As war in Israel rages, U.S. networks offer extended coverage

CNN has opted to go red for its look and is using the title “Israel at War.”

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The network created a bold red graphic with a cityscape image with clouds of smoke serving as the background. 

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A large box in the middle with darker background contains the title, which is set in a heavy version of CNN Sans with a gradient reflection effect added.

Animation includes sliding side-to-side movement of war imagery and bright bursts of light, with the first one accompanied by the logotype’s entrance. A third light blast causes the word “Israel” to light up briefly.

Anchor video wall backgrounds, meanwhile, use a mix of different cityscapes with a red tint added. In some versions, the city’s natural colors show through more than in others. 

The Oct. 9, 2023, editions of “CNN NewsCentral” originated with anchors seated at anchor desks and made little use of the studio video walls to showcase graphics or footage. 

While that’s not surprisingly given how events were unfolding on live TV, it is a big departure from the broadcasts’ normal look that heavily relies on “walk and wander” floating camera shots aimed at both talent and video walls.

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That said, as is common during breaking news, the network largely used a boxed layout with video in a large box to the left and anchors and guests appearing in a smaller one on the right, though the anchors themselves didn’t make as frequent of appearances on-camera, another tactic that’s common during this type of coverage.

In theory, CNN could have leveraged video walls to showcase both guests and video footage from on the ground in Israel, though it likely would be challenging to maintain handheld shots for the long stretches of time that this footage typically appeared on-screen. 

Fox’s cable channel, meanwhile, isn’t using any standalone looks for its coverage as of Oct. 9, 2023, instead opting to bundle it under its “alert” branding.

The network is running promos for its ongoing coverage that rely mainly on footage from the ground and text set in the network’s signature typeface, Futura.