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Action News is a local television newscast format in the United States. It was conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at WFIL-TV (now WPVI-TV), by then news director (Mel Kampmann), in 1970 as a response to the "Eyewitness News" format used on rival station KYW-TV. At this time, WFIL-TV was said to be #6 in a four station market.

The main difference between Action News and Eyewitness News was that the former was far more tightly formatted. Time limits were set on packages—for instance, a reporter package could be no longer than 90 seconds. This difference enabled the station to cover more stories than their competitors. Another key difference was the focus on the surrounding Philadelphia suburban areas—a response to the movement of residents from the city to the suburbs. Finally, WPVI placed more emphasis on young talent—while WCAU-TV and KYW-TV used older, respected news anchors such as Vince Leonard, Tom Snyder, and John Facenda, WPVI used a young Larry Kane as their top anchor. Later, the station would add the very popular Jim O'Brien as their main weathercaster.

The format quickly took off, and after a few years of going back and forth with KYW for first place, WPVI took the lead in 1977 and has held it ever since. Capital Cities Communications, WPVI's owner at the time, took the format to most of its other stations.

One of the major development stations for WPVI's Action News was WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York. Under the leadership of news director Irv Weinstein, who had developed his own similar format under the name Eyewitness News (and before that, Pulse Beat News and Rock and Roll Radio News), WKBW developed much of the talent that WPVI would later hire to boost them to #1 in the market; anchor Jim Gardner and weatherman Dave Roberts are two of the highest-profile WPVI personalities to have come from WKBW.

WPIX-TV in New York City, an independent station at the time (now affiliated with The CW and owned by Tribune Broadcasting), picked up the Action News concept (and music) successfully for its 10 p.m. newscast. The newscast won numerous awards, but the station never approached the ratings of longtime leader WNEW-TV (now WNYW-TV).

Sister stations WFTS-TV and KSHB-TV are the first in the country to identify themselves with the Action News branding all day with no station number.

Today, Action News is usually nothing more than a name, since its innovations have been incorporated into newscasts across the country. The name is found on fewer stations than Eyewitness News. Even WPVI, which continues to use the name, Action News, has modified its news presentation to one more closely resembling Eyewitness News.

Outside the United States, the Action News title was used by the following television stations:

Germany's RTL II (then known as RTL2) in the 1990s
CKCO-TV in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, in the 1980s and 1990s
NWS-9 in Adelaide, Australia, in the 1980s
TV Asahi in Tokyo, Japan, in the 1970s and 1980s
Netherlands' SBS 6 since its inception in 1995 until 2006
Colombia's Caracol TV (then as a production company for Inravisión) as Noticias de Acción in the 1980s

[edit] Theme

WFIL adopted the Action News format in 1970, along with a brass band theme written by a student at Temple University. Two years later, the station (under its new call sign WPVI) replaced the "Action News Theme" with Al Ham's well-known "Move Closer to Your World".^[1]^[2] It was actually first used by WNAC-TV in Boston (now WHDH-TV) in 1970. However, its news director (Mel Kampmann) moved to WPVI in 1972 and took the theme with him. It quickly spread to other stations across the country, but was mostly used in the Northeast.

Unlike most stations, WPVI still uses this theme after three decades, and the theme has arguably become as much a part of the Philadelphia consciousness as the Rocky theme. This was proven in 1996 when the station replaced it with a fuller, orchestral rendition of the same theme performed by the London Philharmonic. Viewer outcry was so great that the station dropped the more thunderous and authoritative version within five days. WPVI has made numerous remasters of the theme to keep the sound fresh and to make it sound less dated. The theme has the unique distinction of being probably the only news theme to be offered as a ringtone, which WPVI offers at no charge, and is linked here [1] and below.

WPVI opens their broadcasts with a rapid montage featuring scenes of Philadelphia-area activities, reinforcing the "Action" brand. The scenes are rotated at the official start of every season to reflect the current season; for example, Phillies and other spring footage starts showing on the open on March 21, and Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Flyers, and 76ers autumn footage starts on September 23, while the Mummers parade and other winter footage is shown from December 21 to March 21.

Although "Move Closer to Your World" is strongly associated with the Action News format by Philadelphians and many others, many stations that have used the "Action News" name actually chose to use other pieces of music for their newscasts. Conversely, stations that use "Move Closer to Your World" do not necessarily use the "Action News" name or format either. WNEP-TV in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania used the original version for many years before switching to a modern variation which only partially resembles the original.

