World News Now Information

World News Now (WNN) is an American overnight news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company's television network. Its tone is often lighthearted, irreverent and humorous. Created by the original Executive Producer, David Bohrman, a number of well-known news personalities have anchored WNN early in their careers, including original anchors Aaron Brown and Lisa McRee, Thalia Assuras, Kevin Newman, Alison Stewart, Liz Cho, and Anderson Cooper.

WNN is divided into an A, B, C, and D-block. Top ABC News headlines are in the "front of the book" with reports from ABC NewsOne correspondents or repeated reports from World News. There is a national weather forecast and an often humorous "kicker" story that ends the A-block. The "back of the book" (blocks B-D) are usually stories from Nightline, BBC reports, or other segments produced in the studio (otherwise known as pre-tapes or petaques... depending on the day of the week).

On September 22, 2009, the program became the first network overnight newscast to broadcast in high definition.

History

1991"1993

In late 1991 and early 1992, WNN and rival newscasts like CBS' Up to the Minute and NBC's Nightside were created to compete for viewer demand driven originally by CNN's 24-hour coverage of the Gulf War, and to supply local affiliates with overnight programming. The original working title was "World News Overnight"; "World News Now" was adopted prior to the first broadcast.

In the tradition of NBC News Overnight, it has featured serious as well as offbeat news interspersed with odd features such as the "World News Polka" played by Barry Mitchell on the accordion, video footage of dancing camels on Wednesdays (for "Hump Day"), and laughter coming from off camera. Weather predictions are made for obscure and exotic places around the world; some of the locales have had various ties to the show, while some have had pop culture significance, including "Cicely, Alaska" and "Twin Peaks, Washington."

It also often replays clips from Nightline, World News with Diane Sawyer, and other ABC News programming. It has been an apparent training ground for new news anchors (see list below) who go on to higher profile network or local affiliate positions. The show is also unique for its interactive segments, some of which pioneered the email communication that is commonly used on newscasts today. The ABC News WNN Message board has been known to offer viewers questions and comments from the anchors themselves, during the course of the show.

1994"1998

On Thanksgiving morning in 1995, World News Now was the first television program to be broadcast live on the Internet, using the CU-SeeMe interface. Victor Dorff, a producer of WNN at the time, arranged to have the show simulcast on the Internet daily for a six-month trial period. CU-SeeMe was also used in a taped interview segment in which anchor Kevin Newman and Global Schoolhouse director and founder Yvonne Marie Andres discussed the future of computers in communication.

World News Now was used as the prototype for Fred, ABC's plan to run a cable news channel. The plan was floated in 1995 and was later dropped due to issues with cable carriage, including competition with the recently started MSNBC and Fox News Channel. World News Now also competes for overnight viewers with CBS' Up to the Minute and NBC's All Night entertainment block.

In the fall of 1998, ABC News experienced a labor dispute, seeing support employees locked out for several months. While World News This Morning continued to be produced in New York City with substitute production staff, World News Now moved to the London news bureau. Mark Mullen returned to WNN during the last month of the lockout.

1999"2008

World News Now was one of the first shows to webcast; between 1999 and 2001, free live streaming was on the ABC News website. In 2005, the free behind-the-scenes webcast returned.

On June 8, 2006, ABC White House Correspondent Martha Raddatz learned of the death of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi near Baqubah, Iraq. Upon confirmation of the tip, ABC launched a special report at 2:38 AM EDT, anchored by WNN team Ron Corning and Taina Hernandez. The show, normally repeated on tape after the initial broadcast, instead went live for all time zones and into follow-up program World News This Morning. The on-air and behind-the-scenes staff stayed on until Good Morning America began and took over coverage at 7:00 AM ET.

In January 2007, WNN celebrated its fifteenth anniversary with the brief resurrection of the National Temperature Index (see below) and a new version of the "World News Polka."

On Thursday, August 2, 2007, WNN abandoned its normal format and went with nearly-continuous coverage of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse in Minneapolis. WNN coverage was anchored by Hernández and Stephanie Sy and continued into America This Morning.

Taina Hernandez left the show on December 18, 2007, to spend more time with her children, while Ryan Owens announced on February 29, 2008, that he was leaving the show to become a full-time correspondent for ABC News. During the week of January 7, 2008, WNN celebrated 16 years on the air with segments looking back on the early days of the broadcast and its anchors. Jeremy Hubbard was named co-anchor of WNN on March 17, 2008; Vinita Nair was named Hubbard's co-anchor on September 17, 2008.

