KTBC Fox 7 News Edge at 9:00 Open, 5/12/2011

Open for the 9pm newscast on Austin, Texas' Fox O&O station recorded Thursday, May 12, 2011.

Apologies for the quality as this came off of a VHS tape I have. Not sure why someone would use a VCR to record stuff this late in time, but more power to them I guess. It's kinda disappointing to see new-ish material in a VHS dump but it's still somewhat worthwhile especially in a case like this. And it's a good thing they did record this, because I haven't seen this open style posted here yet. The tape cuts out during the reporter's introduction, so this is all I have from that newscast.

(Shameless plug: Please subscribe to my second channel, 31 Rewind, to see more of my VHS captures and classic newscasts, commercial breaks, and more as they're encoded.)

This is one of the "updates" to the 2008 HD package the Fox Television Stations Graphics Hub in Tampa, FL produced for the group, which would eventually be replaced the following year with an all new look. THAT look ended up remaining in place (with updates pushed out over the years) until 2019, when they finally replaced that look with the one the group is using now. That look is also the most consistent their stations have looked in a decade and is probably the best look Fox's hub has ever pushed out.

This look on the other hand was, meh. It was alright I guess. Can't really say anything good or bad about it. The music was pretty good. It's the Fox Affiliate News Theme from OSI Music, and while the original themes aged like milk, the updates were a huge improvement in my opinion. Not saying this could be used today, but it sounds better than some of the other themes being put out now too. There is no example of voiceover in this intro, but the station's voice was (and continues to be) Jim Cutler, who has been the station's voice since 2003. KTBC was the first O&O to pick up Cutler, who has since been adopted by several other Fox O&Os in the past decade or so.

KTBC branded their newscasts (regardless of time of day) as "Fox 7 News Edge" from 2007-2015 when they switched to the current "Fox 7 Austin News". Most other Fox O&Os only used the "News Edge" brand on their late 11pm ET/10pm CT shows. KTBC eventually would add back a 10pm newscast around the same time they adopted their current news branding (they of course had their 10pm newscast when they were the market's CBS affiliate, then kept it during the first five years of their Fox affiliation, airing syndicated programs at 9pm; eventually the network that owns the station made them move it to the recommended 9pm timeslot in 2000 and they've had a 9pm newscast ever since).

KTBC is usually the third or fourth ranked station in the market; this was not the case when they were with CBS, when they were the consistent market leader. The cause most attributed for this is likely aversion to the "Fox" brand in the market, given the city's political leanings (which is why affiliates-turned-O&Os in San Francisco and Seattle have tried to distance themselves from using the "Fox" brand for years; KTBC, being an O&O for so long did not really have that option). To be fair, CBS affiliate (former Fox) KEYE has also been stuck in the ratings basement.

Anchors are Mike Warren and Loriana Hernandez. Warren is still there and was hired in 2004 as the station forced out their longtime anchor and Austin news veteran Dick Ellis (RIP) in favor of a younger team. Warren has had several co-anchors over the years (I'm pretty sure his current co-anchor, Rebecca Thomas, is his longest lasting). Hernandez on the other hand was moved to the morning show two years later, before leaving in January 2014 due to being diagnosed with Leukemia and needing to start treatment. She survived and is now a patient advocate for those battling the disease through her organization, ArmorUp for LIFE. On-scene reporter is Foti Kallergis, who later left for KTRK in Houston before leaving the business altogether.

©2011 Fox Television Stations and KTBC-TV, no copyright infringement intended. For educational and historical purposes only. We do not profit off of this video.

[dontastodgh]

Pretty nice to see that someone recorded a VHS tape in 2011 after the discontinuation of VHS tapes since 2006/2007.

[mct-oq]

I actually really liked this look. Never knew KTBC had it. I loved it on WTVT in Tampa. They had a great talent bump too. The opens and music were really good, the rest eh. I do like the current FOX look a lot.

[maihuongle]

austin, as you say, is the politics(est) market
but, surprisingly the fox aff music theme have a major UPDATE ever have (of 2011 or course!)