A new twist.
KCNC-Channel 4, already swimming in viewer magnets like “Dr. Phil,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Katie Couric and the Broncos, adds a new kind of news show at 6:30 p.m. today.
I dropped by Channel 4 the other day for a rehearsal/preview because a press release promised “a new way of seeing the anchors.” I couldn’t wait to see what that meant.
Turns out they won’t be sitting behind the anchor desk – they’ll be in front of the anchor desk.
But that’s not the revolutionary part. Instead of just reading the news off a monitor, anchors Jim Benemann and Molly Hughes will “be engaged with reporters,” discussing stories and how they will affect viewers.
It’s much more conversational, along the lines of the current morning news shows. “It’s a chance to chat about the stories,” said Benemann. “It’s more unscripted.”
Gone will be local-news staples like car chases, house fires and shootings. Instead, fewer stories will get longer treatment, with reporters joining Benemann and Hughes on high-rise chairs for discussion.
In addition, beat reporters will have a chance for longer presentations called “Inside the Story.”
“The feel is much more conversational,” said news director Tim Wieland. “It will be light when it needs to be, earnest when it needs to be.”
KCNC already carries news at 5 a.m., noon and 5, 6 and 10 p.m., which, said Wieland, should give viewers the basics of what’s gone on during the day. The 6:30 edition will be “a totally different newscast.”
Not everything is new. There still will be segments on sports, entertainment and the weather.
Both Benemann, who’s loose most of the time, and Hughes seem comfortable in their new roles as moderators and working with minimal support from the monitor.
Will the format work? Only the viewers will decide. The 6:30 news is up against re-runs of “Everybody Loves Raymond” on KWGN-Channel 2; “Wheel of Fortune” on KMGH-Channel 7; “Entertainment Tonight” on KUSA-Channel 9; and, scariest of all, “The Simpsons” on KDVR-Channel 31.
Around the dial
Couric makes her debut tonight as anchor on “CBS Evening News.” Let’s hope she’s less saccharine than she was in bidding farewell to predecessor Bob Schieffer on his last show last week … Denver’s municipal Channel 8 bagged seven national awards, including two firsts, from the National Association of Telecommunications … FSN Rocky Mountain’s weekly “CU All-Access,” an inside look at University of Colorado football, debuts at 6:30 p.m. today … Quotable: “The only reason this country is different from any place else is that once in a great while, this huge, snobbish, generally untalented news reporting business stops covering stories of interest only to itself and actually serves the public.” Jimmy Breslin.
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-954-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
