monroe's friends/successors/lookalikes.



Under Carson Daly, Total Request Live features pop stars, like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Beyoncé, all inspired by Marilyn Monroe.



Pamela Anderson is Canada's modern answer to Marilyn Monroe, but also an iconic and world-famous import from British Columbia.

Whereas BCTV pioneered its hybrid newsroom-control room studio set that CNN popularized, Pamela Anderson became internationally famous through Playboy and Baywatch.


Just as Marilyn Monroe is the first Playboy cover girl/centrefold, Pamela Anderson is its most frequent cover star.



Dorothy Stratten is another Canadian answer to Marilyn Monroe, but a less known import from British Columbia than Pamela Anderson.

For Dorothy Stratten, her 1960 birth coincided with BCTV's launch, her 1980 death with CNN's.


Nina Dobrev, besides Ted Kotcheff, is a Canadian having Bulgarian ancestry.


Incidentally, Playboy puts Marilyn Monroe, Dorothy Stratten and Pamela Anderson on the map.

posted by JohnnyInigoMontoya @ 9:30 PM   0 Comments

DNA of the hybrid BCTV/CNN newsroom-control room studio layout

Just before the News Hour, BCTV did not fare well.

Instead, television viewers in British Columbia got to watch the early-evening newscasts south of the Canada-US border, especially the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite.

The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite dominated television news in North America.


KIRO-TV and KVOS-TV, both being CBS stations in the US portion of the Pacific Northwest, carried the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite across this entire region.



However, in the late-1960's period, under Cameron Bell, the News Hour began its successful tenure on BCTV, and a few years later, in 1975, Tony Parsons joined as its main anchor.





The CBS element- a newsroom.bullpen - was adapted, in turn, by CNN.

With the RCA Exhibition Hall as its first base, Today (NBC) doubled down on the Chicago Style being honed at Dave Garroway's eponymous Garroway at Large program.





Robert Wussler, Daniel Schorr, Bernard Shaw, Sam Zelman and Bill MacPhail were some of the noted CBS individuals being involved in launching CNN on June 1, 1980.








Having adapted the BCTV newsroom-control room set for CNN was Bunky Helfrich.

BCTV/CNN juxtaposed CBS (newsroom/bullpen, Robert Wussler, Daniel Schorr, Bernard Shaw, Sam Zelman and Bill MacPhail) with NBC (NewsCentre, Mary Alice Williams and Jim Kitchell).



In general, CNN, using its hybrid newsroom-control room studio set, is the DNA for 24-hour television news channels.



Modern 21st-century news sets do not leave the CBS, NBC and BCTV/CNN philosophies behind; they instead use digital technology to merge and evolve them into flexible ecosystems.



The hybrid BCTV/CNN newsroom-control room studio design is echoed by films and television.

Switching Channels, which is the modern 1980's film incarnation of The Front Page, echoes the hybrid newsroom-control room studio design by BCTV/CNN.

posted by JohnnyInigoMontoya @ 8:48 PM   0 Comments

Stock music in a fairytale/storybook fable twist

With apologies to Cinderella, just before the KPM 1000 Series, which both Robin Phillips and Adrian Kerridge envisioned, the stock music scene was a banished and isolated servant.



However, the KPM 1000 Series, which both Robin Phillips and Adrian Kerridge have made, is a Fairy Godmother that turned stock music into a modern pop princess, with apologies to Cinderella.

Besides, with apologies to Cinderella, the KPM 1000 Series is a glass slipper being fitted by this stock music princess wearing a ball gown to marry the charming pop/rock/jazz music princes. 





Plus, with apologies to the Cinderella fairy tale, the KPM 1000 Series transformed stock music from a vintage pumpkin into a modern-sounding carriage.

Likewise, with apologies to Cinderella, the stroke of midnight marked the magical demise of this staid stock music sound, with new ones coming in.




Meanwhile, with apologies to both the Snow White and Sleeping Beauty tales, before the KPM 1000 Series, stock music was placed in a magical curse mimicking death for many years.

With apologies to both the Snow White and Sleeping Beauty tales, the KPM 1000 Series, which both Robin Phillips and Adrian Kerridge envisioned, broke the curse in stock music by a kiss.

posted by JohnnyInigoMontoya @ 8:08 PM   0 Comments

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

DNA of the Chicago School of Television for national newscasts/24-hour news channels

The Chicago School of Television is a creative television philosophy being rooted in its namesake; its purpose is to counter New York's theatrical/radio grandeur and Hollywood's cinematic glamour.

Such noted techniques involving television's Chicago School include walking personalities, addresses directly to viewers, fluid/moving camerawork and studio sets as three-dimensional/3D canvases.




When regular commercial television operations began in New York, many programs have incorporated theatrical proscenium or radio layouts, separating the stage from the audience area.

In other words, the early studio set designs used by many programs coming from the New York-centric television scene were like a cardboard box, but also two-dimensional/2D canvases.

Besides, New York-centric television had fixed/static shots.



However, the Chicago School circumvented the traditions of the New York-centric television scene.



During the early years of the era after the Second World War, some television programs emanated from Chicago, where Dave Garroway was a radio disc jockey on WMAQ-AM.

Radio belonged to Dave Garroway since World War II, and his laid-back delivery defined his career.




Television came calling for the radio-friendly Dave Garroway in 1949; his eponymous program called Garroway at Large was a key component of the Chicago School.






For his eponymous Garroway at Large program, Dave Garroway broke television's old traditions for a more casual approach, in which the reality of the studio was acknowledged.

Using one camera, Dave Garroway walked around large studios and simple abstract sets as he directly talked to guests and television viewers for his eponymous Garroway at Large program.





Just over 2 years after NBC started Dave Garroway's eponymous Garroway at Large program, its rival CBS responded by launching See It Now, with iconic journalist Edward R. Murrow at the helm.

Hear It Now, which served as a former weekly radio adaptation of the I Can Hear It Now spoken-word album series, is, in turn, the basis for Edward R. Murrow's See It Now (CBS).

The CBS Television control room at Studio 41 in Grand Central Terminal housed Edward R. Murrow's innovative and groundbreaking See It Now television program.




Dave Garroway's Garroway at Large (NBC) used moving cameras and unpainted studio walls, whereas Edward R. Murrow's See It Now (CBS) featured a control room with monitors.

Plus, whereas programs from New York-centric TV were like a cardboard box, the See It Now program being helmed by Edward R. Murrow had a control room.



Both Dave Garroway's Garroway at Large (NBC) and Edward R. Murrow's See It Now (CBS) rejected claustrophobic sets and exposed a real technical environment of television production.




