East Coast TV News

May 16, 2005: A Sojourn in Scranton

WBRE-28 used this graphics package a couple years ago before a recent change. (Courtesy VDO)

WBRE PM News Open - 2002 ("28 NEWS" -- 96 KB -- 9 sec.)

InfoLine: This station, with call letters signifying its home city of Wilkes-Barre, is the site of the infamous "shared services agreement" that left the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre market with only two independently-owned television news operations beginning in the late 1990's. WYOU-22, the third-ranked CBS affiliate, moved its newsroom out of Scranton to WBRE-28, the second-place NBC affiliate, under the deal. Initially, the stations still kept completely different on-air anchors and identities, but recently began a pooled morning newscast. The station has gone through various monikers in the past few years, starting the decade as "28 Eyewitness News" before becoming "28 News" and now "WBRE News."

AudioTrak: From WBRE, this is 28 News, On Your Side.

WNEP-16 does its weather outside from the "Backyard" of its Moosic studio. (Courtesy WNEP)

WNEP Bumper - 2002 ("NEWSWATCH 16" -- 243 KB -- 27 sec.)

InfoLine: The struggles of WNEP-16's competitors are one sign of this station's strength. Much like its larger ABC sister to the south, WPVI-6 in Philadelphia, Ch. 16 dominates the ratings with a long-running format, familiar faces, and coverage from all parts of its market. While Ch. 28 tries to catch up in the metro ratings, Ch. 16 pulls in viewers from far-flung rural counties with quick-hit stories. The station's primo studios in Moosic feature a helipad for the station's own chopper. WNEP, owned by the New York Times as part of its small diversifying dabble into television, uses an updated version of Ch. 6's catchy "Move Closer to Your World" theme.

WYOU Close - 2002 ("NEWS 22" -- 131 KB -- 13 sec.)

WYOU-22 was combined with WBRE-28 in a shared services agreement under Nexstar in the 1990s. (Courtesy WYOU)

InfoLine: The aformentioned Ch. 22, which began as WDAU in Scranton, was branded as a Scranton station under the Nexstar duopoly. Calling itself "Lackawanna County's News Source," it used the same theme package as WFOR in Miami. Anchor Penny Lindgren said she left last year to move away with her husband after her pay leveled off. Operating with a small crew only doing evening newscasts, the station dropped the Scranton-centric promotion recently, becoming "WYOU News" at the same time Ch. 28 dropped its channel number.

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