Television news music

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Television news music is used by television stations to brand their news operations. Each television station uses an identifiable news theme; some themes are used by multiple stations while others are composed specifically for a certain station.

In the United States[]

In the United States, news themes used on local television stations are typically organized into news music packages, with each theme within a package sharing a similar musical signature. A typical television news music package consists of anywhere from 50 to as many as 1000 cuts of music. One of the largest news music packages is Overture, created by Stephen Arnold Music. This package consists of a total of 36 themes and over 1000 cuts.

News music packages consist of the following: opens, closes, bumpers, topicals (promo beds), franchise opens/stingers, IDs, utility tracks and billboards.

  • Opens: These are the cuts used to begin a newscast, usually accompanied by a vamp straight out of the open (either a stripped or full version of the bumper). In a news package, opens come in short credit forms (for the main open) and long credit forms (for talent opens). Some packages even include different lengths of the talent opens for three- or four—anchor lineups.
  • Closes: Closes also come in different formats and lengths, many of which are similar in sound to that package's open. Usually, there are 60-, 30-, 20-, 15-, and 10-second versions of the close, designed to resolve at a precise time.
  • Bumpers: These are used primarily before the main open and teasing out to the next segment of a newscast. When the bumper is played, a summary of what will air in the upcoming newscast or later in the newscast will be shown.
  • Topicals/promo beds: These are the cuts of music used only in promos for a specific upcoming newscast. Topicals come in four types: theme donut/theme donut open beds, ID/promo beds, end theme news open/promo beds, and ID/stingers. These usually correspond with regular promo times (:30, :20, :10, and :05 ID.)
  • Franchise opens/stingers: Franchise opens or stingers are used to open various segments of a newscast in-show (breaking news, special reports, sports, weather, investigation, etc.)
  • IDs: This is a short package signature used to identify the television station. It can also be used in conjunction to identify talent. The Federal Communications Commission requires several over-the-air (OTA) stations (including radio stations) to identify themselves at regular intervals by either stating their call letters or brand name (sometimes known, particularly in the United States, as a "sounder" or "stinger", more generally as a station or network ident). Also, an ID can signify a network affiliation such as the NBC chimes or the drum rolling intro to the 20th Century Studios fanfare.
  • Utility tracks
  • Billboards

Stations within the same market area will always use different music packages, unless they are related to each other in some manner; e.g., if two stations may be owned by the same company or operated by the same company under a local marketing agreement (LMA), or one station may contract out its news production to the other. For example: in Ft. Myers, Florida, ABC affiliate WZVN-TV is owned by Montclair Communications, Inc., while NBC affiliate WBBH-TV in the same market is owned by Waterman Broadcasting Corporation, which operates WZVN under an LMA. That said, both stations currently use This is Your News by Gari Communications. In newscasts airing on WZVN, NBC network ID stingers can be heard in the news opens, even though WZVN-TV is an ABC affiliate.

A case where the opposite of the aforementioned is true is in Denver, Colorado, Fox affiliate KDVR and CW affiliate KWGN are owned by Nexstar Media Group.

Custom news music packages[]

Some news music packages are custom made for one station only, as opposed to syndicated packages which are used by multiple stations. While syndicated packages are normal in the industry, there are some stations that still use custom made packages. Such examples include:

  • KCNC-TV, Colorado
    • Image IV by Newsmusic Central (1983–1985)
    • Image V by Newsmusic Central (1985–1986)
    • Image VI by Newsmusic Central (1986–1987)
    • Climb (formerly Image VII) by Newsmusic Central (1987-1993)
    • Altitude (formerly Image IX) by Newsmusic Central (1993-1995)
    • Rise (formerly Image X) by Newsmusic Central (1995-1997)
    • Spirit News by Newsmusic Central (1997-2001)
    • Xtreme News by Newsmusic Central (2001-2003)
  • KDVR, Colorado
    • Questions Answered Composed by Alan Koshiyama (2011–2017)
  • KWGN, Colorado
    • Colorado's Own Composed by Alan Koshiyama (2011–2016)
  • WLS-TV, Chicago
    • News Series 2000 Plus (1992–present)
  • KFOR-TV, Oklahoma City
    • Newsmusic Central's KFOR Custom News Package (1993–1997)
    • Wow and Flutter Music's KFOR-TV News Package (1997–2017)
  • KNBC-TV, Los Angeles
    • Newscenter (1979–1982) and Newscenter II (1985–1993) by Michael Randall
    • KNBC News Package (1982–1985) by Tuesday Productions
    • KNBC News (1994–1998) by Michael Boyd
    • L.A. Groove (2004–present) by Groove Worx
  • WJXT, Jacksonville (These packages used the "WJXT News Theme" Signature in the music exclusive to Florida)
    • WJXT News Music Package by Gari Media Group (1992-1997)
    • Image News by Gari Media Group (1997-2002; with WJXT's Alternate Signature)
    • The One and Only by Gari Media Group (2002-2009; with WJXT's Alternate Signature)
    • Newschannel NG/The Edge by Gari Media Group (2009-2019; with WJXT's Alternate Signature)
  • KSTP-TV, Minneapolis-St. Paul
    • Latitude Music's Leading Edge (1995–1999)
    • Stephen Arnold Music's Overture (1999–2005)
  • KCAL, Los Angeles
    • Decade 90 by 615 Music (1990–1994)
    • Faren-Hite by 615 Music (1994–1998)
    • The Hammer by 615 Music (1998–2003)
    • Newsforce by 615 Music (2003–2010)
    • Gari Media Group's Image News (2010–present)
  • KMOV, St. Louis
    • Impact by Gari Media Group (1993-1995)
    • This is Your News by Gari Media Group (1995-2001)
    • The Edge by Gari Media Group (2008-2018)
  • KTHV, Little Rock
    • KTHV 1995 News Package (1995–2004)
    • KTHV 2004 News Package (2004–2008)
  • KUSA-TV
    • KUSA News Package by Third Street Music (1995–2009; while it ceased to be the main theme as of October 2008, it was used for the talent ID until February 2009)
  • WPIX, New York
    • WPIX Custom News Package by Non-Stop Music (1993–2017)
    • WB11 Morning News by Non-Stop Music (2000-2011)
    • WPIX 2010 News Theme (2010-2014)
    • New York's Very Own by 615 Music (2017–present)
  • WGN-TV, Chicago
    • WGN 1991 News Theme by Terry Fryer (1991-1993)
    • Chicago's Very Own by John Hegner (1993–1997)
    • WGN News Theme by Non-Stop Music (1997–2007)
    • Chicago's Very Own by 615 Music (2007–present)
  • WGNO, New Orleans
    • WGNO 1996 News Theme (1996-2002)
    • Stephen Arnold Music's WGNO News Music Package (2011-2020)
  • WLVI-TV, Boston
    • Newswire by 615 Music (1994-2006)
  • WWL-TV, New Orleans
    • The Best Things in My Life by TM Productions (1978-1984)
    • Jim Kirk's WWL News (1984-1989)
    • Stephen Arnold Music's WWL News (1989–2004; version 1 and version 2 were made available to other stations)
    • Stephen Arnold Music's WWL Custom News Package [The Spirit Of Louisiana] (2004–2006)
  • WTVK, Knoxville (now WVLT-TV)
    • Pulstar (1977-1981)
    • Hello News (1981-1985)
    • WTVK 1985 News Theme (1985–1986)
    • WTVK 1986 News Theme (1986–1987)
  • KOMO News theme (KOMO-TV, Seattle, composed and recorded by Dan Dean Productions)
    • KOMO News theme 1988
    • KOMO News theme 1990
    • KOMO News theme 1992
  • WAVY-TV, Norfolk
    • 615 Music's Newswire (1995–present)[1]
  • WTVJ, Miami[2]
    • Watch Our Team Work (1990-1992)
    • WTVJ Custom Music Package by Metro Music (1992-1997)
  • WCAU-TV, Philadelphia
    • NBC10 News Theme (1997–2000) by Eve Songs
    • WCAU NBC News Theme (2000–2008) by Modern Audio Production
  • WISH-TV, Indianapolis (These packages used the "Back Home Again, in Indiana" melody in the music exclusive to Indiana)
    • Newsleader, possibly a.k.a. Newsleader in Indiana by Stephen Arnold, first use of the melody (1991–1997; also once used by WHBQ-TV, Memphis)
    • WISH-TV News Music Package, a.k.a. Counterpoint with Indiana by Stephen Arnold (1997–2004)
    • In-Sync V.4/V.5, a.k.a. In-Sync with Indiana by 615 Music (2004–2012; 2018–present)
    • A New WISH by 615 Music (2012–2018)
  • WJZ-TV, Baltimore
    • Chroma Cues (1988–2019)
  • KRON-TV, San Francisco
    • KRON Instant Classics by Michael Boyd Music (1995-2001; 2006–2020)
    • Overture by Stephen Arnold Music (2001-2006)
  • WNBC-TV, New York
    • News 4 New York by Jim Allister (1980-1990)
    • WNBC News Package by John Hegner Music (1990-1992)
    • Edd Kalehoff's We're 4 New York (1992-1995)
  • WRAL, Raleigh
    • In-Sink by 615 Music (1993–present)
  • WSB-TV, Atlanta
    • News Leader by VTS Productions (1988-1990)
    • WSB 1991 News Theme (1990-1992)
    • Image VIII by Newsmusic Central (1992-1998)
    • Coverage by 615 Music (2009-2015)
    • Guardian by Stephen Arnold Music (2015–present)