Early-morning television was Pat Weaver's innovative, but controversial dream for a few years, and he tapped Dave Garroway from Chicago to make this dream real.

Pat Weaver's successful dream of an early-morning television program was called Today (NBC).



When Today (NBC) began, television was completely absent from the early-morning hours, and critics believed that no one watched TV while getting ready for work.

Just before Today (NBC), Pat Weaver was also trying to find a location for its studio.




Situated in the Rockefeller Centre complex, the RCA Exhibition Hall is based directly across from the iconic and famous headquarters of the Associated Press at 50 Rockefeller Plaza.

Contrasting to the iconic headquarters of the Associated Press, which represented print journalism, the RCA Exhibition Hall represented electronic media's fluid and transparent future.




Inside the RCA Exhibition Hall, parts of which were converted into the first Today (NBC) studio, was a newsroom/bullpen being adapted from the print field, like the AP at 50 Rock.

Juxtaposing print journalism's industrial past, via the AP at 50 Rock, with electronic media's transparent future, via the RCA Exhibition Hall, the Today (NBC) bullpen was a television innovation.



Next to the Today (NBC) bullpen at the RCA Exhibition Hall was a desk, based behind a backdrop with clocks and television monitors.

Besides, Today (NBC) featured pedestrians on the street looking through the glass windows of the RCA Exhibition Hall to watch this program.



Plus, teletypes that came from the Associated Press (AP), United Press (UP) and the International News Service (INS) were used inside the Today (NBC) newsroom/bullpen at the RCA Exhibition Hall.

The on-screen ticker being adapted from the wire services in the Today (NBC) newsroom/bullpen at the RCA Exhibition Hall, featuring a clock display being adapted from clocks, was used.

For this Today (NBC) ticker, the Gary Telop Horizontal Tape Scroll was used.



Due to technical difficulties and having lacked viewer traction, the on-screen ticker being adapted from wire feeds for Today (NBC) was dropped after just a few months.



Undoing the past, the RCA Exhibition Hall for Today (NBC) under Dave Garroway/Pat Weaver birthed modern broadcast design elements.

Elements of this first Today (NBC) studio under Dave Garroway/Pat Weaver included newsroom-as-set trends, street-side studios, news tickers and clock displays.



This borderless room, located at the RCA Exhibition Hall for Today (NBC) under Dave Garroway, was made in-house by NBC's engineering units and RCA's corporate exhibition teams.



With the RCA Exhibition Hall as its first base, Today (NBC) doubled down on the Chicago Style being honed at Dave Garroway's eponymous Garroway at Large program.

Likewise, with Dave Garroway at the helm for Today (NBC), the RCA Exhibition Hall bridged the gap between the Chicago Style, the AP newsroom/bullpen and the See It Now control room.




For Today (NBC), under Dave Garroway, the RCA Exhibition Hall mixed Chicago's creativity with the industrial newsroom/bullpen and the technical transparency of a network nerve centre.




Chicago, in which Dave Garroway pioneered a casual television style being brought to New York, also hosted the political conventions in the early-1950's at the International Amphitheatre.

For the Republican National Convention in this early-1950's era, it was the first to be presented live on television on a national level.



Whereas past conventions, including the 1948 gatherings, were simply being televised all over the East Coast, Chicago's political conventions in the early-1950's were televised nationwide.




Using the air conditioning process being installed at the International Amphitheatre, Chicago's political conventions, held in the early-1950's, were the first to do so.



Just before Chicago's major political conventions in the early-1950's era, summer political conventions notoriously suffered heat in venues without A/C, making citizens sweaty.

However, the addition of the A/C process and the American Telephone & Telegraph Company's coaxial television uplink for Chicago's early-1950's political conventions helped modernize these rituals.



For these early-1950's political rituals, held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, the major US television networks erected makeshift broadcast booths inside the convention halls.

The television service with the most notice to cover Chicago's political conventions in this early-1950's period was CBS, which brought Walter Cronkite to national prominence.



Rooted in print journalism, Walter Cronkite worked for United Press since 1937.

Initially, Edward R. Murrow offered Walter Cronkite a chance to join the CBS News reporting team in London during World War II; the latter journalist declined because he stayed with UP.




After World War II, in 1950, Edward R. Murrow tried again, and this time, he succeeded in persuading Walter Cronkite to join CBS News.

Upon being recruited in 1950, Walter Cronkite was a national CBS News reporter in Washington D.C., doubling as the first newsreader for its Washington station in WUSA.




The "anchor" word is used in the sports world to describe the final and most crucial segment in a relay contest, getting the baton from the starting point to the finish line.

Sig Mickelson popularized the "anchor" term for television news in the same start-to-finish road.



For Chicago's major  political conventions in the early-1950's period, Walter Cronkite started using the word "anchor" that Sig Mickelson popularized for television news.




Echoing Dave Garroway taking Chicago's techniques with him to New York for Today (NBC) upon its launch, Chicago's political conventions led to election nights from New York.

Similar to the newsroom/bullpen being adapted from the print field by Today (NBC) for television, the major US television networks used this trend for their early-1950's election coverage.




NBC pioneered the newsroom/bullpen as a television studio set feature under Dave Garroway.

CBS adapted this newsroom/bullpen element from NBC as a studio set feature being placed in a usual windowless room for television journalism under Walter Cronkite and Don Hewitt.

In the early-1950's, CBS Television innovated the newsroom/bullpen trend for televised election night coverage, in the mid-1960's with an evening news twist, and in March 1973 with a local twist.




Search (1972-1973) is a sci-fi television series produced by Warner Bros. Television for NBC.

Probe (1972) is a 2-hour television movie, which serves as the basis for Search (1972-1973).




For Search/Probe (1972-1973), the Probe Control Centre is a fictional room based on NASA's Mission Control Centre.

What describes the Probe Control Centre for Search/Probe (1972-1973) is the fact that it uses a similar monitor matrix to the real-life NASA Mission Control Centre.




Designing the Probe Control Centre for Search/Probe (1972-1973) is Fred Harpman.

Besides, the Probe Control Centre, which Fred Harpman made for Search/Probe (1972-1973), directly inspires his television studio design called the NewsCentre.



In addition, Fred Harpman is assistant art director for the 1966 Fox sci-fi film Fantastic Voyage, which features a nerve centre for Combined Miniature Deterrent Force (CMDF).

CMDF's nerve centre has a similar monitor matrix to the real-life NASA Mission Control for Fantastic Voyage (1966), like the Probe Control Centre in Search/Probe (1972-1973).



Similarly, the fictional high-tech nerve centres that Fred Harpman had masterminded/designed for both Fantastic Voyage (1966) and Search/Probe (1972-1973) inspire the NewsCentre set design.




