WCNY Productions

Background

WCNY (abbreviated Central New York) is a PBS affiliate located in Syracuse, New York that was established in 1965 as an affiliate of NET. It became a PBS affiliate in 1970. It was founded by the Onondaga County School Board Association under a charter by the New York State Department of Education. The station was originally assigned the call letters WHTV, but switched to WCNY-TV on September 23, 1965, after the station now known as WWNY-TV in Watertown gave up the call letters. WCNY went on the air on December 20, 1965.

1st Logo (198?-1988?)

Logo: On an dark background with some orange light at the bottom of the screen, we see a dark blue circle in the center with a brown tree in it that has some leaves which can be identified by some brown outlines. The circle starts shining, but then stops. When it stop shining, some events happen:

The leaves start to become red, orange, gold and (really bright) yellow .
The brown outlines disappears from the leaves.
A black outline appears around the circle.
The background becomes brighter, making it less dark and also doesn't contain the orange color, but has a more purple-ish vibe than before
And the background also shines at the center, with the leaves also shining.

The circle flashes to a black background, which has text in the center that says "WCNY " in blue with an orange glow appears behind, with text below reading "SYRACUSE" in Eurostile Light font. The orange shining still appears, before being disappearing 1 second later. It then quickly flashes away to another black background, with similar looking text reading "PRESENTS " fading in in the center, before it too fades out 2 seconds later.

Variants: There is a shorter variant that not only doesn't contain the "circle" part, but the transition from the animation of the "WCNY text and the "PRESENTS" text is simply fade in and out.

FX/SFX: Really good 2D animation, especially for a PBS member station.

Music/Sounds: A great ominous and mystery-like synth tune theme that becomes cheerful when the circle stop shining, with some flash and whoosh noise being added in.

Availability: Ultra rare. This logo, so far, has only been seen once. This appearance was on Tell Us About The War. It may possibly have been seen on Old Enough To Care, but footage from that series is yet to surface. You may be able to see it if you have old recordings of WCNY programming from the 80s.

Legacy: This is one of the best 2D logos in the PBS member stations's history, and the music makes it even better.

2nd Logo (199?-2000)

Logo: Against a red and gray marble background that moves upwards, we see the text "WCNY" in a metallic, futuristic font that flips up. "SYRACUSE" zooms in below, in a white spaced out font and the logo sparkles and shines.

Variant: A version exists where the text "SYRACUSE" is replaced with "PRESENTS".

FX/SFX: The moving background, the logo flipping. "SYRACUSE" zooming in.

Music/Sounds: Usually silent. However, there is a version with a dark synth chord that gets higher in pitch as the logo progresses. This version has been seen more than once.

Availability: Can be seen on most content WCNY produced during the 90s. The earliest it's been seen is from 1995, but would probably be seen on programs from the early 90s. Whenever Pappyland is rerun on select PBS stations, you might find the logo there.

Legacy: A pretty good 90s PBS logo, though it's missing some music.

3rd Logo (1993-1995)

Logo: Against an American flag backdrop, we see the word " WCNY" (in the same font as the previous logo) in white. Next to it is a white circle with a picture of a tree in it. Next to that is "24", in white and in the same font as "WCNY". The text "TV/SYRACUSE" is below the "Y", the circle, and the "24".

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Just a male announcer saying "This is WCNY-TV, Channel 24 in Syracuse, New York, the television station of The Public Broadcasting Council in Central New York, Incorporated. WCNY-TV operates as a public service to community organizations and individuals presenting cultural and educational programs of a balanced nature on any and all subjects of interest to our Central New York audience. WCNY actively seeks the support of its viewers to maintain the broadcast activities and general programming presented on Channel 24."

Availability: Extinct. Only used as a station sign-on.

4th Logo (2000-2001?)

TBA.

5th Logo (2001?-2007)

Logo: On a black background, we see the text "WCNY" in a much simpler font and in white. Above the "Y" are some multicolored flames. The logo is 3D. The background has a black floor in which the reflection of the logo is sometimes seen.

Variant: Depending on the weather prediction, it would either be snowing, raining, or have the sun shining in the background. This is used when the weather is predicted.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: A five-note piano jingle, followed by a very brief piano chord accompanied with a relaxing synth sounder that is heard for a while, and ending off with four piano notes in a mini scale that repeats once.

Music/Sounds Variant: The weather variant has a male announcer saying the weather predictions.

Availability: Same as the previous logo.

Legacy: I'm not exactly sure if this is real, I can't find anything about it but in the case it's found I'm leaving the description.

6th Logo (2001?-2007)

Logo: On a black background, we see "WCNY", with a few multicolored flames coming out of the Y. It zooms out. "presents" fades in below.

Variant: On HD programs, it would start out the same as the main variant, but then an HD symbol flips in next to it with some blue trails. Text that shows WCNY's website appears letter by letter at the same time. "PRESENTS" text appears similarly at the bottom of the screen.

FX/SFX: The zooming out and fading in, too simple.

Music/Sounds: A segment of what seems to be a redone version of the previous logo's music, with a synth orchestra.

Availability: Seen on Facing HIV/AIDS In Central New York, as well as other WCNY programs of the time.

7th Logo (2007-2008)

Logo: On a black background, a white flash occurs revealing the same logo as before in black on a white background with a tilted floor with the flames seen above the "Y" in gray moving around inside (there are lots of them moving around).

FX/SFX: The flash and flames on the floor.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 3rd logo, but with a male announcer saying "You're watching WCNY Syracuse."

Availability: Same as the 1993 and 1995 logos.

Legacy: The flash may surprise you, but the music makes it relaxing.

8th Logo (2008-2010)

Logo: On a black background, many blue triangles appear and spin around while the text "WCNY" (in a bolder font with the "W" in white and "CNY" in blue) appears. The PBS logo is next to it. The text "SYRACUSE" in white and in the same font as "WCNY" is below the text.

FX/SFX: The triangles and text appearing.

Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo.

Availability: Same as the previous logo.

9th Logo (2010-2014)

Logo: On a glossy orange background, we see the same logo featured in the previous logo at the top of the screen. A black transparent semi-circle is at the bottom. The text "Viewers Like You" in white slides in around the edge of the semi-circle.

FX/SFX: The text sliding in.

Music/Sounds: The same music from the 3rd logo with a male announcer saying "WCNY is made possible with the support of viewers like you."

Availability: Same as the last 4 logos.

10th Logo (2014-2016)

Logo: On a glossy aqua green background, the same logo from the last 2 logos appears with the text "Viewers Like You" in white. The camera slowly pans around the logo and text.

FX/SFX: The logo and text appearing.

Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo.

Availability: Extinct.

11th Logo (2016-2021)

Logo: On a live action video backdrop, the same logo from the last 3 logos fades in. The text "Viewers Like You" in white fades in below.

FX/SFX: The text fading in and the backdrop.

Music/Sounds: Same as the last 2 logos.

Availability: Currently seen on the station.

12th Logo (2022-)