[edit] Stations that use or have used the Action News format or name

DMA#	DMA Name	Station	Affiliation	Currently Uses	Other Notes
1.	New York City	WPIX	CW	No	Used as an Independent station from 1974 to 1984; station currently brands its newscast as "PIX News"
2.	Los Angeles	KCBS-TV	CBS	No	Used from 1989–1997, has identified as "CBS 2 News" from 1997-2009, and NewsCentral since 2009
3.	Chicago	WBBM-TV	CBS	No	Used briefly in the early 1970s, now "CBS 2 News"
4.	Philadelphia	WPVI-TV	ABC	Yes	Originator of the "Action News" format on April 6, 1970
5.	San Jose/S.F./Oakland, California	KICU-TV	Independent	No	Newscast defunct, station formerly referred to itself as "Action 36"
		KTVU-TV	Fox	No	Used from 1971 to the early 1980s. Now known as Fox 2/KTVU Channel 2.
6.	Dallas/Fort Worth	KXAS-TV	NBC	No	Used from 1979–1984, its years of using Move Closer to Your World; has identified as "NBC 5 News" since 1999
9.	Atlanta	WSB-TV	ABC, formerly NBC	Yes	Identified as Action News from 1972–1988, has identified as "Channel 2 Action News" since 1988
11.	Detroit	WXYZ-TV	ABC	Yes	Used since 1972. Uses branding elements more commonly associated with "Eyewitness News" and ABC O&O's (since it once was one), such as the circle 7 logo and "Cool Hand Luke"-based themes; currently identifies as "7 Action News"
12.	Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida	WFTS-TV	ABC	Yes	Has identified as "ABC Action News" since 2002
		WTSP	CBS, formerly ABC	No	Used in the 1980s; unrelated to WFTS
13.	Phoenix, Arizona	KPNX	NBC	No	Used during the '80s; has identified as "12 News" since 1992, and "12 News in HD" since November 2006.
16.	Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida	WFOR-TV (formerly WCIX-TV)	CBS	No	Used from 1989–1995; has identified as "CBS 4 News" since 1999
17.	Cleveland, Ohio	WOIO	CBS	Yes	Has identified as "19 Action News" since 2002, produces "19 Action News at 10" for WUAB-TV
		WKYC-TV	NBC	No	Used from 1974–1984; has identified as "Channel 3 News" since 1984; unrelated to WOIO
18.	Denver, Colorado	KWGN-TV	CW	No	Used from 1977–1983; has identified as "News on the Deuce" since March 2009
19.	Orlando	WRDQ	Independent	No	Newscast produced by WFTV was rebranded to Eyewitness News.
20.	Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto, California	KOVR	CBS, formerly ABC	No	Used as an ABC affiliate in the 1970s; has identified as "CBS 13 News" since 2006
		KMAX-TV	UPN, formerly WB; independent	No	Used in the 1990s; formerly unrelated to KOVR
21.	St. Louis	KTVI	Fox, formerly ABC	No	Used during the early & mid 1970s; has identified as "Fox 2 News" since 1995
22.	Pittsburgh	WTAE-TV	ABC	Yes	Used in 1970s–1989; Brought back again in 1995 as "Channel 4 Action News". One of the few that uses the name to put emphasis on investigative reporting, with the slogan being "Taking Action For You."
24.	Baltimore	WBAL-TV	NBC, formerly CBS	No	Identified as "Action News" from 1974–1985, has identified as "11 News" since 1995
26.	Charlotte	WAXN-TV	Independent	Yes	Produced by WSOC-TV
		WCNC-TV (formerly WPCQ-TV)	NBC	No	Has identified as "NewsChannel 36" since 2008; unrelated to WAXN/WSOC
27.	San Diego	KFMB-TV	CBS	No	Used briefly in the 1970s; followed by the year à la Match Game, i.e. "Action News '75"; has identified as News 8 since 1996
28.	Hartford/New Haven, Connecticut	WTNH	ABC	No	Used from 1984–1996; has identified as "NewsChannel 8" since 1996; former sister station of WPVI
29.	Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina	WRAL-TV	CBS, formerly ABC	No	Used during the 70's and 80's; Sister station of WRAZ Fox 50. Has identified as WRAL News since 1990.
31.	Kansas City	KSHB-TV	NBC	Yes	Has identified as "NBC Action News" since 2003; station brands as "Your NBC Action News Station" rather than by call letters or channel number.
		WDAF-TV	Fox, formerly NBC	No	Used from 1974–1992; has identified as "Fox 4 News" since 1995; unrelated to KSHB
32.	Columbus, Ohio	WTVN-TV, now WSYX	ABC	No	Used as WTVN; has identified as "ABC 6 News" since 2006
33.	Cincinnati	WLWT	NBC	No	Used from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s; has identified as "News 5" since 2004
34.	Milwaukee	WISN-TV	ABC	No	Used from 1977–1985; has identified as "12 News" since 2003, though the station's consumer news/investigation segments continue to be called "Action 12".
36.	Greenville	WYFF Formerly WFBC-TV	NBC	No	Used from 1975–1981; has identified as "WYFF News4" since 1996