Using architectural geometry, angled desks and glass partitions, Fred Harpman's NewsCentre set design contrasts with traditional ones whose framing was flat, shallow and two-dimensional.

Besides, the NewsCentre design by Fred Harpman features NASA-like banks of active video feeds/data monitors.

In addition, mezzanine/stairs also add to Fred Harpman's NewsCentre design.



Rooted in Hollywood's science fiction genre, Fred Harpman's high-tech and cinematic NewsCentre set design was made to have a working newsroom feel.

Plus, Fred Harpman's high-tech and cinematic NewsCentre studio design mirrored the boundless room inside the RCA Exhibition Hall for Today (NBC) under Dave Garroway.

Likewise, Fred Harpman's NewsCentre set is inspired by the See It Now (CBS) control room.




During its first 30 years/3 decades, CNN used the newsroom/bullpen as a usual studio feature.

CNN's paradox is the print-style CBS newsroom/bullpen inside a high-tech NBC NewsCentre monitor matrix, inspired by BCTV.




The print-style newsroom/bullpen used for CBS by Walter Cronkite, which was adapted from the RCA Exhibition Hall bullpen for Today (NBC) under Dave Garroway, was adapted, in turn, by CNN.

With the RCA Exhibition Hall as its first base, Today (NBC) doubled down on the Chicago Style being honed at Dave Garroway's eponymous Garroway at Large program.




For the high-tech NBC NewsCentre monitor matrix, inspired by the See It Now control room, used for CBS by Edward R. Murrow, CNN also adapted this trend.


Robert Wussler and Bill MacPhail, both of whom were executives being involved with CBS, were also some original executives involved with CNN upon its launch on June 1, 1980.




Having adapted the BCTV newsroom-control room set for CNN was Bunky Helfrich.

BCTV/CNN juxtaposed CBS (newsroom/bullpen, Robert Wussler, Daniel Schorr, Bernard Shaw, Sam Zelman and Bill MacPhail) with NBC (NewsCentre, Mary Alice Williams and Jim Kitchell).



In general, CNN, using its hybrid newsroom-control room studio set, is the DNA for 24-hour television news channels.


The Financial News Network (FNN) started in November 1981, with the Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) in April 1989, both merging in the early-1990's.



Quotron, a financial device being made in 1960 by John Scantlin and his eponymous company Scantlin Electronics, is the first to directly stream real-time stock market data to an electronic screen.

This Quotron system replaced traditional, slow and mechanical ticker tape machines.



For FNN, its concept was rooted in Quotron, which supported KWHY and WCIU-TV.



Due to its move to 299 Queen Street West after a decade at 99 Queen Street East since 1977, CityPulse changed its format to a one from the newsroom/bullpen without a desk for CityTV.

At 99 Queen Street East, CityPulse on CityTV had anchors sitting at a desk in an isolated studio.




This newsroom/bullpen trend, which was inside the RCA Exhibition Hall for Today (NBC) under Dave Garroway, was the basis for CityPulse's unique news format for CityTV.

In turn, the RCA Exhibition Hall for NBC influenced 299 Queen Street West for CityTV/MuchMusic.



Modern 21st-century news sets could not leave the CBS, NBC, BCTV/CNN and CityTV philosophies behind; they instead use digital technology to merge and evolve them into flexible ecosystems.

Whereas modern 21st-century news sets move from the newsroom/bullpen, others bring it back.




Just before both Dave Garroway and Edward R. Murrow, television news studio sets were divided into three separate formulas:


  • News anchors sitting at one desk in a studio with a cardboard box feel behind blank walls

  • Journalists working in a newsroom/bullpen being filled with teletype machines and noises

  • Technical staff operating in a dark and windowless control room, featuring monitor banks



However, both Dave Garroway and Edward R. Murrow broke down the two-dimensional/2D box-like studio walls, turning television news studio sets into three-dimensional/3D canvases.



By the mid-1950's period, the Chicago School of Television had started to fade, as television network production had become a centralized duopoly between New York and Los Angeles.





The East Coast (New York) houses American television's corporate/news operations.

Due to its proximity to Wall Street, plus its political corridors, the East Coast (New York) houses live broadcast journalism, morning news and late-night satire involving current events.

Incidentally, New York is American broadcasting's main financial and executive command centre.




As for the West Coast (Los Angeles), it uses the television industry's entertainment, variety and filmed sectors, capitalizing on.Hollywood's infrastructure and cinematic pool.




Still, the DNA of the Chicago School has had an impact on television.

The casual delivery and open-plan studio sets being rooted in television's Chicago School lead to those being used by national newscasts, nationally-televised elections and 24-hour cable news channels.

Plus, the Chicago School DNA is in sports, and most notably, social media, like YouTube and TikTok.




Expanded formats beyond the quarter-hour serve as modern blueprints for global television news.

For the nationally-televised early-1950's US presidential election, it serves as the modern blueprint for nationally-televised elections from democracies around the world.




In 1993, Steve Friedman came up with an idea, which was to revive the glass fishbowl concept under Dave Garroway for Today (NBC), but in the modern age, starting in next year's summer.

Housing the 1990's revival of the glass fishbowl concept under Dave Garroway for Today (NBC) is a former bank (and a space by Eastern Airlines).

Plus, this 1990's revival of the fishbowl format under Dave Garroway for Today (NBC) was based on CHUM-City's 299 Queen Street West hub, in turn, based on Dave Garroway.



Kohn Architecture collaborated with NBC to design the storefront (and interactive kisok footprint) for Today's Studio 1A location.




Incidentally, since Studio 1A for Today (NBC), street-level studios based in downtown cores have been utilized for national morning news, local newscasts and election coverage in the US.

Plus, street-level studios based in downtown cores are used for music channels, like MTV and Fuse.




For instance, Good Morning America (GMA) moved to a street-level studio, designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, in response to Studio 1A for Today (NBC), in the late-1990's.

Unconfined to GMA, Times Square Studios was also used for presidential election coverage.




The General Motors Building, based on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, housed the Early Show (CBS) for nearly 12 years from the late-1990's to the early-2010's.



CBS News also used MTV's former One Astor Plaza studio venue at Times Square, noted for its Total Request Live (TRL) program, for its 2020 US presidential election coverage.




Meanwhile, CNN used the NASDAQ MarketSite to house its live coverage of the first US presidential election to be held after September 11, 2001.




For years, televised elections have often used the bullpen - packed with desks, phones, researchers and computers - to convey urgency, transparency and journalistic authority.

Similarly, modern 21st-century election sets pivot away from the bullpen, but others bring it back.