2009"2010

On the September 22, 2009, broadcast of World News Now, the program became the first network overnight newscast to broadcast in high definition.

On the July 9, 2010, broadcast, Jeremy Hubbard left WNN to become a full-time correspondent for ABC News with Rob Nelson coming in to join Vinita Nair at the anchor desk.

In Hubbard's honor, the "World News Now" staff took a look back at his time with the program and as is tradition at "World News Now," Hubbard had his likeness raised into the ABC News rafters. There was also a polka, sung to Hubbard's dog Jake, and Jeremy received a cutout of his likeness as a going away present and welcomed his replacement, Rob Nelson.

2011-present

On the January 24, 2011 broadcast, World News Now debuted new graphics and animations for all their segments and began using a new set, a side view of the current set of ABC World News.

On February 17, 2011, Vinita announced that Friday, February 18th would be her last night on air at World News Now. The February 18th edition paid tribute to Nair in each of its three segments, including appearances from current and former colleagues including Jeremy Hubbard. Her legacy was to treat the crew to a hot breakfast on her last day. Also, a brief send-off by Nelson to Nair was given at the conclusion of America This Morning. Former KDVR Denver anchor Peggy Bunker was named as interim successor.

On March 11, 2011, WNN went live for all time zones to provide live coverage of the 2011 T?hoku earthquake and tsunami bringing updates an pictures from NHK World, the coverage continued in America This Morning and continue reports in Good Morning America.

On July 21, 2011, Peggy Bunker announced that Friday, July 22 would be her last night on air at World News Now. The July 22 edition acknowledged her departure in the first and last of its three, half-hour segments. Also, a brief send-off by Nelson to Bunker was given at the conclusion of America This Morning. ABC News rotated co-anchors alongside Nelson until a permanent successor (Paula Faris) was named.

On July 25, 2011, Tanya Rivero replaced Bunker temporarily and alternated the anchor position with Diana Alvear and Linsey Davis, as ABC looked for a permanent replacement. However from September 19, 2011, Alvear and Davis were taken out of the rotation and Rivero would be sole anchor.

On October 14, 2011, Tanya Rivero moved to ABC daytime, and Rivero, the last member of the July WNN anchor rotation was replaced by Yunji De Nies as a substitute anchor the following program.

On October 27, 2011 Paula Faris was named co-anchor of World News Now. Paula debuted as WNN anchor on January 2, 2012. The show celebrated 20 years on the air during the January 6, 2012 episode. Clips and outtakes of the last two decades of WNN were shown throughout.

On June 11, 2012 the segment "Morning Papers" was replaced by "The Mix". The new segment gets away from using newspapers and instead focuses on stories found online.

On January 18, 2013, Paula Faris announced that Tuesday, January 22 would be her last night on air at World News Now. a brief send-off by Nelson to Faris was given at the conclusion of America This Morning. Diana Perez was named as successor.

On March 12, 2013, Rob Nelson announced that March 15th would be his last night, moving on to be a correspondent for ABC News. John Muller was named as successor.

Production

Newscast Structure

First Half-Hour

(Airs Live)

Block	Standard Content
A	Top stories
B	Presentation of packaged segment.
C	Presentation of packaged segment.
D

Second Half-Hour

(Airs Live)

Block	Standard Content
A	Top stories
B	On Fridays: "Friday Rewind"
C	SKINNY
D

Third Half-Hour

(Pre-recorded)

Block	Standard Content
A	Top stories
B
C
D	The Mix (Friday mornings, shortened and then followed by "World News Now Polka.")

Regular segments

• Top Stories
• Weather
• Kicker story
• What to Watch (stories to follow throughout the day)
• Our Favorite Story of the Day
• SKINNY (an entertainment news, celebrity and pop-culture segment).
• The Mix (off-beat stories, viral videos, funny pictures)

B, C & D-block

After the A-block, the rest of the half-hour is produced using the following segments:

• Nightline " The first story of the primary topic of Nightline is showcased from the previous night (or Friday if it's a Monday morning).
• This Week (Monday mornings only) " The "Roundtable" segment, a debate of pundits from both sides of politics, is featured.
• "ABC News Vault" " A look back at how ABC News covered a story of historical importance which usually corresponds to the date of the broadcast.
• "American Landscape" " Team coverage of a major national or international story is rebroadcast from the perspective of a local ABC station or affiliate that covers it. The segment is often edited for time, which is noticeable with sudden jumps of the station's time bug (if that station uses one during their newscasts) and jumps between and during story packages.
• "GizWiz" " Dick DeBartolo talks about and demonstrates the newest gadgets and technology.
• "Viewers' Voice" - A segment where the anchors read viewer opinions about a specific topic from the Facebook website or e-mail inbox.
• "Insomniac Theater" - Every Monday a World News Now staff member gives their review (out of 5) about a recent movie release. This segment is adlibbed and usually contains a SOT from the movie EPK. Previously the anchors reviewed the films.
• "Insomniac Kitchen" - WNN anchors visit a local NY restaurant to get ideas for late-night snacks you can make at home.

