Another image campaign for Today by the folks at 615 Music. This was one was used to promote the start of a new era for Today, without Katie Couric and with Meredith Vieira. Customized versions were done for a number of NBC stations, including those in Atlanta, Miami and San Diego. Interestingly enough, a version of this campaign was also created with the tagline: “It’s a new hour…of Today”. The decision to add a fourth hour was not yet announced, probably not even made, but they did commission the music to promote it. However, it wasn’t used to promote the fourth hour. For that, a new image campaign by 615 was commissioned.

Election themes don’t get much better than this. Michael Karp composed this theme which was used for the 2004, 2006 and 2008 elections. Decision 2004 was the last election anchored by Tom Brokaw who retired days later from NBC Nightly News. He anchored from a huge set built on and around Rockefeller Plaza (which was temporarily renamed Democracy Plaza).

In 2004 Early Today received a complete makeover. MSNBC took over production of the show and it shifted focus from financial news to general news. Subsequently Early Today got new graphics, a new theme and a new anchor. In fact, since 2004 anchors changes have been frequent. Natalie Morales, Amy Robach, Contessa Brewer and Kristine Johnson have all anchored the program. The theme is composed by Savage and Laporta.

This is the very subtilely updated Part IV of The Mission, used for Meet the Press. As the longest running program on television, Meet the Press often digs into its huge archives in a segment called “Meet the Press Minute”. Usually its a historical clip related to the events of the present day.

In 2004 after the general election, veteran anchor Tom Brokaw retired from NBC News. The transition had been announced long in advance and so successor Brian Williams was carefully introduced to the viewers. As part of the transition Nightly News updated its classic theme, The Mission, along with the graphics and set. No big changes–all debuting in the days before Brokaw left. The updated version of The Mission was recorded in October of 2004 in Culver City, CA and featured a 100-piece orchestra conducted by composer John Williams. NBC News commissioned an update to the classic theme because they wanted a slightly crisper and cleaner sound. Furthermore, to better preserve the music, the new theme was recorded digitally. The new Mission package also includes three unused themes for future use. The theme you are listening to is the full length main theme of The Mission, used as a close on Nightly News.

The opening sequence to Nightly News was also revamped in 2004, at first returning to what NBC considered the roots of The Mission with a softer headline bed, but quickly abandoning it in favor of the old percussion-heavy cue. In 2007 the headline bed dropped the first three opening notes.

The 2003 war in Iraq had a long and protracted build up to it. This meant that news organizations had ample time to get ready. And they certainly made use of that time. All networks built special sets, designed special graphics and commissioned special themes. But the real costs of covering war lie in sending reporters to the front lines and making sure they are protected (think of body guards and armored vehicles). This theme, by Michael Karp, was used during the initial days of the war on NBC and MSNBC.

This promo is called “NBC Nightly News Hard & Fast”. It was used to promote a feature report on the next edition of Nightly News. Aside from main themes, networks commission promo material from a composer that they have under contract as a music producer. While promos usually feature the signature of the main theme, they are produced more cheaply: fewer live instruments and more synthesizers. And while main themes can be used for decades, promo music is refreshed every few years. However, promo music can still be pretty good!

This theme has been used for coverage of the 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002 elections. Generally the broadcast networks go all out for general elections and special graphics, sets and themes are to be expected. This theme is composed by Non-Stop Music, which had already done some bumpers for Today and themes for MSNBC (as well as many, many other great themes for television).

Later Today was the second installment of the Today franchise that was created in 1999. It aired at 9 a.m. (in most markets), right after the Today Show. It was a talk show focusing on women hosted by Jodi Applegate, Asha Blake and Florence Henderson. Henderson may be best known as Carol Brady, she was actually a “Today-girl” in the late 1950′s. Later Today lasted only one season and was replaced by an extra hour of the real Today Show.

In 1999 NBC replaced the long running News at Sunrise with Early Today, seeking to extend the strong ‘Today’-brand. This is not the first time that time slot was occupied by a newscast named Early Today. From 1982 to 1983 the peacock network also used this title for its early morning newscast. The current incarnation, during the period in which this theme was used, was produced by CNBC and focused on financial and business news. Because of this the show had similar graphics as the main CNBC network and was taped at CNBC headquarters. The show was anchored by CNBC’s Nanette Hansen. The theme is by JSM Music.

A well known promo campaign used for a number of years: ‘America’s First Family’. Many local stations had their own version of this promo campaign for their own morning news. Today is actually the most profitable program on television, which is probably why it keeps expanding. During the use of this promo package, Today expendad to an extra hour. In 2000 Today added a third hour. In 2005 the America’s First Family-campaign was dropped in favor of “Live for Today” by country singer Phil Vassar and Randy Wachtler of 615 Music.

Before the third hour of Today, there was Later Today. They used a different theme, set and anchors, but had their own version of the promo above.

This is a campaign called ‘Start With Today’ and was used in many promos for NBC’s Today Show. The Today Show is created by Sylvester “Pat” Weaver who was vice president of NBC in charge of television and revolutionized the new medium. He created programs in which the sponsors could buy ad time as opposed to the old radio format in which sponsors owned shows, dictated their content and sometimes even their time slots. Weaver brought American television the Today and Tonight Show and proved that people would watch TV at all times of the day. This promo is composed by Kingsize Music.

In 1994 Dateline NBC commissioned Michael Karp to do a new theme package for them. This result is one of the best themes used on a newsmagazine. For most of the time that this theme was used, Stone Phillips and Jane Pauley co-anchored the program. Pauley retired; Philips was forced out. Today Ann Curry is the primary anchor of the NBC newsmagazine.

This is the original Dateline NBC theme by Michael Karp. During its first few years Dateline shared the set with NBC Nightly News. Dateline is NBC’s first successful attempt at creating a newsmagazine, but it came very close to cancellation. In 1992 the program featured a report about GM pickup trucks carrying exploding fuel tanks. Dateline’s credibility was nearly destroyed when it was later revealed that the exploding fuel tanks that were shown in the report, exploded only because they were rigged with explosives. Various people involved in the story were fired, Dateline rebounded and is still on the air today.

NBC Nightside was NBC’s second overnight newscast. The program started in 1991 and was produced in Charlotte, North Carolina by the NBC News Channel. That, by the way, is not the same as MSNBC. It is the service, comparable to a wire service, that provides customized reports and video of national news to NBC affiliates. Some of Nightside’s many anchors included Antonia Mora and Campbell Brown. While the program was financially profitable and did well in the ratings, it was discontinued in 1999 because NBC wanted to use the overnight timeslot to air repeats of Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien. The theme is composed by Michael Karp.