38.	West Palm Beach, Florida	WPTV-TV	NBC	No	Used in the 1980s and early 1990s; has identified as "NewsChannel 5" since 1995
40.	Birmingham, Alabama	WVTM-TV	NBC	No	Used in the 1970s; has identified as "NBC 13 News" since 1999
		WIAT	CBS	No	Used in the 1980s and 1990s; currently identifies as "CBS 42 News"; unrelated to WVTM
41.	Harrisburg/York/Lancaster, Pennsylvania	WLYH-TV	CW, formerly CBS	No	Used as a CBS affiliate; currently identifies as "CBS 21 News at Ten on The CW 15"
43.	Las Vegas	KTNV	ABC	Yes	Has identified as "Channel 13 Action News" since 2003
44.	Memphis, Tennessee	WMC-TV	NBC	Yes	Has identified as Action News 5 since 1983
45.	Albuquerque/Santa Fe, New Mexico	KOAT-TV	ABC	Yes	Has identified itself as "Action 7 News" since 1989
48.	Louisville, Kentucky	WHAS-TV	ABC, formerly CBS	No	Used from the mid 1970s to when it flipped from CBS to ABC; has identified as "WHAS 11 News" since 1991
50.	Jacksonville, Florida	WTLV	NBC	No	Used during the mid & late 1970s; Currently identifies as "First Coast News"
		WTEV	CBS	Yes	Re-branded to title in April 2009, with sister station WAWS.
		WAWS	Fox	Yes	Re-branded to title in April 2009, with sister station WTEV.
51.	Providence, Rhode Island/New Bedford, Massachusetts	WLNE-TV	ABC, formerly CBS	No	Used during its CBS days; has identified as "ABC 6 News" since 1995
52.	Austin, Texas	KVUE	ABC	No	Used from 1978–1997; has identified as "KVUE News" since 2001
53.	Scranton/Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania	WYOU	CBS	No	Used circa 1999-2001; station ended its newscasts on April 3, 2009
		WNEP	ABC	No	Has never been known as "Action News," but has used "Move Closer to Your World" theme for several years
55.	Fresno/Visalia/Merced, California	KFSN-TV	ABC, formerly CBS	Yes	Has identified as "ABC 30 Action News" since 1994 but uses the Eyewitness News Format of KABC and KGO; Title began on September 14, 1970
56.	Albany, New York	WTEN	ABC, formerly CBS	No	Used during its first few years as an ABC affiliate; has identified as "News 10" since 1995
57.	Little Rock, Arkansas	KTHV	CBS	No	Newscast name used before the purchase by Gannet; Currently identifies as "Today's THV"
59.	Mobile, Alabama/Pensacola, Florida	WALA-TV	Fox, formerly NBC	No	Used from 1990 to 1997; currently identifies as "Fox 10 News"
60.	Knoxville, Tennessee	WBIR-TV	NBC	No	Used from 1970–1974 & 1978–April 2004; has identified as "10 News" since April 2004
63.	Lexington, Kentucky	WLEX-TV	NBC	No	Used in the 1970s, 1980s, and the mid-late 1990s; has identified as "LEX 18 News" since 2000
		WTVQ-TV	ABC	No	Identified as Action News 36 from 2004-2009, identified as "ABC 36 News" since 2009.
65.	Huntington/Charleston, West Virginia	WOWK-TV	CBS, formerly ABC	No	Used from its ABC days and with CBS up to 1993; Currently identifies as "13 News"
68.	Roanoke, Virginia/ Lynchburg, Virginia	WSLS-TV	NBC	No	Used during 1980s. Has identified as "WSLS 10 On Your Side" since 2006
69.	Green Bay, Wisconsin	WBAY-TV	ABC, formerly CBS	Yes	Has identified as "Action 2 News" since 1992
70.	Honolulu, Hawaii	KHON-TV	Fox, formerly NBC	No	Used "Action 2 News" from 1979 to 1982; Has identified as "KHON2 News" since 2003
71.	Toledo, Ohio	WTVG	ABC	Yes	of KABC and WABC
75.	Omaha, Nebraska	WOWT-TV	NBC, formerly CBS	No	Used through April 1991; has identified as "Channel 6 News" since 2002
		KMTV	CBS	Yes	Currently identifies as "Action 3 News"
76.	Springfield, Missouri	KYTV	NBC	No	Used from 1974 to 1993, under the suffix "KY3 Action News"; has identified as "KY3 News" since 1997
77.	Lewiston, Idaho	KLEW-TV	CBS	Yes	Has identified as KLEW Action News since 2008. The station is part of the Spokane, Washington market, but does not serve as the Spokane metro area's CBS affiliate; it is served by KREM-TV.
79.	Syracuse, New York	WSTM-TV	NBC	Yes	Identifies as Action News 3
81.	Shreveport, Louisiana	KTBS-TV	ABC	No	Used during the 1980s; Currently identifies as "KTBS 3 News"
84.	Huntsville, Alabama	WHNT-TV	CBS	No	Used in the 1970s and 1980s, currently identifies as "NewsChannel 19"
85.	Madison, Wisconsin	WISC-TV	CBS	No	Used in the 1970s; has identified as "News 3" since 2001
86.	Chattanooga, Tennessee	WTVC	ABC	No	Used throughout the 70's 80's and early 90's; has identified as "NewsChannel 9" since 1995
87.	Jackson, Mississippi	WAPT-TV	ABC	No	Used during the 1970s; has identified as "16 WAPT News" since 1999