Special segments

• Friday mornings close with some version of the "World News Polka," usually performed by the composer, comedian Barry Mitchell. The show credits are also scrolled at the same time.
• When an anchor of numerous broadcasts finally leaves, a ceremony of sorts is held on their last broadcast. As the first few anchors moved on, cardboard cutouts were placed in the rafters of the studio for the "Anchor Hall of Fame." Today, this is done with a graphics sequence of a head-shot of the anchor moved into a graphic of the original set's rafters and monitors.

Segments no longer used

• Randomly, throughout the broadcast, a "new e-mail" sound effect will be heard. This is then followed by the ABC News announcer Bill Rice reading aloud an e-mail from a viewer. The anchors then respond (sometimes humorously) to the message.
• The National Temperature Index (NTI) " WNN featured the National Temperature Index (NTI), which is the sum of the day's forecast high temperatures for Boston, MA; Casper, WY; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Fargo, ND; Las Vegas, NV; Miami, FL; New Orleans, LA; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Seattle, WA. The NTI appeared during nightly weather segments until January 6, 2003. It was reintroduced on January 5, 2007, but was again dropped in mid-February, 2007. The NTI was originally discontinued when staff meteorologist Gerard McNiff revealed the method used for its calculation to San Francisco Bay Area meteorologist Jan Null, who published the formula in the San Jose Mercury News.
• Leah at the Movies " People Magazine's Leah Rozen would give her top picks for new releases of the week.
• Their News Now " World News Now would check in with a different news producer at a local ABC affiliate around the country each night to see what stories they were working on in their local market. This was usually rotated between four or five local markets, which included Seattle and Denver, and was discontinued sometime in 2005 when "American Landscape" was expanded to a nightly segment.
• World News Now "InsomniACTS" " Local jazz bands typically from around the New York City area would be invited into the studio to play a number on-the-air.
• World News Knows " A quick useless knowledge fact flashed on the screen some nights after a return from a commercial.
• WNN also featured a full sportscast, which became a scene of comedic fodder for many anchors on the show since many of them did not have a great deal of experience calling sports highlights. This was later replaced by a scoreboard graphic displaying sports scores coming out of a commercial break, leaving time for more general segments.
• Asia Business Now " A daily segment involving Asia business with an anchor from Japan's NHK network. This was referenced in the early editions of the "World News Polka" as "business news from Tokyo."
• Financial News from the BBC - again with Declan Curry or other BBC anchors, presenting an update on the European financial markets from the London Stock Exchange. The BBC presenters typically stood in front of a video wall looking out on a London intersection, and sometimes a small counter at the bottom of the screen would note the number of double-decker buses that passed by in the background.
• World News Then - World News Now would present segments from ABC news program archives that related to or contrasted with a current event. As a bonus, they would also often show a commercial or two that aired during the original broadcast.
• Morning Papers - Several different off-beat stories, funny pictures, etc. found in newspapers around the world. Replaced by "The Mix", which is a more modern version using online stories instead.

Scheduling

The show is produced and airs in three half-hour segments from 1:30 a.m. ET to 3:00 a.m. ET Monday through Friday mornings. America This Morning airs live to the network at 4 a.m. ET (which is anchored and produced by the same team) and is tape delayed for many ABC stations. Most ABC stations preempt portions of WNN due to local programming (usually infomercials or syndicated fare) with affiliates looping the show until America This Morning airs. Although most ABC stations clear the program, a small number of affiliates do not air World News Now:

• Hearst Television's KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City does clear the program but only carries the Tuesday-Friday editions, while the Monday edition of WNN is preempted due to syndicated programming and infomercials. The preemption of the Monday editions of World News Now began in November 2010, following the expansion of KOCO-TV's weekday morning newscast to 4:30 a.m., which pushed the timeslot of America This Morning ahead by a half-hour; prior to November 2010, the station aired a 25-minute block of the Monday edition joined in progress in-between an infomercial and America This Morning.
• Another Hearst-owned ABC affiliate, WCVB-TV in Boston, airs WNN; since the fall of 2010 for unknown reasons, however, Canadian subscribers of the Bell TV satellite and Bell Fibe TV fiber optic television services are unable to view WNN over WCVB, which the providers preempt with infomercials instead.
• Three ABC stations owned by Citadel Communications do not air World News Now, as KCAU-TV in Sioux City, Iowa, KLKN in Lincoln, Nebraska and WOI-TV in Ames, Iowa (Des Moines) all sign off the air during the overnight hours, the stations are among the few television stations remaining in the United States not operating on a 24-hour schedule. WLNE-TV in New Bedford, Massachusetts (Providence, Rhode Island), which was acquired by Citadel in April 2011, is the only Citadel-owned ABC affiliate that carries both a 24-hour schedule and clears World News Now.
• In addition, WDAY-TV in Fargo, North Dakota and its satellite WDAZ-TV in Grand Forks, North Dakota, KQTV in St. Joseph, Missouri, WOAY-TV in Oak Hill, West Virginia and WSVI-TV in the U.S. Virgin Islands also do not clear World News Now for broadcast as they sign-off overnight.
• WAWV in Terre Haute, Indiana, owned by Mission Broadcasting, did not clear World News Now when the station rejoined ABC in September 2011, following a 16-year absence of an over-the-air ABC affiliate in the market (it was an ABC affiliate at the time World News Now debuted, but was a Fox affiliate from 1995 to 2011); WAWV instead carries syndicated programming in place of WNN, as it does with the network's Saturday morning children's program block Litton's Weekend Adventure.
• WVII-TV in Bangor, Maine preempts the program in favor of programming from the shopping network Jewelry Television.

Criticism

Taina Hernandez has been criticized in the national press for laughing during various segments, some of them serious. She laughed through the story of Owen Wilson's attempted suicide, and she and co-host Ryan Owens have giggled through segments on terrorism and the Iraq War. These laughing fits have earned her the nickname "The Laughing Taina."

WNN anchor timeline

From	To	Anchors
01/1992	01/1993	Aaron Brown and Lisa McRee
01/1993	05/1993	Aaron Brown
05/1993	06/1993	Aaron Brown and Thalia Assuras
06/1993	11/1994	Thalia Assuras and Boyd Matson
11/1994	04/1996	Thalia Assuras and Kevin Newman
04/1996	01/1997	Thalia Assuras and Mark Mullen
01/1997	12/1998	Mark Mullen and Asha Blake
01/1999	02/2000	Juju Chang and Anderson Cooper
02/2000	08/2000	Anderson Cooper and Alison Stewart
08/2000	02/2002	Alison Stewart and Derek McGinty
02/2002	06/2003	Derek McGinty and Liz Cho
07/2003	12/2003	Andrea Stassou and David Muir
12/2003	08/2004	David Muir and Tamala Edwards
08/2004	01/2005	Tamala Edwards and Ron Corning
01/2005	12/2005	Ron Corning and Heather Cabot
12/2005	08/2006	Ron Corning and Taina Hernandez
08/2006	02/2007	Taina Hernandez and Hari Sreenivasan
02/2007	12/2007	Taina Hernandez and Ryan Owens
12/2007	02/2008	Ryan Owens and alternating subs Gigi Stone, Christianne Klein and Tanya Rivero
02/2008	03/2008	Tanya Rivero and alternating subs Gigi Stone and Christianne Klein
03/2008	05/2008	Jeremy Hubbard and alternating subs Gigi Stone, Christianne Klein, and Tanya Rivero
05/2008	07/2010	Jeremy Hubbard and Vinita Nair
07/2010	02/2011	Vinita Nair and Rob Nelson
02/2011	07/2011	Rob Nelson and Peggy Bunker
07/2011	10/2011	Rob Nelson and alternating subs Tanya Rivero, Diana Alvear, and Linsey Davis
10/2011	01/2012	Rob Nelson and alternating subs Yunji De Nies, Cecilia Vega, Sunny Hostin
01/2012	01/2013	Rob Nelson and Paula Faris
01/2013	02/2013	Rob Nelson and alternating subs Sunny Hostin, Diana Perez and Brandi Hitt
02/2013	03/2013	Rob Nelson and Diana Perez
03/2013	present	Diana Perez and John Muller