Tribune Entertainment

Background

Tribune Entertainment was a television production and syndication company owned by the Tribune Company. Many programs offered by Tribune Entertainment had been broadcast on the company's television stations. When Tribune started in 1975 with its first offering, the WGN Chicago-based U.S. Farm Report, they did not yet have a logo. On 1980-82 episodes of Soul Train, there was an in-credit text, and announcer Sid McCoy would be heard saying “This has been a Don Cornelius (Television) Production in association with Tribune Entertainment”. Then in 1984, Tribune got a logo separate from the end credits. In December 2007, Tribune Company closed Tribune Entertainment for good. Many of the shows it distributed have gone to other syndicators (for example: Soul Train and American Idol Rewind have switched to Trifecta Entertainment & Media. The Best of Soul Train, however, was canceled in 2008. Others such as Family Feud and syndicated reruns of Comedy Central's South Park have switched to Debmar-Mercury with ad-sales by 20th Television). Tribune Broadcasting and its television stations folded into Nexstar Media Group following the former company's acquisition by the latter in the year of 2019. Currently, most of Tribune's past TV library is owned by Lionsgate in the United States.

Contents

1st Logo (1984-1987)	2nd Logo (1987-1990)	3rd Logo (1988)	4th Logo (1989-1997)	5th Logo (1996-2007)

1st Logo (1984-1987)

Logo: On a plain black background, we pan and zoom through some royal blue bars. As they rotate around, they reveal themselves to be part of a “T” made of stacked asymmetrical gemstones. When it turns to face the viewer in the center of the screen, it shines a bit, then immediately moves to the left to make room for the italicized and stacked words “TRIBUNE ENTERTAINMENT", which fade in on the right side of the screen, next to the "T".

Variants:

Sometimes, a copyright notice appears on the bottom of the screen.
On local newscasts and Tales from the Darkside, "BROADCASTING" replaces "ENTERTAINMENT".
On Comedy Break, a chyroned copyright stamp for Tribune and Viacom Enterprises was seen over both this logo and the warp-speed, videotaped Viacom “V of Doom” one that followed.
On the American syndicated run of Dempsey and Makepeace, a saxophone stinger based on the theme music played over both the London Weekend Television and Tribune Entertainment logos, separated by an “In Association With” screen.

Technique: The “T” zooming and the word “TRIBUNE ENTERTAINMENT” appearing.

Music/Sounds: Either the ending theme or silent.

Availability: Rare. It is seen on Soul Train, Tales From the Darkside, Comedy Break, At The Movies, and Dempsey and Makepeace when it aired in syndication in the United States.

2nd Logo (1987-1990)

Logo: On a lavender stone background, we see a silvery-blue version of the "T" from the previous logo pan downward and zoom out towards the screen. The stack then rotates, the logo flashes. After that, the "T" rotates again and zooms out and the text "TRIBUNE ENTERTAINMENT Company" appears next to the "T".

Variants:

There is a short version where it skips to the "T" flashing.
Sometimes, a copyright notice appears below.
On local newscasts and Tales from the Darkside, "BROADCASTING" replaces "ENTERTAINMENT".

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: Only the ending theme of the show, but sometimes silent.

Availability: Seen on What a Country!, Soul Train, Geraldo, the last season of Tales from the Darkside, and the first 2 seasons of Monsters.

3rd Logo (1988)

Logo: On a dark background, we see two sets of gemstones, staked to reflect the "T" from the previous logos, shown on its side, that began to shine after a while. The set of gemstones on the left pan down and zooms downward, revealing the "T" from the previous logo. The word "TRIBUNE ENTERTAINMENT" in chrome then fades in.

Technique: Unknown.

Music/Sounds: The end theme with an announcer saying "Tribune Entertainment" at the end.

Availability: Extinct. Only appeared on 1988 episodes of At the Movies with Rex Reed and Dixie Whatley.

4th Logo (1989-1997)

Logo: On a gray stone background, we see close-ups of some rectangular gemstones, turning one by one towards the screen and forming the “T” from the 1st logo. Simultaneously, the italicized and stacked brass words “TRIBUNE ENTERTAINMENT” zoom-out and settle to the right.

Trivia: This logo was produced using Wavefront Visualizer on a Silicon Graphics 4D/70.

Variants:

Sometimes, a copyright stamp fades in below. The font of the copyright stamp may also differ.
On local newscasts, the word "BROADCASTING" replaces "ENTERTAINMENT".
There is a version where the stacks zoom downward and form the "T".

Technique: The “gemstones” turning, and the words “TRIBUNE ENTERTAINMENT” zooming-out. Very good computer animation, done by Ed Kramer at Crawford DESIGNefx in Georgia.

Music/Sounds: A generic ascending synclavier sounder, silence, or the end theme finishing it.

Music/Sounds Variant: On The Dennis Miller Show, the theme has a drumbeat with a bassline over it and a piano flourish at the end.

Availability: Seen on reruns of Soul Train on Centric (now BET Her), Geraldo, the third and last season of Monsters, and other programs of that time.

5th Logo (1996-2007)

Logo: On a letterboxed dark blue background, we see the shadow of a camera operation crane moving with a cameraman on it inside the former Tribune Studios (located at KTLA 5 in Los Angeles, now "Sunset Bronson Studios"). We also see shadows of a studio. Simultaneously, the silver letters "T", "R", "I", "B", "U", "N", and "E", turn onto the screen (when we get to the "U", a silver rectangle with the word “ENTERTAINMENT” on it zooms out and settles below).

Variants:

Sometimes, a copyright stamp is seen under the logo.
The short version of this logo already has the logo formed when it begins.
Another version has "Media Sales by" superimposed over the logo.
There is an earlier variant where the word "TRIBUNE" is in pink or in different colors, a copyright notice is shown below.
A true 16:9 widescreen version exists.

Technique: The turning letters, and the “ENTERTAINMENT” text bar zooming.

Music/Sounds: A dramatic 9-note majestic tune with bells, ending with one low, dramatic note.

Music/Sounds Variants:

The short version plays the last note or the 5 notes, the closing theme, the generic theme, or none.
On at least two episodes of season 1 of Andromeda titled "An Affirming Flame" and "To Loose the Fateful Lightning", the short version plays the last 2 notes instead of the last note or the 5 notes.

Availability: Rare.

It was previously common on many shows including Gene Roddenberry-produced adaptations (Earth: Final Conflict, Andromeda) and 2000s episodes of Soul Train, Beyond with James Van Praagh and Family Feud. Also appeared on reruns of City Guys, edited South Park episodes and the former DiC Kids Block syndicated on local stations.
It was retained on Archie's Weird Mysteries and Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century on the now-defunct Qubo.
It was also used on the last 3 seasons of Geraldo (becoming The Geraldo Rivera Show in its last 2 seasons), while the "Media Sales By" version was seen on Animal Rescue.
It makes a surprise appearance at the end of Trifecta's syndicated print of In Dreams (a 1999 DreamWorks film) before the 1995 Paramount and Trifecta logos.
This was left intact on Court TV Mystery's print of the film as well, but not with the Paramount/Trifecta logo.
The 2017 Mill Creek Entertainment DVD set of Liberty's Kids retains this on most episodes.
The short variant appears at the end of Tubi and Amazon Prime's print of David's Mother after the Hearst Entertainment logo.
Was seen on the July 25, 2005 We-TV airing of Miracle in the Woods, after the Patchett Kaufman Entertainment logo.