From its half-hour debut in the mid-1960's era until the autumn of 1972, a world map in the form of a Mercator projection was utilized for the CBS Evening News set.

Rear projection technology was also used for the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite to display stories and graphics over Walter Cronkite's shoulder from the mid-1960's until late-1977.




In fall 1972, after the Munich Summer Olympics, the CBS Evening News underwent its makeover; its Studio 33 design was remade with a green backdrop with an icon depicting the globe.

Likewise, the world map being used in this CBS Evening News set was updated with one described as being inspired by the Goode homolosine projection in fall 1972.



December 12, 1973 is when WNBC-TV announced that its own movie block called Movie 4 would be cancelled on April 26, 1974 as part of its plans for a 2-hour newscast called NewsCentre 4.

April 29, 1974 is when WNBC-TV launched NewsCentre 4.



So successful was the NewsCentre philosophy, in branding, visuals and design, which WNBC-TV had originated, that NBC's other owned-and-operated television stations began using this one.

NBC commissioned modular clones of its NewsCentre design by Fred Harpman.



In Chicago, in a poetic twist of television history, this NewsCentre traces back to Dave Garroway's old stomping grounds: the Merchandise Mart, from which Garroway at Large was presented.

WMAQ-TV used the NewsCentre as a multi-tiered and active newsroom atmosphere that proved news reporting in the Midwest in an industrial and fast-paced nature.





Incidentally, television's Chicago School section is a innovative and groundbreaking philosophy being named after the architectural movement of the same name.



What the architectural section of the Chicago School means is that it tears down European imitation by innovating the tripartite design.

Using the tripartite design, a building is structurally mapped out like a Greek column.



Meanwhile, television's Chicago School section tears down theatrical/radio imitation with the feel of a cardboard box by innovating the fluid and third-dimensional approach.




Just like the eponymous architectural movement circumvents European imitation, television's Chicago School circumvents theatrical/radio imitation with a cardboard box feel.


The image orthicon, used specifically for the RCA TK-10/30, made the Chicago School work.



Just before the image orthicon, the Iconoscope dominated television studio cameras.

Poor light sensitivity is a con in the Iconoscope that required blinding and hot studio lights that forced actors to stand rigid and sweat heavy under stage makeup.

However, the image orthicon had a pro, which is unprecedented light sensitivity that even allowed TV studio cameras to capture images by candlelight.



In addition, a 4-lens turret, specifically for the RCA TK-10/30, also added to the Chicago School.




Early studio cameras coming from New York-centric television were massive and heavy.

Conversely, a 4-lens turret allowed cameras to switch between wide/medium shots and close-ups.





Likewise, early (and heavy) studio cameras from New York-centric TV required huge crank-operated pedestals taking multi-crew members to slowly steer across a flat studio floor.

Fluid-balanced friction heads and lighter post-war metals were on camera mounts, as well as dollies.



Just before West 57th, the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite briefly emanated from the Graybar Building on its 29th floor, which also had the newsroom/bullpen, due to its half-hour expansion.




During this brief Graybar period, the studio set of the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite used a chalkboard.

Plus, the 29th floor of the Graybar Building, which briefly housed the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, was used when John F. Kennedy's death was announced.




81 days prior to his death, John F. Kennedy was ironically interviewed by Walter Cronkite for the first half-hour edition of the CBS Evening News.



With its relocation from Graybar to West 57th, the chalkboard being utilized in the CBS Evening News studio set was replaced by a modern wall lined with teletypes.



Norelco, a brand from the Dutch-based Philips Corporation, used PC-60 cameras with the move to the CBS Broadcast Centre at West 57th.

Plus, the CBS Broadcast Centre innovated dual computer automation, control rooms featuring 2 video switchers in one console matrix and column-free architecture.


For Norelco cameras, they have advanced Plumbicon tubes, positioning them as alternatives to RCA's colour television cameras and variants of the Vidicon tubes.



In contrast to Vidicons, which caused problems, particularly in low-light conditions, producing noisy pictures and lag effects, Plumbicons have higher resolution, better image quality and others.

Solid-state sensor technology like CCD and CMOS replace Vidicons and Plumbicons in the 1990's.






In television's early years, the studio and the newsroom were separate.

News anchors delivered the day's stories from an isolated and enclosed studio, while journalists in the bullpen physically sprinted across a high catwalk to deliver scripts to them.

This frantic setup was impossible to maintain for a longer, fast-paced newscast.





For television newscasts extending beyond the quarter-hour time limit, however, news anchors sat in a newsroom/bullpen, surrounded by busy journalists, plus the teletype and its clattering sound.

Silent computers replaced the teletype and its clattering sound in the newsroom.




posted by JohnnyInigoMontoya @ 7:20 PM   0 Comments

DNA of the CHL and 007 cues for news themes

News music features the rhythm of a teletype machine or Morse code, together with two of the loudest instrumental groups in the Western orchestra: brass and percussion.

During the 20th century, teletypes and Morse code are major methods being used to transmit news and information, especially in newsrooms before computers and telephones become widespread.





The Tar Sequence, a music cue specially written for the late-1960's Hollywood prison drama film Cool Hand Luke (CHL), has a second life as a news music theme eclipsing its original purpose.

What makes CHL a fitting music cue for broadcast journalism/television news is the teletype.




Just before CHL, television news music had a ceremonial sound, specifically fanfares and marches.

Plus, the teletype and Morse code were simple news sounders with no music to play in.





CHL juxtaposes cinematic orchestral elements, including Aaron Copland's influence, with the teletype sound and the modern jazz/pop influences by Lalo Schifrin.



In order to make its sound fitting for newscasts, Al Primo selected and edited Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence as the theme tune for Eyewitness News, removing its non-news elements.

Plus, CHL is more famous as a news theme than the film.



WABC-TV is the first television station in the world to utilize Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence as a news music theme for the New York version of the Eyewitness News format (via Al Primo).




Due to the success of the New York version of the Eyewitness News format (via Al Primo), Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence spans the United States via ABC/non-ABC stations.

In addition to the US, CHL is used by CFCF-TV (Canada) and the National Nine Network (Australia).



007 Takes the Lektor, a cue from the second film of the James Bond franchise called From Russia with Love, has a second life as a news music theme eclipsing its original purpose, similar to CHL.




KYW-TV is the first television station in the world to use the Eyewitness News concept that Al Primo created, but also From Russia with Love: 007 Takes the Lektor as a news music theme.

From Russia with Love: 007 Takes the Lektor is used by Group W/Westinghouse as a news theme.






This 007 Takes the Lektor cue has 7 drum beats, similar to the John Barry Seven's own version of The Magnificent Seven Theme, which was a British success.

