I hate to admit it, but I've become an HD snob. That is, I probably won't watch a show if it's not in high-def. There are exceptions, of course: Brewers games, "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad," to name a few. But as a Time Warner Cable subscriber, more often than not, I'm hovering over the "500s," if you catch my meaning.
Until very recently, all of Milwaukee's local TV news was decidedly low-def. If you're a regular reader of my blogs, you know that I rip on local news a lot, and frankly, they've got it coming. Whether is repurposed news from the paper (or sometimes from OnMilwaukee.com), the breathlessly exasperated storm team coverage, or infomercials/VNRs/network promos passed off as "live from the newsroom," I'm not always a big fan. But I still watch it, if only for the train-wreck factor, and that a few talented reporter/anchors still do a very good job in town.
But starting now, I plan on watching a lot more of Channel 4, since it's the only station that currently broadcasts local news in HD.
I could say that it's about time, that other cities have broadcast their local news in high-def for some time. Instead, I'll just say kudos and hope that other stations follow suit soon.
One knock on WTMJ-TV, however. Their new graphics package looks like it was generated on my Commodore 64's Print Shop. They took a clean font and presentation and replaced it with something that looks like Optima or Impact. Yeah, I'm a font snob, too.
Still, their news looks really sharp right now, and it's a model for all other stations to copy. Kicking and screaming, the days of low-def, analog TV are finally coming to an end.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
