NBC Nightly News: New Studio

As an interested news listener and viewer, I watched this first edition of NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams from the rebuilt NBC News World Headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, with more than the usual degree of interest.

Like many othersI had seen the preview images released on various blogs, but basically, I didn't have a clue how the set would look on screen. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the things I saw.

In some ways, the new anchor desk is unique, being L-shaped. This gives you two views of the anchor desk, one with a giant screen as a backdrop, not unlike ABC News, and the other has the newsroom as a backdrop, which is somewhat reminiscent of many 24 hour news channels around the world.

The fact that it reminds me of so many studios in varying ways, rather than any one particular studio, highlights the fact that rather than trying to deliberately copy any other studio, they have tried to do something different, but with elements that are familiar to everyone.

So, do I think the studio looks good? Oh yes, very definitely. They've managed to achieve something that looks different, stylish, practical, reminiscent and distinctive, whilst avoiding being copycat. They've also managed to avoid trying to look too modern, whilst also avoiding looking too staid. It's a difficult balancing act to pull off, but they have managed it, somehow.

Personally, I can't wait for the usual pro-FOX brigade of comment contributors to Inside Cable News to put their usual pro-FOX / anti liberal media spin on this studio. Granted, it's not a studio you would expect to see a FOX News programme, it's too stylish and classy for that. Fox News studios tend to be a bit more in your face than other news studios. This NBC Nightly News studio is almost understated, which actually helps to take the attention off the studio set and onto the stories themselves.

I would give this 9 out of 10.