Channel 7 Miami - Did you know?

Fox officials would not comment, but WSVN is so successful that the network is said to be considering the station’s newscasts as a model for a possible national news broadcast. But WSVN also has many critics, from black community leaders who regard its crime coverage as racist, to reporters who have decamped, to competitors and media analysts who see WSVN as the personification of everything that is trivial and crass about television news. 3

WSVN is the top-billing revenue English-language news station in Miami-Fort Lauderdale, a nearly $400 million market for English-language news, industry sources said. The July sweeps shows WSVN’s newscasts finishing first or second in overall ratings among English-language competitors. Spanish-language stations pull down higher ratings. 6

The strategy of putting on the most hours might seem odd at a time when local news is steadily losing viewers to cable, the Internet and other newer mediums. As one of the few independently owned stations left in a major U.S. market, WSVN is used to relying on its in-house personalities and creativity. It was one of the innovators of bold, flashy graphics and dramatic promos. 2

Channel news (fox)(wsvn) channel upn (cbs affiliate) channel (wbzl) (simulcast with channel ) big website created and maintained by debbie amchir,. South florida news station - miami - fort lauderdale - channel - wsvn-tv wsvn storm station for the very latest tropical weather information, all season long. 4

WSVN has also been covering some news without reporters. The station sends cameramen to roam the Miami area looking for killings and accidents and asks them to narrate their own video. 10

Radio and Television News Directors Association president Dave Bartlett calls the hotel blackout “silly.” As for sensitivity to Miami’s tourism trade, Bartlett notes cynically, “Nielsen doesn’t count German tourists in the ratings.” Advertisers seem to agree: WSVN reportedly made a healthy $20 million in profit on about $55 million in revenues last year. Such is the allure of Chicken Little news. The sky is falling. 8

Channel 7 News had leading ratings among local English news viewers ages 25 through 54 (the most sought-after group for advertisers) in the morning, afternoon and evening. Its local entertainment show, “Deco Drive,” trailed “Jeopardy” in the 7:30 p.m. 7

But what’s most worrisome here is not the lack of taste or judgement at one television station but the reaction of the audience. While 69 percent of South Floridians think local news contributes to a “climate of fear,” more than three-quarters say they still rely on it as their primary source of community information. 9

Cheatwood, the 34-year-old architect of the format, said he “lives by the basic philosophy that news is inherently boring” and that “a faster, glitzier, more upbeat style” is the only way to get young viewers to sit through the news. In keeping with the entertainment motif, WSVN has a full-time composer on staff to provide custom-written music for its news shows. Also to make presentations more dramatic, the station might take raw video and turn it grainy, so it looks like film, and then edit the footage in a film-noir style. 5
WSVN, channel 7, is the Fox-affiliated television station for South Florida, licensed to Miami. Its transmitter is located in Miramar. Owned by Sunbeam Television, the station has studios on 79th Street Causeway in Miami. Sunbeam also owns NBC affiliate WHDH-TV and CW affiliate WLVI-TV in Boston. WSVN and WHDH share resources when covering each other’s news. WSVN operates a Key West repeater, WKIZ-LP, on channel 49. 1

Must be an effective communicator who works well under pressure. Strong post-production experience is required. Must be able to combine video and paint-box rendered elements to create high-energy promotional spots. A college degree and 3 years on-air experience at a broadcast station is required. 2

WHDH-TV channel 7 is the NBC-affiliated television station for Boston, Massachusetts, serving eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. Its transmitter is located in Newton, Massachusetts. The two stations share studios located at Bulfinch Place (near Government Center) in downtown Boston. 4

The station is the largest NBC affiliate that is not a network-owned and operated station. Sunbeam Television, which is based in Miami, Florida, owns that market’s FOX affiliate, WSVN. WHDH and WSVN share resources when covering each other’s news. 5

You’re not a Fox-watcher? Here’s a little public service, then, from your blogger, who caught Channel 7 breaking the news on Joe Garcia’s run for Congress on the 10 pm news. 3

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