What makes 007 Takes the Lektor a suitable music cue for broadcast journalism/television news is the usage of the timpani drums, tom-toms and brass stabs.




007 Takes the Lektor injects youthful momentum into news themes via brass stabs.

Plus, the timpani drums in 007 Takes the Lektor conveys a ticking clock/countdown, implying that the news is happening now and every second counts.





During the pre-John Barry era, action/suspense music usually relied on traditional European orchestral music.

John Barry simplified the melodies, but maximized the volume/attitude for action/suspense music.



Besides, John Barry also made drums a tool for timekeeping and a melodic and driving force.

For John Barry, he is the British answer to Ennio Morricone; both combine modern pop elements with traditional orchestration.




So successful was the original Philadelphia version of the Eyewitness News format (via Al Primo) that television newscasts abandoned their traditional formats.

Philadelphia's success with the Eyewitness News format (via Al Primo) led to its New York version.




Incidentally, both CHL and 007 are film music cues that have Aaron Copland's influence.



By the 1980's and the 1990's, both CHL and 007 had started to fade from US prominence.

Even so, the DNA of both the CHL and 007 cues for news themes persists across the United States and around the world.



WLS-TV is a rare and unique station to use both the CHL and 007 cues together as news themes for Al Primo's Eyewitness News concept during the Fahey Flynn and Joel Daly era.



Since CHL and 007, modern news music has instrumentation/techniques (used/found in film scores) to enhance the emotional impact/storytelling of the news.




Hawaii Five-O has a fast-paced and quick-cut intro sequence made by Reza Badiyi, set to rock-infused orchestral music by Morton Stevens.

In turn, Action News (in intros and music) applies the same techniques as Hawaii Five-O.




Move Closer to Your World (MCTYW) is an orchestral news music package for Action News.

Al Ham, whose company is Mayhom Music, made the iconic Move Closer to Your World piece being synonymous with Philadelphia.


Staying in Philadelphia, Tom Sellers, who was a student at Temple University, wrote The Action News Theme, which has similarities to MCTYW.



Likewise, Philadelphia also houses the Rocky sports media franchise, which focuses on the life of an eponymous boxing champion.



The Rocky franchise has its brass-heavy and soul-infused theme tune called Gonna Fly Now.

Bill Conti is the composer of the Gonna Fly Now theme tune for the Rocky media franchise, with Ayn Robbins and Carol Connors doing the lyrics.


For the Gonna Fly Now tune, it is as synonymous with Philadelphia as the MCTYW tune, both of them infused with soul.





Maynard Ferguson, a Canadian trumpeter, created his own version of the Gonna Fly Now tune from the Rocky media franchise, used for his 1977 album Conquistador.

Besides, Maynard Ferguson's Conquistador (1977) has the Theme from Star Trek cue.



Jay Chattaway, who arranged and conducted many of the tunes being included in Maynard Ferguson's Conquistador (1977), later became synonymous with the Star Trek franchise.



Philadelphia is the birthplace of both the Eyewitness News and Action News formats, in addition to the late-night 11 p.m. newscast and the 4-person news team.

Indeed, Philadelphia is the ultimate incubator for North America's modern local television news scene.



De Wolfe Music, formerly known as Music De Wolfe, is one of the best, greatest and most iconic and influential companies specializing in stock music.

Unconfined to music, De Wolfe Music also has sound effects.



Wardour Street, based at Soho in London, was De Wolfe's longtime headquarters until its relocation to Shropshire House on Capper Street in the late-1990's.

Queens House at Tottenham Court Road houses De Wolfe Music.





Angel Recording Studios, which is a former De Wolfe property being based at the Islington Chapel in London, is a location being used for orchestral recording purposes.




Meyer De Wolfe, born in the Netherlands, arrived in Britain after the turn of the 20th century.

By setting foot on the British map, Meyer De Wolfe founded his own company in 1909.




In the late-1920's, with sound entering cinema, De Wolfe Music had sound-on-disc and sound-on-film technology to create the world's first commercial recorded music library.




James De Wolfe is Meyer De Wolfe's younger son, taking over his father's music label after WWII.

Having been in the Royal Air Force for 5 years starting in 1942 during WWII, James De Wolfe was a member of the Dutch Squadron, marked by resilience and bravery.



Not long after the Allies won World War II in 1945, James De Wolfe returned to his roots at the music label that his father Meyer De Wolfe had founded in 1909.

Returning from RAF service after WWII ended, James De Wolfe injected fresh energy into this music publishing business, especially the label that his father Meyer De Wolfe had begun.




Carrying on the legacy of his father Meyer De Wolfe, after World War II, James De Wolfe has greatly expanded De Wolfe Music's reach beyond its original British borders.

Plus, James De Wolfe spearheaded the development of the Angel Recording Studios complex.





KPM/EMI is, besides De Wolfe Music, one of the best, greatest and most iconic and influential stock music labels.




Denmark Street, located near Wardour Street, where De Wolfe was located, had also been the longtime headquarters for KPM/EMI until its move to Charing Cross the late-1980's.

Soho bridges both Wardour Street and Denmark Street, where De Wolfe and KPM/EMI were based.





For Robert William Keith, he was a composer and an instrument maker; he opened up a music shop in London in the late-18th century.

In the early-19th century, Robert William Keith met fellow instrument maker William Prowse.





Keith Prowse & Co. was the result of a partnership forged between Robert William Keith and William Prowse.




Having had both ticket and music publishing, Keith Prowse & Co. spun-off the latter in the mid-1950's period to focus on the earlier.

The owners of the first independent television station in Britain called Associated-Rediffusion acquired Keith Prowse Music Publishing, starting the latter's stock music label.




Peter Maurice Music was run by John Turner (James Phillips), with its lyricist Geoffrey Parsons.

In the late-1950's, Associated-Rediffusion also purchased Peter Maurice Music, merging it with Keith Prowse Music Publishing to form Keith-Prowse-Maurice (KPM).



Via Independent Television (ITV) and Associated-Rediffusion, stock music has been an integral and a crucial portion of the music scene in both the television and broadcast industries.





Associated-Rediffusion (then Rediffusion London) was outbid in the late-1960's, as was the other Big Four ITV station called ABC Weekend Television.

Rediffusion London and ABC Weekend Television merged to form Thames Television.




In 1969, EMI acquired Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), which partly owned Thames Television.

Separately, in 1969, EMI acquired the KPM stock music label from Rediffusion London.



Warner Bros. partly owned Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) until 1969.





Robin Phillips headed KPM through its 1000 Series, which he created in May 1966.

Incidentally, Robin Phillips' father John Turner (James Phillips) had owned Peter Maurice Music (now KPM) since 1930, with his older brother Peter joining in 1954.



