WFMY, the CBS-affiliate in Greensboro, is set to launch a revamped “News 2.0″ in high-definition this weekend.

The station is running promos featuring a focus group (watch above) for the updated newscasts, which will debut at on the evening news this Sunday. “We feel what you’re feeling, and that’s why we’re going to make a difference,” anchor Frank Mickens says, noting the station is through with “cookie-cutter” newscasts. “It’s done. Over with. Say bye.” Read more

WTEN, the ABC-affiliate in Albany, will debut a new set and high definition broadcasts beginning with the 4 p.m. newscast this afternoon.

As part of the transition, the newscasts will also feature a revamped graphics package (more pictures after the jump). The station will be the second in Albany to broadcast newscasts in HD, after Fox-affiliate WXXA. Read more

WOOD, an NBC-affiliate serving Southwestern Michigan, began broadcasting its newscasts in high definition over the weekend, starting with Saturday’s 6 p.m. newscast.

“What we do for our viewers isn’t changing,” WOOD news director Rebecca Sapakie said, in announcing the station’s HD launch. “24 Hour News 8 will continue to lead the way in breaking news, investigative reporting and severe weather coverage. Only now it will be in high definition.”

WOOD is the third station in the Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo market to go HD, following Fox-affiliate WXMI and CBS-affiliate WWMT.

KAIT, a Raycom-owned ABC-affiliate in Jonesboro, AR, began broadcasting its newscasts in HD this week.

“Over the past couple of years we’ve been putting the pieces in place to produce local news in HD and we couldn’t be more proud,” KAIT vice president and general manger Tim Ingram said.  “Our hope is to provide viewers with an enhanced experience; to provide quality local news programming that rivals that of any television station in the country.” Read more

Nashville ABC-affiliate WKRN began broadcasting its newscasts in high definition this week, revealing a new, HD-optimized set and new graphics.

“We are now in HD,” anchor John Dwyer announced during WKRN’s 4 p.m. newscast earlier this week.  “We have a new set, new graphics–a whole new look.”

That new look includes a state-of-the-art weather center with multiple work stations in case of severe weather.  Video of the new set inside… Read more

KELO, the CBS-affiliate in Sioux Falls, is getting ready to debut a slew of upgrades to their newscasts.

As part of their conversion to high-definition — which the KELO website says is just “days away” — the station will switch from paper scripts to iPads, as well as broadcast from a new set, edit footage with new editing systems and debut a new graphics package.

The station is even changing the way anchors, who will be under the focus of the new HD cameras, apply their makeup. The station has arranged for the on-air talent to be trained using airbrushes ahead of the conversion.

“It’s a long process in changing all the different pieces of a newscast and look of the station that most viewers don’t pay too much attention to because they see it everyday,” KELO director of marketing and creative services Paul Farmer said.

KMIZ, the ABC-affiliate in Columbia-Jefferson City, has ventured into the 6:30 p.m. timeslot with a new, high-definition newscast.

The program, which launched Monday, is the only 6:30 p.m. newscast in the market. It is co-anchored by Meredith Hoenes (pictured), a former anchor at Columbia NBC-affiliate KOMU, and Ryan Tate.

The conversion to high definition also launched Monday, on KMIZ as well as Fox-affiliate KQFX, which are both owned by JW Broadcasting. The two stations made the HD switch for their syndicated programming this summer, while the upgrades to the studio equipment were ongoing.

“The most important thing we do is the news,” KMIZ general manager Gene Steinberg told the Columbia Daily Tribune. “It seemed a little anticlimactic to run ‘Two and a Half Men’ in high definition when our own newscast wasn’t.”

KBTX, a Gray Television-owned station in Bryan-College Station, TX, began airing its newscasts in high definition this week.   The CBS-affiliate produces six newscasts Monday through Friday and three on the weekends–all of which will now be broadcast in HD, making them the first HD newscasts in the Brazos Valley.

“The Brazos Valley is one of the fastest growing regions in Texas and deserves the latest in HD technology,” KBTX vice president and general manager Mike Wright said recently.  “KBTX has been partners with this area since 1957 and will always work to improve the product we air.”

KBTX is currently working to install a new, HD-optimized set by the end of the year. Read more

New owner Citadel Communications has made good on its promise to swiftly upgrade WLNE to HD.  The Providence ABC-affiliate is now broadcasting all of its newscasts in high definition.

“Citadel Communications has made a major investment in upgrading the entire station to HD,” WLNE vice president and general manager Chris Tzianabos said recently.  “We are extremely pleased to offer viewers of WLNE-TV/ABC6 a crisp, high quality picture and  dramatically different sound.”

Along with the HD conversion, WLNE debuted a revamped logo and redesigned website this month. Read more

WPRI is now broadcasting its newscasts in high definition. The Providence CBS-affiliate flipped the HD switch with its 5:00 p.m. newscast on Tuesday.

The HD launch is the result of LIN Media‘s investment in a brand-new set and a state-of-the-art control room for WPRI.

“We are very pleased to have the latest in HD broadcast technology that will enable us to present the newscast our viewers know and count on, with clearer video and superior audio,” WPRI news director Joe Abouzeid told TVSpy recently. Read more