CMU School of Drama


Thursday, October 22, 2020

How a clock inspired the new home of 'The News with Shepard Smith'

NewscastStudio: First and only on NewscastStudio: After debuting from a temporary set Sept. 30, 2020, CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” is readying to move into its permanent home Monday, Oct. 26, 2020 — a state of the art set with a layout that was inspired by something as simple as the hands on a clock.

2 comments:

Elizabeth P said...

This is really going to make it seem like I’m the dumbest person alive - but I never really considered that this much design goes into a specific news show. I never considered it but it makes a lot of sense. Each of these different news platforms (with their different networks and hosts) begin to inhabit the spaces where they share the news - so it makes sense that these spaces would be personalized. It’s interesting to get to hear the thought process behind where everything in the room goes: like how many video walls, how big these walls should be, where they should go, etc. It’s also cool to hear that while there is a scenic designer, there is a lot of collaboration that goes into making these “homes for news.” Looking at the photos of the set, I kept looking for the influences the article mentioned, such as a clock - which makes sense when you look at the intense angles in the realized design.

Taylor Boston said...

I was expecting something very different when I read that title and this was not what I was expecting, more disappointed than excited. I was expecting something more circular and segmented, not what appears to be a more polygon than square shape. I'm not sure I understand that reason behind this change, as I'm not sure that people who watch the news are going to notice. I think we are more likely to notice hair or clothes, not different walls or desk positions, especially if we are just listening to it. I do think that the different screens and the way that the room is setup is interesting in conception and ideation, and that part of of the design was to add elements to create a backdrop for the story being told. I personally think that's a little over the top for a news channel but it does look nice, and the time lapse was interesting to watch.