1930, 1942, 1954 and 1966 are respectively years of the Chinese zodiac Horse.




Adrian Kerridge, a veteran engineer in the pop and rock music scenes, is also an engineer of the KPM 1000 Series, under whom it has a crisp sound.






For the KPM 1000 Series, co-envisioned by Robin Phillips and Adrian Kerridge, it blended traditional orchestration with modern pop instrumentation.





KPM also shifted from 10-inch 78 rpm shellac discs into 12-inch 33 rpm LPs with its 1000 Series.

78 rpm shellac discs use faster playback speed, whereas 33 rpm LPs have slower speed and finer, more densely packed microgrooves, giving music a more storage space.






Both Robin Phillips and Adrian Kerridge enlisted musicians and composers from pop, jazz and rock to create a fresh, dynamic sound for film and television for the KPM 1000 Series.



Green is the main colour of the album covers of the KPM 1000 Series, which both Robin Phillips and Adrian Kerridge have envisioned.

Nicknamed Greensleeves, the KPM 1000 Series forever changed stock music (and music overall).





Since the 1960's, stock music labels have used a modern and contemporary sound, pioneered by both Robin Phillips and Adrian Kerridge.

KPM/EMI and De Wolfe are noted labels with the modern Robin Phillips/Adrian Kerridge sound.




Jan Stoeckart, Frans Mijts, Hugo De Groot and Els van Epen are some Dutch people working with De Wolfe Music, besides its namesake (and fellow Dutchman) Meyer De Wolfe.

Many De Wolfe Music LPs were physically pressed at the Dureco factory in Weesp in the Netherlands before being shipped to the UK.




Indeed, for years, De Wolfe Music has had deep operations and artistic relations with the Dutch music business.




Alfonso Corelli and Fred Jacobs, both of whom were film editors rooted in the United States, founded their eponymous music company called Corelli-Jacobs, Inc., based in New York City.

For Corelli-Jacobs, Inc., it acquired the American distribution rights to the music label, driven by both Meyer De Wolfe and his younger son James De Wolfe, in 1953.




Emil Ascher founded his eponymous company in New York City in the late-19th century; his sons took over after his death in the early-1920's.

Like Corelli-Jacobs, Emil Ascher, Inc. is a former company distributing European stock music labels.




The longtime main headquarters of Corelli-Jacobs Recording, which distributed De Wolfe Music in the United States, was based at West 45th Street in Midtown Manhattan in New York City.

Before moving to its iconic West 45th headquarters, Corelli-Jacobs, distributing De Wolfe Music in the United States, was at Madison Avenue, Broadway and 7th Avenue.





Germany is where Emil Ascher (namesake of the stock music distributor) was born, with its neighbour Austria being where Alfonso Corelli (Corelli-Jacobs/De Wolfe) was born.



Before both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher, America's Big Three networks used live orchestras.

The iconic Big Three networks provided custom compositions for primetime programs, whereas local stations/daytime syndications have low budgets before both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher.

Likewise, before both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher, America's Big Three networks took too long to require theme music and transition cues to fit highly rigid commercial broadcast slots.



On August 1, 1942, the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), which was led at the time by James Petrillo, began a 2-year strike over disagreements, rendering US music tracking to a stop.

The second AFM strike under James Petrillo lasted from January 1, 1948 to December 14, 1948.



However, both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher pitched a revolutionary alternative: pre-recorded music compositions being specialized by atmospheric emotion.

Both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher also made stock music bridge the local-network budget divide.



In addition, both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher pitched the structure of the stock music labels:


  • Tracks were specially arranged with buttons (clean and non-fading end stingers)

  • Composers made tracks that were easily edited into standard radio/television lengths: 60-second themes, 30-second commercial beds and 5-to-10-second transitional stingers



Furthermore, both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher also pitched a vital loophole: stock music cues were being recorded in European studios using session musicians from around the world.

With both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher, the Big Three broadcasters in the United States have shared many of the recorded music cues on a legal and continuous manner, bypassing the AFM strikes.




Through this systemized curation, both Corelli-Jacobs and Emil Ascher transformed stock music into a invisible soundscape of the American pop culture scene.



Still in New York City, Major Records is an innovative label being owned by an Italian-born American businessman, among the first to gather recorded SFX/music.

Having begun his career as a piano and organ tuner for Wurlitzer on trans-Atlantic steamers docking in New York, an Italian-born US businessman created live SFX for Broadway in the 1930's.





In the early-1930's, an Italian-born US businessman founded his eponymous company.

The sound effects by an Italian-born American businessman were being used, not simply via Broadway productions (made live), but also via 78 rpm records, which were sold to radio stations.


With television, the sound effects from an Italian-born US businessman were marketed under his Major Records label, being the main source for recorded SFX in the broadcasting business.




Unconfined to sound effects, Major Records also dabbled in the music industry.





Canadian Music Sales Corporation (CMS) was De Wolfe Music's first Canadian distributor.

For CMS, it started operations in the late-1920's era in Toronto as the former Canadian affiliate of the Warner Bros. Music Sales Corporation.





However, the 1929 financial crash (causing the Great Depression) led to Warner Bros. declaring CMS bankrupt.

Warner Bros. hired William St. Clair Low as its paid trustee; he managed CMS for 14 years.




Thomas St. Clair Low, who joined CMS in 1933, managed it for 24 years from the early post-WWII period until his sale to Terry Regan, who ran CMS until 1974

An investment group, led by Douglas Chesebrough and Paul Chesebrough, took CMS in 1974.




Simultaneous with CMS, De Wolfe Music also had its own Canadian branch until the 1980's.







Sonoton is a company that brings stock music to Germany and endures innovations in this field.

Gerhard Narholz, an Austrian film and television composer and a pop songwriter, is the driving force behind Sonoton and its innovations.



In 1969, Sonoton struck a deal with Berry Music, exposing its catalogue to a global audience.

With Berry Music being purchased in 1973 by KPM/EMI, which was led by Robin Phillips, Sonoton underwent its further worldwide expansion, also marking the birth of its own record label.




The underscore is one of the stock music trends created by Sonoton.




NFL Films is the film and television production company of the National Football League.

Initially known as Blair Motion Pictures, NFL Films has revolutionized the sports filming world.






Ed Sabol and his son Steve Sabol are the NFL Films figureheads, both of whom make this company a success story.



John Facenda, who first earned recognition as the primary news anchor for WCAU-TV from 1948 until 1973, is also the first and most iconic narrator for NFL Films until his September 1984 death.




Sam Spence is the primary music composer for NFL Films from 1966 to 1990.

