Theme
WFIL adopted the Action News format in 1970, along with a brass band theme written by a student at Temple University. The theme was offered through the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, as a single sided 45 RPM record for about $.25. Two years later, the station (under its new call sign WPVI) replaced the "Action News Theme" with Al Ham's well-known "Move Closer to Your World".
Unlike most stations, WPVI still uses this theme after four decades, and the theme has arguably become as much a part of the Philadelphia consciousness as the Rocky theme. This was proven in 1996 when the station replaced it with a fuller, orchestral rendition of the same theme performed by the London Philharmonic. Viewer outcry was so great that the station dropped the more thunderous and authoritative version within five days. WPVI has made numerous remasters of the theme to keep the sound fresh and to make it sound less dated. The theme has the unique distinction of being probably the only news theme to be offered as a ringtone, which WPVI offers at no charge, and is linked here and below.
Action News was innovative in many ways, including the first 6 & 11 newscast anchored solely by a woman (Diana Robinson and then Jacqui Mullen). Diana Robinson was the first African-American female news anchor in American television. WPVI opens its broadcasts with a rapid montage featuring scenes of Philadelphia-area activities, reinforcing the "Action" brand. The scenes are rotated at the official start of every season to reflect the current season; for example, Phillies, NASCAR, CART AND DIRT and other spring footage starts showing on the open on March 21, and Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Flyers, and 76ers autumn footage starts on September 23, while the Mummers Parade and other winter footage is shown from December 21 to March 21.
Although "Move Closer to Your World" is strongly associated with the Action News format by Philadelphians and many others, many stations that have used the "Action News" name actually chose to use other pieces of music for their newscasts. Conversely, stations that use "Move Closer to Your World" do not necessarily use the "Action News" name or format either. WNEP-TV in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania used the original version for many years before switching to a modern variation which only partially resembles the original.
Read more about this topic: Action News
Famous quotes containing the word theme:
“Only the most acute and active animals are capable of boredom.—A theme for a great poet would be God’s boredom on the seventh day of creation.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“It seems to me that upbringings have themes. The parents set the theme, either explicitly or implicitly, and the children pick it up, sometimes accurately and sometimes not so accurately.... The theme may be “Our family has a distinguished heritage that you must live up to” or “No matter what happens, we are fortunate to be together in this lovely corner of the earth” or “We have worked hard so that you can have the opportunities we didn’t have.””
—Calvin Trillin (20th century)
“Children became an obsessive theme in Victorian culture at the same time that they were being exploited as never before. As the horrors of life multiplied for some children, the image of childhood was increasingly exalted. Children became the last symbols of purity in a world which was seen as increasingly ugly.”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)