Television News Music

If you're from Los Angeles, New York, or Dallas / Fort Worth, your hearing some of the finest of news music themes that are played behind the scenes of a newscast, from the logo swooshing across the screen, to the music for breaking news, morning shows, or severe weather alerts.

Companies such as "615 Music" or "Gari Communications" stepped their feet into a section of television that has made newscasts not only interesting, but exciting!! Also, the musical genius of "Shelly Palmer" and "Stephen Arnold" caused newscasts with spicy coverage, to sound spicier, and to add, invigorating!!

News themes such as the ones you hear on "NBC Today" or "Good Morning America," are the kind of musical themes that are designed and composed for immediate recognition of what program is on…and if it's a news theme with an exciting and authoritative announcer, people will watch with a great desire to stay informed with the news station that sounds serious and hyped about bringing viewers the latest news and information. Local stations have an excellent opportunity in delivering a newscast with a stimulating news underscore, depending on if the station budget allows it!

Even if the news theme doesn't sound dramatic, a light musical instrumental can still serve as a fine newscast opener, without the unnecessary bells and whistles! In fact, some newscasts may not need an extra set of music…just a good enough theme to go with the broadcast, to keep the focus more on the news stories, and the anchors and reporters delivering them.

But there is a catch, a dramatic news jingle with an exciting announcer in the background, can help bring viewers to a newscast and keep them on a newscast from the swoosh of the station logo across the screen to the first commercial break after a few news stories.

For example, notice each segment of a newscast in most cases having a musical theme for each! For the weather segment, it may be a more exciting news theme…heavier in the instrumental with a severe weather coverage emphasis. Such a theme could be used for emphasizing the idea to the viewer that ones newscast has the most important, most reliable, and most serious and alert weather team. Some news stations open the weather segment with a lighter news theme in order to be different from the rest of the other stations, and to attempt to keep the weather segment a bit more relaxed compared to the rest of the other parts of the newscast.

Breaking news music, for example, is most of the time very high energy. Sometimes the theme doesn't have to play for at least 2 to 5 seconds. The familiar "Fox News Alert" ping is an excellent example of a quick news theme. Sometimes, the quicker, the better, especially in a breaking news situation where the logo or news animation shouldn't stay on the screen for too long!

Of course, opinions about the usage of musical themes within a newscast varies, especially between the News Director, Executive News Producer, and others who are in charge of one or more daily newscasts in a station.