89.	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	KGAN	CBS	No	Used as WMT-TV; has identified as "CBS 2 News" since 2004
91.	Rio Grande Valley, Texas	KGBT	CBS	Yes	Previously identified as Team 4 News.
96.	Rock Island, Illinois/Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities)	WHBF-TV	CBS	No	Used during the 1980s; Currently identifies as "CBS 4 News"
97.	Savannah, Georgia	WJCL	ABC	No	Used from 1972–1996; Currently identifies as "WJCL News"
98.	Altoona/Johnstown, Pennsylvania	WTAJ-TV	CBS	No	Used during the 1980s; Currently identifies as "WTAJ News"
99.	El Paso, Texas	KDBC-TV	CBS	No	Used in the 1990s; has identified as "KDBC 4 News" since 2004
100.	Charleston, South Carolina	WCBD-TV	NBC formerly ABC	No	Used as an ABC affiliate; has identified as "News 2" since 1998
103.	Youngstown, Ohio	WFMJ-TV	NBC	No	Used from 1970s-2005; has identified as "21 News" since 2005
105.	Florence/Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	WPDE-TV	ABC	No	Used from 1986–1993; has identified as "WPDE NewsChannel 15" since 1993
108.	Tallahassee, Florida	WTXL-TV	ABC	No	Used in the 1990s; has identified as "ABC 27 News" since 2006
112.	Lansing, Michigan	WILX-TV	NBC	No	Used during the 70's and 80's. Currently identifies as "News 10"
114.	Augusta, Georgia	WRDW-TV	CBS	No	Used from the late 1960s to the late 1970s; has identified as "News12" since 1998
		WAGT	NBC	No	Used from the 1990s-2003; currently identifies as "NBC Augusta"
115.	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	KSFY-TV	ABC	Yes	Started using the "Action News" brand in September 2008
116.	Peoria, Illinois	WMBD-TV	CBS	No	Used from the early to late 1970s; has identified as "WMBD 31 News" since 2007
117.	Montgomery/Selma, Alabama	WAKA	CBS	No	Used in the 1980s, currently identifies as "CBS 8 News"
122.	San Luis Obispo, California	KSBY	NBC	Yes	Currently Identifies itself as "6 Action News" and was a sister station of KSBW, which also used the "Action News" format from 1957–1996.
124.	Lafayette, Louisiana	KATC	ABC	No	Used in the 1980s and 1990s; currently identifies as "TV-3 News"
125.	Salinas/Monterey, California	KSBW	NBC	Yes	Identified as Action News 8 since 2000
126.	Yakima/Pasco-Richland-Kennewick, WA	KIMA-TV / KEPR-TV	CBS	Yes
127.	La Crosse/Eau Claire, Wisconsin	WKBT	CBS	No	Used during the 70's and 80's. Currently identifies as "NewsChannel 8"
128.	Columbus, Georgia	WTVM	ABC	No	Used from the late 1960s to the late 1990s; has identified as "WTVM Newsleader 9" since 2002
129.	Corpus Christi, Texas	KZTV	CBS	Yes	Has identified as "Action 10 News" since 2004
130.	Redding/Red Bluff/Chico, California	KHSL-TV	CBS	Yes	Merged with KNVN to form NCN in 2001 to be later renamed as Action News
		KNVN	NBC	Yes	Merged with KHSL after having lowest ratings out of all three of the area's news stations and to not waste money on a failing station
131.	Amarillo, Texas	KAMR-TV	NBC	No	Used in the 1980s; has identified as "NBC 4 News" since 2002
133.	Rockford, Illinois	WIFR	CBS	No	Used from the 1980s. Has identified as "23 News" since 2003
142.	Erie, Pennsylvania	WJET-TV	ABC	Yes	Identified as Action News 24 since 1995
146.	Lawton, Oklahoma/Wichita Falls, Texas	KSWO-TV	ABC	No	Identified as "Action 7 News" 1979-1996, has identified as "7 News" since 1998
151.	Terre Haute, Indiana	WTHI-TV	CBS	No	Started as "Action 10 News" in 1985 and later became "Action 10 News WTHI." Became "News 10" in 2006.
157.	Binghamton, NY	WBNG-TV	CBS	Yes	The newscast has been called Action News since the stations inception in the 1950s.
163.	Idaho Falls/Pocatello, Idaho	KID-TV	CBS	No	Used during the mid-1970s
164.	Abilene/Sweetwater, Texas	KTXS-TV	ABC	No	Used during the early 1980s; Currently identifies as "KTXS News 12"
166.	Clarksburg, West Virginia	WDTV	CBS	No	Used in the early 1970s as "Action News Central"
177.	Rapid City, South Dakota	KEVN-TV	Fox, formerly NBC	No	Used from 1976 to 1995; Currently identifies as "Black Hills Fox News"
179.	Alexandria, Louisiana	KLAX-TV	ABC	No	Used until its newscast operations were shut down; newscast no longer exists
181.	Harrisonburg, Virginia	WHSV-TV	ABC	No	Used from 1977–1984; currently identifies as "WHSV News 3"
189.	Eureka	KVIQ-TV	CBS	No	Title of now defunct operation
208.	Alpena, Michigan	WBKB-TV	CBS	No	Used from 1980-2004: Currently identifies as "Channel 11 News"
208.	Buffalo, New York	WKBW-TV	ABC	No	Never used the Action News title but use its news format, station calls itself as Eyewitness News