Cinematic Hollywood orchestral music is the basis for Sam Spence's music work for NFL Films.




Phillip Spieller is the former music director for NFL Films from the late-1960's era to 1984; during his NFL Films, he mixes and curates music for its sports documentaries.



Together, Ed Sabol, Steve Sabol, John Facenda, Sam Spence and Phillip Spieller create the NFL Films hallmarks.





Munich, Germany is the adopted base for Sam Spence and his music work with NFL Films.





During the era prior to both NFL Films and Sam Spence, sports television music frequently sounded ceremonial, specifically fanfares and marches.

Under Sam Spence's influence, NFL Films used cinematic Hollywood-like orchestral music.




In his NFL Films music work, Sam Spence's influence derives from many world-famous Hollywood music composers, like Miklos Rozsa and Dimitri Tiomkin.





Phillip Spieller creates a process in which he combines music cues composed by NFL Films' in-house composers, like Sam Spence, with pre-recorded tracks from stock music labels.

Due to Phillip Spieller's process, NFL Films uses its cinematic Hollywood-like orchestral sound.




Network Music, FirstCom and Killer Tracks are stock music labels from radio jingle makers.

The Network Music/FirstCom/Killer Tracks trio revolutionized the stock music scene by adapting the dynamic and high-energy sensibilities being created by radio jingles.




De Wolfe Music (founded by Meyer De Wolfe) pioneered the stock music scene, while KPM/EMI and Bruton (both via Robin Phillips) pioneered a more modern and contemporary sound.

Network/FirstCom/Killer Tracks (rooted in radio jingles) changed stock music.





For the Network Music/FirstCom/Killer Tracks trio, their innovations in the stock music business are being rooted in business models, technology and production standards.





Craig Palmer is the principal composer of the Network Music Ensemble, indeed its catalogue.



For Network Music, it pioneered the buyout music format, but also elements, like alt-mixes, stings and 30/60-second cutdowns.

Meanwhile, FirstCom is one of the first stock music labels to release albums on CDs.



Likewise, Killer Tracks pushed stock music into the digital CD era.



All in all, the commercial model by the Network Music/FirstCom/Killer Tracks trio was such a success that it laid the groundwork for massive consolidation by major record labels.




Sound Ideas is one of the world's best, greatest and most successful companies specializing in both the audio and sound effects industries.

Not confined to sound effects, Sound Ideas branches into stock music in the royalty-free model.




Brian Nimens is the guiding spirit of the Sound Ideas company.




Upon its March 1978 inception, Sound Ideas, under Brian Nimens, was based at a basement on Church Street in downtown Toronto.

In the early-1980's, Sound Ideas made its relocation to McGill Street, also in its downtown area.




July 1989 is when Sound Ideas made its move from its downtown Toronto roots since its March 1978 inception to West Beaver Creek Road in Richmond Hill.




When it was founded in March 1978 at a Church Street basement, Sound Ideas was a 4-track recording studio that recorded dialogue for commercials, adding music and layering SFX.

Just one year after its March 1978 launch, Sound Ideas introduced its first SFX library called the Series 1000, well-known for its high-quality sound, using reel-to-reel tape.






Philips Corporation, a major multinational Dutch empire, partnered with Sound Ideas to re-release the Series 1000 on compact disc in 1985.

Incidentally, the Netherlands houses Philips Corporation, but is also the place where Meyer De Wolfe, whose namesake has stock music, with Sound Ideas/Westar as Canada's gateway, was born.




Via Philips Corporation, the Series 1000 from Sound Ideas is the first SFX library on CD.

Likewise, the Series 2000 from Sound Ideas, released in the late-1980's era, is the first sound effects collection being made in full digital.





The Series 6000, a.k.a. The General, is Sound Ideas' flagship (and most well-known) SFX library.

Released in the early-1990's, this Series 6000/the General collection from Sound Ideas provides sound effects for film, television and game design, being the definitive industry standard for audio.


In January 1990, nearly 12 years after its own inception in March 1978, Sound Ideas collaborated with Skywalker Sound to release the Lucasfilm Sound Effects Library.

The Lucasfilm Sound Effects Library.is the first SFX collection from a major Hollywood film studio.



Before the Lucasfilm Sound Effects Library (released through Sound Ideas in 1990), the custom sound effects in Hollywood blockbusters were locked in tight studio vaults.



However, the 1990 release of the Lucasfilm Sound Effects Library unlocked the SFX vaults, leading to Sound Ideas securing exclusive licensing arrangements with other major Hollywood studios.



With both Sound Ideas and Westar making their arrival via Brian Nimens, they position themselves as Canada's modern and official distributors of the historic De Wolfe Music label.

In the sound effects section, De Wolfe Music has its SFX library that Sound Ideas distributes.



Since 2005, Westar Music has been the Canadian gateway to the De Wolfe Music label, which its sister company Sound Ideas had distributed from the 1980's to 2005.



Echoing the Canadian distribution rights to De Wolfe by CMS, both Sound Ideas and Westar have both Warner Bros. and De Wolfe Music.

Both Sound Ideas and Westar are the modern spiritual successors to CMS (WB).




Home Box Office (HBO) is the first television broadcaster in the United States to be designed from the outset for cable systems, but also its oldest and longest-running pay television service.

Charles Dolan, who founded HBO, was born in Cleveland, a major Ohio city with C as its first letter.



Not confined to HBO, Charles Dolan also founded/led Cablevision.





Ted Turner is also a visionary peer and titan of the cable television industry, similar to Charles Dolan.



For Charles Dolan, he has innovated cable infrastructure in urban areas, plus non-commercial premium television (films/sports) and regional sports.

Ted Turner has innovated basic cable, 24-hour news channels and cartoon services.





Ohio is where both Charles Dolan and Ted Turner were born in the autumn season of the Tiger years.

Whereas Charles Dolan was born in Cleveland, Ted Turner was born in Cincinnati.



Plus, New York is Charles Dolan's main base, whereas Atlanta, Georgia is Ted Turner's main base.





On March 4, 1989, Time and Warner Communications announced their merger into TimeWarner.

Some years after this January 1990 merger, in the early-1990's era, TimeWarner transferred most of its television, film production, music and cable assets to TimeWarner Entertainment Company.





Echoing Warner's 1973 transaction in acquiring Time's stake in Sterling Communications, this January 1990 merger between Time and Warner successfully united WB and HBO under one umbrella.

TimeWarner, which held both WB and HBO, merged with Turner Broadcasting System in 1996.



Not confined to Ted Turner, Cincinnati also houses Taft Broadcasting, which, for 24 years, also owned Hanna-Barbera, a property being sold in the 1990's, first to Turner, and in turn, to Warner Bros.

