World News Now

"WNN" redirects here. For other uses, see WNN (disambiguation).
For American Broadcasting Company's defunct cable news channel, see ABC News Now.
World News Now
Also known as ABC World News Now
Genre Overnight news program
Created by David Bohrman
Presented by Kendis Gibson (2016–present)
Diane Macedo (2016–present)
(for past anchors, see section)
Theme music composer Yanni (1992–2001)
JOEDtracks (2001–2004)
Score Productions (2004–present)
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 24
Production
Location(s) ABC News Headquarters, New York City, New York
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time 90 minutes
(aired in tape-delayed loop)
Release
Original network ABC
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
(1992–2009)
720p (HDTV)
(2009–present)
Original release January 6, 1992 (1992-01-06) – present
Chronology
Related shows America This Morning
External links
Production website

World News Now (or WNN) is an American overnight television news program that is broadcast on ABC. Airing during the early morning hours each Monday through Friday, the program features a mix of general news and off-beat stories, along with weather forecasts, sports highlights, feature segments, and repurposed segments and story packages from other ABC News programs; its tone is often lighthearted, irreverent and humorous.

Created by its original executive producer, David Bohrman, a number of well-known news personalities have anchored WNN early in their careers, including original anchors Aaron Brown and Lisa McRee, Thalia Assuras, Kevin Newman, Alison Stewart, Liz Cho, Anderson Cooper and current World News Tonight anchor David Muir. As of 4 April 2016, the program is primarily co-anchored by Kendis Gibson and Diane Macedo, who also anchor the network's early-morning news program America This Morning.

WNN is divided into four segment blocks ("A", "B" "C" and "D") that start with national and international news headlines incorporating some pre-taped reports (with some live wraparounds) from ABC NewsOne correspondents or repeated reports from the network's evening news program ABC World News. The "A"-block also features a national weather forecast (significant weather stories are also reported during the broadcast through analysis from meteorologists employed with AccuWeather, which provides forecasts for ABC's owned-and-operated stations) and an often humorous "kicker" story that ends the block. The "B," "C" and "D" blocks usually feature a mix of stories from Nightline or the BBC, or other live-to-tape or pre-taped segments produced in-studio, depending on the day of the week.

History

1991–1993

In late 1991 and early 1992, ABC, CBS and NBC each created their own overnight general news programs (with the ABC program competing with the latter two networks' Up to the Minute and Nightside, respectively, those two in particular replaced more news/interview formatted programs) to compete for viewer demand that was driven originally by CNN's 24-hour coverage of the Gulf War, and to supply local affiliates with overnight programming. Until the creation of these news programs, owned-and-operated and affiliate stations of the three networks commonly filled overnight timeslots with movies and/or syndicated programs, while some others simply signed off the air for the night. The original working title for the program was World News Overnight;[1] ABC News executives chose to rename the program World News Now prior to the first broadcast.

The program debuted on January 6, 1992, with Aaron Brown and Lisa McRee as its original anchors. Later that year, the production staff of World News Now took over production responsibilities for the network's early-morning news program World News This Morning, with both programs sharing anchor staffs as a result. After McRee's departure from World News Now in January 1993 (at which time Brown anchored solo until he was joined in May of that year by Thalia Assuras, who eventually became the program's longest-serving anchor until her departure from ABC for CBS News in 1998), the program would begin experiencing significant turnover with its anchor staff that continues to this day.

In the tradition of NBC News Overnight (the predecessor to original rival NBC Nightside), World News Now has featured serious as well as offbeat news stories interspersed with odd features such as the "World News Polka" (played by comedian Barry Mitchell on the accordion), video footage of dancing camels on Wednesdays (for "Hump Day"), and laughter coming from off-camera. Weather predictions were made for obscure and exotic places around the world; some of the locales have had various ties to the show, while some have had pop culture significance, including Cicely, Alaska and Twin Peaks, Washington.

The program also often replays story packages from other ABC News programs such as Nightline and World News Tonight. It has been an apparent training ground for new news anchors (see list below) who eventually go on to higher-profile positions with the network or local affiliates. The show is also unique for its interactive segments, some of which pioneered the email communication that is commonly used on television newscasts today. The ABC News WNN message board has offered viewers questions and comments from the anchors themselves, during the course of the show.

