Oregon Media Insiders

I’ve had several days to digest the new KATU set – now here’s my critique.

The weather center is huge – maybe a bit too large. Rod Hill looks like he is commanding a battle carrier group. The monitors on the desk seem a bit over the top, but given KATU’s drive to capture KGW in the ratings, I guess over the top is a necessity.

The desk – it’s tiny. Smaller than I would like. I think the KGW desk is more appealing. And those chairs – they look huge, and awkward. Something lower to the ground would seem more appropriate. But given its height, I’m sure the bar stools they’re using make sense. No more jeans behind the anchor desk.

The largest monitor in Portland – good move. It creates a theater like atmosphere on the set. Plus the reporter or anchor isn’t dwarfing the monitor. It’s a win-win situation.

The staircase. It seems like a waste of money to me, but oh well.

The backdrop. The only issue I have with the backdrop is the inclusion of the KOIN Tower in the picture. They should have found a way to work around putting it in the picture. Every time I see Steve Dunn or Brian Wood, I see the KOIN Tower in the background.

What I do like is a lack of those fake monitors with still photos found on the KOIN set. I found those so annoying – and cheesy.

Overall, I’m slightly impressed but was expecting more. I thought the space would have allowed for a larger anchor desk. Now it’s time to see how much money Meredith is going to dump into KPTV’s new set this fall.