Some packages are custom made for a specific station group company, or owned and operated stations and affiliates of a specific television network:

  • Sinclair News Music Package by Stephen Arnold (2002–December 2006), Daily News by Gari Communications (December 2006 – 2014), and Sinclair News Package by 615 Music (2014–present) for the Sinclair stations.
  • FOX O&O Music Package by VTS Productions (1986-1992), FOX '95 by Stephen Arnold (1995-1997), WSVN 1998 Music Package by Chris Crane (1995-2001), First on Fox by Stephen Arnold Music (1996-2001), Outlaw News by Stephen Arnold Music (1997-2006), FOX 1998 Affiliate News Package by Killer Tracks (1998-2009), The X Package by Gari Communications (1999–present), The X-2 Package by Gari Communications (2000–present), Magnum by 615 Music (1998-2007), Fox Affiliate News Theme by OSI Music (2005–present) and Beyond by Stephen Arnold (2017–present) (for Fox affiliate and owned-and-operated stations (O&Os).
  • Gannett News Music Package by Rampage Music (2008–2012), This Is Home by Gari Media Group (2012/2013–2017; now only used on non-Gannett/TEGNA stations) and C Clarity by Sixième Son (2017–present) for the Gannett/Tegna stations
  • Classical Gas by Telesound (1974-1978), Hello News by Frank Gari (1978-1985), Image News by Gari Media Group (1995/96 to 2002/03; now used only on non-Hearst stations), Revolution (aka The B Package) by Gari Media Group (1998/99 to 2002/03; alternate package), Hearst-Argyle News Package by NewsMusic Central (2003/2004–2012), and Strive by In The Groove Music (2012–present) for the Hearst stations
  • Counterpoint by Stephen Arnold Music (1995-2006), Metropolis by Stephen Arnold (2001-2006), Media General Station Group Package by John D. Keltonic (2006–2013), Canvas by Stephen Arnold (2013–present) and Guardian by Stephen Arnold (2016–present) for the Media General/Nexstar Media Group stations
  • Move Closer to Your World by Al Ham (1972–1988) for stations owned by Capital Cities Communications
  • Action News Theme by Tom Sellers (1970-1972) for stations owned by Triangle Publications[3]
  • WBBM News Theme (1975-1986), Palmer Music Package (1985-1996), The CBS Enforcer Music Collection by Gari Media Group (1994–present), WBBM News by Non-Stop Music (1997-2000), WCBS News by Non-Stop Music (1997-1998), News in Focus by John Hegner (1997-2006), and CBS Local by Stephen Arnold (2013–present) for CBS O&Os and affiliates
  • NBC TV-Radio Newspulse by Fred Weinberg Productions (1974-1979), NewsCenter Theme by Michael Randall Music (1979-1982), Newswire by 615 Music (1992–present), NBC Stations by Edd Kalehoff (1995-2011), The NBC Collection by Gari Media Group (1995–present), The Rock by Stephen Arnold (2005–present), The Tower by 615 Music (2000–present), L.A. Groove by Groove Worx (2012–present) and NBC O&O Package by Stephen Arnold (2011–present) for NBC O&Os and affiliates.
  • Scripps TV Station Group Package by Musikvergnuegen (2009–2012), Inergy by Stephen Arnold (2012–2019; now used on non-Scripps stations) and Scripps Custom News Package by Stephen Arnold (2019–present) for the E. W. Scripps stations
  • Spirit (of Texas) by TM Communications (1984–1990s), American Spirit by John Hegner Music (1994-1997), Custom WFAA-TV News Package by Stephen Arnold (2000-2004), Evolution by Stephen Arnold (2004-2007; now only used on non-Belo stations) and Propulsion by 615 Music (2006-2014; now used on non-Belo stations) for the Belo Corporation stations
  • GE TV Stations News Music Package by Lucas/McFaul (1981-1983) for the General Electric stations
  • Impact by 615 Music (1994-1997; now used on non-New World stations) and Prime News by 615 Music (1994-1997) for the New World Communications stations
  • News Series 2000 (1983-1992), News Series 2000 Plus (1992–present), Eyewitness News by Gari Music Group (1993–present), News One by 615 Music (1994-2014), ABC News Affiliate Music Package by Score Productions (1998-2002) and Pinnacle by Stephen Arnold Music (2002–present) for ABC O&Os and affiliates.
  • This is the Place by Stephen Arnold Music (2012–present) and Icon News by 615 Music (2012–present) for the Hubbard Broadcasting stations
  • Guardian by Stephen Arnold (2015–present) and Stream by Stephen Arnold (2021–present) for the Cox Media Group stations
  • Move Closer to Your World by Al Ham (1973-1977), Part of Your Life by Al Ham (1977-1981),[4] Advantage by Gari Media Group (2002–present), Seize the Day by 615 Music (2002–present), High Velocity by 615 Music (2006–present), The Edge by Gari Media Group (2014-2018)[5] and In-Sink V6 by 615 Music (2020–present) for the Meredith Corporation stations
  • The Paramount by Gari Media Group (1997-1998; now used on non-Paramount stations) for the Paramount Stations Group stations
  • Elevation by Stephen Arnold Music (2002-2009) and Trust by In The Groove Music (2011-2020) for the Tribune Broadcasting stations
  • Vision by In The Groove Music (2019–present) for the Morgan Murphy Media stations
  • WHDH-WSVN 2011 News Theme by Chris Crane (2011–present) for the Sunbeam Television stations
  • Aerial by Stephen Arnold Music (2011–present) for the LIN Media/Media General/Nexstar Media Group stations
  • Extreme by Stephen Arnold Music (2004-2009; now used on non-Clear Channel/Newport stations) and Alchemy News by Non-Stop Music (2006-2009) for Clear Channel/Newport Television stations
  • 360 by 360 Music/Stephen Arnold Music (2007–present) for the Quincy Media stations
  • Firepower News by 615 Music (1999-2006) for The WB affiliates.
  • Home Country by Al Ham (1976-1981) for the Orion Broadcasting stations.
  • WHBF 2002 News Theme (2002-2005) and Pinnacle by Stephen Arnold Music (2005-2006) for the Citadel Communications stations.
  • News Matrix by Stephen Arnold (2008–present) and U-Phonix by Stephen Arnold (2008–present) for the Nexstar Media Group stations.