[edit] Action News in popular culture

In an early episode of The Simpsons, a local station is shown using the Action News branding plus a similar intro—but portrays the show as having more action and explosions instead of being faster paced.

In Ray Stevens' 1974 hit "The Streak", he plays an "Action News reporter" on the scene of three different streaking events, every time interviewing the same person (also played by Stevens) who keeps warning his wife, "Ethel", not to look—"but it's too late." At the end of the piece, the streaker is joined by "Ethel", much to the husband's horror.

In the South Park episode "Quest for Ratings", the kids change the name of their school news program from "Super School News" to "Sexy Action School News" and add other outrageous elements in an attempt to get higher ratings from their rival program.

The 2004 comedy film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy parodies 1970s culture, particularly Action News.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ "Philadelphia". TV News Themes. 2001. Archived from the original on 2001-04-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20010417141736/http://www.geocities.com/newsthemes/philadelphia.html#2.
^ "The Action News Theme". SouthernMedia News Music Search Archive. http://southernmedia-nmsa.com/index.php?page=3,1,498. Retrieved 2009-10-13.

[edit] External links

[TVNT-0] "Philadelphia". TV News Themes. 2001. Archived from the original on 2001-04-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20010417141736/http://www.geocities.com/newsthemes/philadelphia.html#2.

[NMSA-1] "The Action News Theme". SouthernMedia News Music Search Archive. http://southernmedia-nmsa.com/index.php?page=3,1,498. Retrieved 2009-10-13.

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