Cringe
The new set
Alright, I have been crazy to see the new WCCO set. What was I thinking? Yeah, I guess the set was everything I could have hoped for — a classy new desk and the widely promised giant window, but there’s one thing I didn’t quite picture: the whole “community” looking in. With the 20-some nimrods in the background, it makes what could have been a gorgeous new set look like a cheap publicity stunt.
Now the idea of breaking away from the traditional backdrop is laudable. But, again, building a giant ground-floor window near a mall in downtown Minneapolis, will cause bad things to happen. What really saddens me right now is that this was probably the intention of the WCCO executives: trying to bank on the studio’s prime location to pull the community in. Contrary to my earlier statement, it would be great if we just saw people casually strolling past, to and from the Nicollet Mall, but I’m confident they would have pictured the weirdos I’m watching now, jumping and waving (again, didn’t they see Murphy Brown’s “Window on America”?).
The good news, though, is that this is not the permanent set for the evening newscasts: I’m told by Jason DeRusha that the evening newscasts will be moving to the “plaza studio” this spring, when it’s complete. I’m not confident that this will be a huge improvement: another ground level window, only bigger than the current one.
The intention may even have been to be radical enough to get people like me to write about it. Any publicity is good publicity. This one’s on the house, guys.
How it Happens: This is the first post in a series I call “How it Happens” — an almost comically attitude-rich column. This does not reflect any changes to West of London and, as always, opinions/views expressed here do not reflect those of Hayford O’Leary.
P.S.: In all fairness, this seems no worse than their painfully ‘90-chic old set. Would be infinitely better if not for the jumping and waving yahoos.