Station imaging packages[]

Some news music packages are accompanied by a station image package, featuring promotional jingles which often share the same musical signature as the parent news music package. Often, imaging packages include jingles for the holiday and elections. Such promotional packages first came to prominence in the United States in the 1970s, and had become widespread by the 1980s, used by many (though not all) television stations. Many memorable packages, such as Frank Gari's "Hello"[6] and "Turn to...", were composed during this era, and some were even used on stations in some other countries and in languages other than English.

Station image packages are designed to give a positive branding method for broadcast television stations. Many such packages from the 1970s and 1980s often portrayed stations in a community-oriented light, accompanied by footages of the stations' personalities participating in recreational activities and charity events with regular everyday people.[7][8] By the 1990s, many stations had adopted a more hard-hitting approach to branding, resulting in a reduced demand for traditional promotion campaigns. However, a few stations which used Gari's Hello campaign briefly re-introduced it in the 2000s as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations.

News music adopted from other sources[]

Besides standard news music packages, some stations had opted to use the soundtrack from some movies or other popular songs as their main news themes; examples include:

Rest of the world[]

Certain News Music packages used in the United States have also been used worldwide. Eyewitness News by Frank Gari has been picked up for use in overseas markets. Hong Kong Cable News has used it for its morning newscast, and POP TV in Slovenia has used it for its main newscasts.

News music in the concert hall[]

The News in Music (Tabloid Lament) (2017) by , is an orchestral work of TV news music specifically written for the concert hall.[15] Commissioned by the Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra, the work positions orchestral news music, stylistically reminiscent of TV news music cues from the 1970s and 1980s, in a live, acoustic setting.[16]

News music composers and production companies[]

See also: Category:Television composers

Canada[]

United States[]

United Kingdom[]

The Netherlands[]

The Philippines[]

References[]

  1. ^ https://www.newsmusicsearcharchive.com/#1,1,WAVY[dead link]
  2. ^ https://www.newsmusicsearcharchive.com/#1,1,WTVJ[dead link]
  3. ^ "Philly's Old "Action News" Theme".
  4. ^ "Part of Your Life: Created in 1974 for WBTV".
  5. ^ "KPHO New Graphics, Set and Music". TVNewsTalk.net. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  6. ^ "The Last Word on 'Hello, Milwaukee'". www.jsonline.com.
  7. ^ Chris Lewis (30 November 2006). "WSMV Stand Up 4 Nashville 1992". Archived from the original on 2021-12-22 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ thenightbeat (6 February 2009). "Hello Image Campaign - Hello Houston - KPRC". Archived from the original on 2021-12-22 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-09-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-01-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-01-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-06-15. Retrieved 2007-01-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-01-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. ^ "Archived copy". www.southernmedia-nmsa.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2006. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ "The News In Music (Tabloid Lament)". 29 September 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Le Sacre du Primetime". Retrieved 17 February 2018.

External links[]

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