1994–1998

On November 23, 1995, World News Now became the first television program to be broadcast live on the Internet, using the CU-SeeMe interface. Victor Dorff, a producer of WNN at the time, arranged to have the show simulcast on the Internet daily for a six-month trial period. CU-SeeMe was also used in a taped interview segment in which anchor Kevin Newman and Global Schoolhouse director and founder Yvonne Marie Andres discussed the future of computers in communication.[2]

World News Now was used as the prototype for Fred, ABC's plan to operate a cable news channel.[3] The plan was floated by network management in 1995 and was later dropped within a couple of years due to issues with cable carriage, including competition with the recently launched MSNBC and Fox News Channel.[4]

In the fall of 1998, ABC News entered into a labor dispute, resulting in support employees being locked out from the news division's headquarters for several months. While World News This Morning continued to be produced in New York City with substitute production staff, production of World News Now was moved to the news division's London bureau. Mark Mullen returned to anchor WNN during the last month of the lockout.

1999–2008

Following its CU-SeeMe trial, World News Now later attempted another webcast; between 1999 and 2001, the program was streamed live for free on the ABC News website. In 2005, the free behind-the-scenes webcast returned. Among the anchors of the broadcast during this period was David Muir, who eventually became co-anchor of the newsmagazine 20/20 and became anchor of the weekday editions of World News Tonight in August 2014,[5] who co-anchored World News Now from July 2003 to August 2004 (originally with Andrea Stassou and later with Tamala Edwards).

On June 8, 2006, ABC White House Correspondent Martha Raddatz learned of the death of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi near Baqubah, Iraq. Upon confirmation of the tip, ABC ran a special report at 2:38 a.m. Eastern Time, helmed by WNN anchors Ron Corning and Taina Hernandez. The show, which is normally repeated on tape after the initial broadcast, instead went live in all time zones and into the early-morning news program World News This Morning. The on-air and behind-the-scenes staff stayed on-air until Good Morning America began and took over coverage of the story at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time.[6]

In January 2007, World News Now celebrated its 15th anniversary, with the brief resurrection of the National Temperature Index (see below) and a new version of the "World News Polka". On August 2, 2007, WNN abandoned its normal format and ran nearly continuous coverage of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse that occurred in Minneapolis the day before; coverage on the program was anchored by Hernández and Stephanie Sy, and continued into America This Morning.

Taina Hernandez left the show on December 18, 2007, in order to spend more time with her children, while Ryan Owens announced on February 29, 2008, that he would be leaving the show to become a full-time correspondent for ABC News. During the week of January 7, 2008, WNN celebrated its 16th anniversary on the air with retrospective segments on the early days of the broadcast and its anchors. Jeremy Hubbard was named co-anchor of World News Now on March 17, 2008, with Vinita Nair being named as Hubbard's co-anchor on September 17 of that year.

2009–2011

On September 22, 2009, World News Now became the first network overnight newscast to begin broadcasting in high definition.

On July 9, 2010, Jeremy Hubbard left WNN to become a full-time correspondent for ABC News; he was replaced as Nair's co-anchor on the program by Rob Nelson. In Hubbard's honor, the World News Now staff looked back at his time with the program and as is tradition when an anchor leaves the show, Hubbard had a picture of his likeness raised into the ABC News rafters. There was also a polka, sung to Hubbard's dog Jake, and Jeremy received a cutout of his likeness as a going away present while also welcoming his replacement, Rob Nelson.[7]

On January 24, 2011, World News Now debuted new graphics for all of the program's segments and began using a new set, a side view of the existing set of ABC World News. On February 17 of that year, Nair announced that she would be departing as co-anchor of World News Now after the next night's broadcast; the February 18 edition paid tribute to Nair in each of its three segments, including appearances from current and former colleagues including Jeremy Hubbard. Her legacy was to treat the crew to a hot breakfast on her last day. A brief send-off by Nelson to Nair was also given at the conclusion of America This Morning. Correspondent Peggy Bunker (then a former anchor at Fox affiliate KDVR, where Jeremy Hubbard incidentally is now employed) was named as interim successor.

On March 11, 2011, the program provided live coverage (in all time zones) of the devastating Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, featuring updates and pictures from NHK World; the coverage continued during America This Morning and Good Morning America. On July 21, 2011, Bunker announced that she would be leaving World News Now after the July 22 broadcast, which acknowledged her departure in the first and last of its three, half-hour segments during that following night. In addition, a brief send-off by Nelson to Bunker (who subsequently became morning and midday anchor at Seattle ABC affiliate KOMO-TV) was given at the conclusion of America This Morning.