Sound Ideas distributed the SFX labels being run by TimeWarner, including WB and Turner.



Ruby-Spears is another Taft property, which was founded by (and named after) former Hanna-Barbera writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears.

For Ruby-Spears, it was run by Filmways since its 1977 inception, plus Taft for a decade since 1981.






Mitchel Greenspan is the former executive Vice-President of Corelli-Jacobs/De Wolfe.

Having launched his creative career as a professional miniature set model maker and designer, Mitchel Greenspan later transitioned to audio production/corporate administration.





American Music Company, which Mitchel Greenspan began after leaving Corelli-Jacobs/De Wolfe, is distributed by Westar, which, in turn, distributes De Wolfe Music in Canada.

Gary Anderson, who worked for Score Productions (held by Robert A. Israel), also works for Westar's American Music Company, founded by Mitchel Greenspan of Corelli-Jacobs/De Wolfe.

Edd Kalehoff, who likewise worked for Score Productions under Bob Israel, also owns his own music company called the Suite 4 Music Collection.



Westar has Edd Kalehoff and Gary Anderson (both from Bob Israel's Score Productions) via American Music Company (started by Mitchel Greenspan of Corelli-Jacobs/De Wolfe) and Suite 4.




Sound Ideas, which is Westar Music's sister label, distributes the Turner Broadcast Music Library.

In the Turner Broadcast Music Library, both Edd Kalehoff and Gary Anderson, together with the other composers working for Score Productions under Bob Israel, are involved.




Jack Waldenmaier, whose secondary base is Cincinnati, has his label called The Music Bakery.




Amblin Entertainment is Steven Spielberg's production company.



Plus, Southern California has WB/Hanna-Barbera, Network Music, Killer Tracks and SmartSound.

Kevin Killinger composed cues for Killer Tracks, but also his own SmartSound company.






Steven Wenger is also a musician in the Southern US region.

Having lived in Nashville, Memphis and Charlotte, Steven Wenger had his own company called River City Sound Productions (RSCP).

Cascom and Digital Juice are defunct companies for royalty-free animation, both of which were being rooted in the Southern United States.



For RSCP, it has created in-house cues, but also stock music in the royalty-free model.

RSCP's stock music cues were resourced by Digital Juice for its BackTraxx section in 2001.



Incidentally, Taft Broadcasting is located in Cincinnati, which also births Ted Turner (CNN).

Tennessee also houses Ted Turner (CNN), Pat Robertson (CBN), Cascom and Steven Wenger.





For The Music Bakery, it is a royalty-free stock music label being founded in 1990, just 12 years after Sound Ideas began in March 1978.



Stock music largely used traditional music, notably orchestral and jazz, before the KPM 1000 Series.

From the mid-1960's to the early-1980's, some of the typical styles being used in the stock music scene included cinematic Hollywood, top forty, laid-back and electronica.

In addition to specially-composed tunes, stock music composers also made soundalikes of the top forty songs à la funk and Hollywood-like film scores used in low-budget films/television.





Network Music/FirstCom/Killer Tracks turned stock music into a network television sound.








Besides this stock music scene via Corelli-Jacobs/De Wolfe, Alfonso Corelli also worked with Shirley Temple Black, Mitzi Gaynor and Eva Gabor.

Incidentally, both Shirley Temple Black and Mitzi Gaynor have a connection to 20th Century-Fox.




20th Century-Fox also has iconic sex symbol Marilyn Monroe, with whom Mitzi Gaynor worked.

Eva Gabor worked with the Walt Disney Company, which, in the late-2010's era, merged with the 20th Century Fox film studio.


The Disney-Fox merger, announced on December 14, 2017, creates a unique contrast between Disney's traditional magical approach and Marilyn Monroe's sex figure status.

Yet, the Disney-Fox merger did place Marilyn Monroe's Fox film catalog under the Disney umbrella.



Plus, the Disney-Fox merger placed the 20th Century-Fox movie catalog being utilized by both Shirley Temple Black and Mitzi Gaynor under Disney, as well as Eva Gabor's Disney catalog.




Chip Davis and Jackson Berkey formed Mannheim Steamroller in 1974.

Omaha, Nebraska is the home base for both Chip Davis and Mannheim Steamroller.


Named after a German city based in Baden-Wurttemberg, Mannheim Steamroller combines European classical music with modern pop trends.

Whereas Meyer de Wolfe built his independent network of composers to own and license music, Chip Davis founded his own label.



Besides, Meyer de Wolfe avoided relying on standard commercial sheet music publishers with his own label, and Chip Davis circumvented major labels trying to apply classical-rock fusion.





Pamela Anderson is in Scooby-Doo (2002), the live-action film iteration of the franchise created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears.

Ken Spears, with whom Joe Ruby worked, is not related to Britney Spears, an iconic and world-famous figure with whose surname is being shared.





Britney Spears makes a cameo appearance in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), similar to Pamela Anderson making a cameo appearance in Scooby-Doo (2002).




Marilyn Monroe is a key idol for Britney Spears and Pamela Anderson.

Incidentally, Marilyn Monroe, Britney Spears and Pamela Anderson are blonde girls whose natural hair colour is brown.



Similarly, both Britney Spears and Pamela Anderson make cameos in the intro sequences of the Warner Bros films being released in 2002: Austin Powers in Goldmember and Scooby-Doo.


Horizontal Hold, which Jan Stoeckart, under the pseudonym Jack Trombey, had made for a music label founded by fellow Dutchman Meyer De Wolfe, is used for the NFL Today on CBS.

Super Bowl X is when Horizontal Hold was first used for CBS' NFL coverage.



The 1981 NFL season is when Horizontal Hold was remixed in a punchier iteration, and again in Super Bowl XVIII in January 1984.




Industrial Gallop, a.k.a. inds_01 or inds_01.mid, is a MIDI tune in Corel WordPerfect 7.

For Industrial Gallop (inds_01/inds_01.mid), it resembles Nadia's Theme, an iconic and famous theme tune having been used for The Young and the Restless since its March 1973 inception.

Incidentally, Nadia's Theme was co-written by Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin Jr.




Plus, Industrial Gallop (inds_01/inds_01.mid) uses a similar emotional texture to Nadia's Theme (and themes being used on news broadcast intros).




Ode d'Cronkite, a.k.a. inds_07 or inds_07.mid, is also a MIDI tune in Corel WordPerfect 7.

Named after the legendary news anchor Walter Cronkite, Ode d'Cronkite (inds_07/inds_07.mid) has a similar sound to a theme tune being used on a news broadcast intro.


posted by JohnnyInigoMontoya @ 4:20 PM   0 Comments