Beginning on July 25, 2011, ABC News correspondents Tanya Rivero, Diana Alvear and Linsey Davis began rotating as co-anchors alongside Nelson until a permanent co-anchor was named; this lasted until Rivero was named sole co-anchor of the program on September 19, 2011. On October 14, 2011, Rivero shifted to a correspondent role on ABC's daytime news programs and was replaced by correspondent Yunji De Nies as a substitute anchor beginning the following day. On October 27, 2011, Paula Faris was named co-anchor of World News Now, taking over the role on January 2, 2012.

2012–present

On January 6, 2012, the program celebrated its 20th anniversary. Clips and outtakes of the first two decades of WNN were shown throughout that night's broadcast.[8] On June 11, 2012, the longtime "Morning Papers" segment was replaced by "The Mix," which instead of featuring offbeat headlines from various national and international newspapers, focused on stories trending online.

On January 18, 2013, Paula Faris announced that she would be departing World News Now after the January 22 broadcast;[9] on the night Faris left the program, a brief send-off by Nelson to Faris was given at the conclusion of America This Morning. Diana Perez was named as Faris's successor. On March 12, 2013, Rob Nelson announced that he would be leaving the program effective March 15, 2013 to become a full-time correspondent for ABC News.[10] John Muller was named as successor.

Marci Gonzalez filled in for Diana Perez while she was on maternity leave from January 6 to March 26, 2014. Perez later announced on May 29, 2014 that she was leaving World News Now to spend time with her family; John Muller and the staff celebrated her tenure in all three half-hour segments during the May 30 editions, including a visit by former co-anchor Rob Nelson, who remarked that she was the last of 16 co-anchors he had served with on WNN. On June 12, 2014, John Muller announced he was leaving the program to return to his previous employer, New York's WPIX, to become its lead news anchor. In October 2014, T.J. Holmes and Reena Ninan were appointed as co-anchors of World News Now and America This Morning. Ninan's appointment became official on April 8, 2015.[11]

Around August 2015, TJ left "World News Now" and "America This Morning" to focus on his contributions to other shows on the network. He "unexpectedly" left the show around August 7, 2015. Kendis Gibson has since served as co-anchor of the show.

On April 4, 2016, Reena announced she was leaving the show to go to dayside, and that Diane Macedo would take over as new co-anchor, alongside Kendis Gibson. Reena had a special sendoff on April 8, 2016.

Production

Newscast structure

First half-hour

Airs live beginning at 2:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Re-airs at 3:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

Block Standard content
A Top stories and national weather
B Presentation of packaged segment.
C "The Skinny"
D "Skinny Bonus Round" (optional), "Friday Rewind" (Fridays only)

Second half-hour

Airs live beginning at 2:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

Block Standard content
A Top stories and national weather
B
C
D "Insomniac Theater" (Friday)

Third half-hour

Airs live beginning at 3:00 a.m. Eastern.

Block Standard content
A Top stories and national weather
B
C
D "The Mix"
(abbreviated on Friday mornings, when it is followed by the "World News Now Polka")

Regular segments

"B," "C" and "D"-blocks

After the A-block, the rest of the half-hour is produced using the following segments:

Special segments

Former segments

Scheduling

The show is produced and airs in three half-hour segments from 1:30 to 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time each Monday through Friday morning, and is transmitted in a continuous 90-minute tape delayed loop until 8:00 a.m. Eastern, when America This Morning begins in certain areas of the Pacific Time Zone. America This Morning airs live to the network at 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time (and uses the same production and anchor staff as World News Now, although the program is branded as a tie-in to Good Morning America) and is also tape delayed for many ABC stations. Most ABC stations do not air the entire program loop of WNN and preempt portions of the program in favor of airing locally slotted programming (usually infomercials or syndicated programs) – joining the program in progress anywhere from five minutes to as much as two hours after the start of the newscast – with affiliates looping the show until America This Morning airs.

Although most ABC stations clear World News Now, a small number of affiliates do not air the program:

Anchors

Timeline

From To Anchors
01/1992 01/1993 Aaron Brown and Lisa McRee
01/1993 05/1993 Aaron Brown
05/1993 06/1993 Aaron Brown and Thalia Assuras
06/1993 11/1994 Thalia Assuras and Boyd Matson
11/1994 04/1996 Thalia Assuras and Kevin Newman
04/1996 01/1997 Thalia Assuras and Mark Mullen
01/1997 12/1998 Mark Mullen and Asha Blake
01/1999 02/2000 Juju Chang and Anderson Cooper
02/2000 08/2000 Anderson Cooper and Alison Stewart
08/2000 02/2002 Alison Stewart and Derek McGinty
02/2002 06/2003 Derek McGinty and Liz Cho
07/2003 12/2003 Andrea Stassou and David Muir
12/2003 08/2004 David Muir and Tamala Edwards
08/2004 01/2005 Tamala Edwards and Ron Corning
01/2005 12/2005 Ron Corning and Heather Cabot
12/2005 08/2006 Ron Corning and Taina Hernandez
08/2006 02/2007 Taina Hernandez and Hari Sreenivasan
02/2007 12/2007 Taina Hernandez and Ryan Owens
12/2007 02/2008 Ryan Owens (main); Gigi Stone, Christianne Klein and Tanya Rivero (alternating substitutes)
02/2008 03/2008 Tanya Rivero (main); Gigi Stone and Christianne Klein (alternating substitutes)
03/2008 05/2008 Jeremy Hubbard (main); Gigi Stone, Christianne Klein, and Tanya Rivero (alternating substitutes)
05/2008 07/2010 Jeremy Hubbard and Vinita Nair
07/2010 02/2011 Vinita Nair and Rob Nelson
02/2011 07/2011 Rob Nelson and Peggy Bunker
07/2011 10/2011 Rob Nelson (main); Tanya Rivero, Diana Alvear and Linsey Davis (alternating substitutes)
10/2011 01/2012 Rob Nelson (main); Yunji De Nies, Cecilia Vega[14] and Sunny Hostin (alternating substitutes)
01/2012 01/2013 Rob Nelson and Paula Faris
01/2013 02/2013 Rob Nelson (main); Sunny Hostin, Diana Perez and Brandi Hitt (alternating substitutes)
02/2013 03/2013 Rob Nelson and Diana Perez
03/2013 05/2014 Diana Perez and John Muller (main); Marci Gonzalez, Linzie Janis, Tai Hernandez, Rob Nelson and Rob Powers (substitutes)
05/2014 06/2014 John Muller (main); Linzie Janis, Reena Ninan (substitutes)
06/2014 09/2014 Tahman Bradley, Devin Dwyer, Michelle Franzen, Matt Gutman, Brandi Hitt, Dan Kloeffler, Muhammad Lila, Reena Ninan and Ryan Smith (all substitutes)
10/2014 08/2015 T. J. Holmes and Reena Ninan (main); Michelle Franzen, Tai Hernandez, Kayna Whitworth, Kendis Gibson, Ryan Smith (substitutes)
08/2015 04/2016 Reena Ninan (main); Kendis Gibson, Phillip Mena (substitutes)
04/2016 present Kendis Gibson and Diane Macedo

Criticism

Occasional anchor Taina Hernandez has been criticized in the national press for laughing during various segments of the program, some of them dealing with serious stories. She laughed through the story of Owen Wilson's attempted suicide in 2007, and she and co-host Ryan Owens have giggled through segments centering on terrorism and the Iraq War.[15] These laughing fits have earned her the nickname, "The Laughing Taina."

References

  1. ↑ Dennis McDougal (November 4, 1991). "NBC, ABC: It's Never Too Late for News". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  2. ↑ "FYI: regular broadcasting of ABC's news via CU-SeeMe". Indiana State University. December 1995.
  3. ↑ "Google Discussiegroepen". Groups.google.com. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  4. ↑ Lawrie Mifflin (June 1, 1998). "A New Chief Of ABC News, With Arledge In the Shadows". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ "Meet David Muir, the Man Taking Over ABC's 'World News'". Entertainment Tonight. August 27, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  6. ↑ "al-Zarqawi Killed: Worldwide Exclusive for ABC, Way Ahead of Everyone Else". TVNewser. June 8, 2006.
  7. ↑ "Jeremy Hubbard Says Goodbye to ABC World News Now". TVNewser. Mediabistro.com. July 9, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Sports to news: ABC anchor job luring Faris to New York". Time Out Chicago.
  9. ↑ "Paula Faris Bids Farewell to 'World News Now'". ABC News. January 22, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  10. ↑ "'World News Now' anchor Rob Nelson promoted to ABC News correspondent". The Times-Picayune. March 11, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  11. ↑ Ariens, Chris. "Reena Ninan Named anchor of World News Now, America This Morning". TVNewser. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  12. ↑ Gate Weather Services "Golden Gate Weather Services- Experience" Check |url= value (help).
  13. ↑ "Weather Corner". Golden Gate Weather Services. December 31, 2002.
  14. ↑ "Cecilia Vega Named ABC News Correspondent". TVNewser. September 19, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  15. ↑ "ABC News: The Anchors Are Laughing; the Network Is Not". Broadcasting & Cable. Broadcastingcable.com. September 9, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.