WNED

Credits

Captures by
Doctorine Dark and Camenati

Video captures courtesy of
ArchiveWNED, Cesar Blanco, Life in Analog, Retrontario, zyber9, WNED17, Alden's Vintage PBS Archive, LogicSmash, ClosingLogosHD and TheIridiumic138

Background

WNED (also known as Buffalo-Toronto Public Media) is a PBS affiliate located in Buffalo, New York, which also serves Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was first known as WBUF when it went on the air in 1953 when it was later sold to NBC, which later donated its license to the New York Public Broadcasting Association and renamed the station to WNED on March 30, 1959.

1st Logo (1966-1975)

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Visuals: On a black background, there are two street like lines wipe in to reveal that it was actually part of a giant "17", which stretches in and stays still for 5.5 seconds and it animates in reverse.

Technique: Scanimate.

Audio: None.

Legacy: This is one of the first logos to use Scanimate, an animation medium that was heavily used by companies in the seventies and eighties.

2nd Logo (1975-1983)

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Visuals: On a black background, there are the words "WNED BUFFALO", with "WNED" in an outlined font, which fades to "PRESENTS" after a while.

Technique: A fading effect.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on One Woman's Divorce.

3rd Logo (1977-1993)

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Visuals: On a black background, there is a giant "17" with the "1" in green and "7" in blue. Between the "1" and the "7" is "WNED Buffalo."

Variant: There's a variant with a ribbon saying "Our 25th Season!" and with "WNED Buffalo" next to and at the bottom of the "7".

Technique: A still computer graphic.

Audio: Just a male announcer saying "This is WNED Buffalo."

Audio Variant: Rarely, the announcer may give a viewer discretion warning instead. This is possibly because PBS, according to Wikipedia, was the first TV network to show programs that involved nudity.

Availability: It was used as a local ident.

4th Logo (1983-1991)

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Visuals: The screen pans over a live-action view of Buffalo, New York, with the words "WNED BUFFALO", with "WNED" in an outlined font, in the center of the screen. "BUFFALO" then fades to "PRESENTS".

Variant: There is an extended version that just starts with the camera panning of the Buffalo skyline. Seconds later, the logo fades in.

Technique: A fading effect.

Audio: None on the short version; the long version uses a patriotic horn tune.

Availability: An old VHS of a Mark Russell comedy special might have this logo.

5th Logo (1987-1989)

Visuals: On a black background, there is a blue version of the logo from the third logo with "WNED" in the top of the "7" and "Buffalo" below it.

Technique: A still computer graphic.

Audio: Usually it's the announcer saying what's coming up next. Before or after that, one of the following tunes plays:

• A jazzy '60s-like clavinet tune.
• An instrumental version of the PBS "TV Worth Watching" jingle, played on a synclavier, violins, drums, and a saxophone.

6th Logo (1988-1993)

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Visuals: Against a blue background, a rainbow quickly forms, then slowly fades away, as the words "WNED", in gold, appear from the left and stop at the top of the screen, followed by the Great Plains National Television logo (the gold letters "GPN" in a futuristic font with a stylized red "N" (the same as the Nebraska ETV logo) in the middle of the "P" and several small lines below the whole thing) coming in from the left and arranging itself in the center. "present", in spaced-out white letters, appears below via a "glowing" effect.

Variants:

• Subsequent uses of this logo from 1990 to 1993, begin after the rainbow is formed and ends four seconds early.
• There is an alternate variant that exists on several 1990-1993 episodes of Reading Rainbow, in which "GPN" is at the top and "WNED" is at the bottom.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: A nine-note synth fanfare with some "dinging" sounds.

Availability: Unknown. It appears on some old Reading Rainbow tapes, including PBS Home Video releases.

7th Logo (1991-1998)

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Visuals: There is the Buffalo skyline again, but this time at morning. The text "FROM WNED BUFFALO" (with "FROM" and "BUFFALO" being smaller than "WNED") is below, colored gold.

Technique: Live-action.

Audio: A synthesized orchestral fanfare including a synth flute and strings.

Availability: Seen on Mark Russell comedy specials of the '90s.

8th Logo (1998-2004)

Visuals: There is a glass rectangle on the left on a dark night sky background filled with many shades of blue, maroon and pink. The word "WNED" in a glowing, fluorescent pink Helvetica font zooms out as the words "BUFFALO" and "TORONTO" appear in the glass rectangle.

Variant: On a Reading Rainbow episode from 2000, the GPN logo appears above the logo, and "Buffalo-Toronto" appears below "WNED".

Technique: Live action and 2D animation.

Audio: A xylophone and cello sounder.

Availability: It was seen on Mark Russell comedy specials and Reading Rainbow episodes of the era.

9th Logo (2005-2008?)

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Visuals: The logo starts with shots of the American and Canadian flags with the word "WNED" and "Buffalo · Toronto" below it, with a white glow around it, zooming towards the camera.

Technique: Computer animation.

Audio: A four note horn fanfare.

Availability: Unknown.

10th Logo (November 6-10, 2006)

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Visuals: Over a white background is the text "WNED" with the PBS logo next to it and "Buffalo - Toronto" below.

Technique: A still digital graphic.

Audio: The closing theme of the show.

Availability: Seen on the final episodes of Reading Rainbow.

11th Logo (2008?-March 13, 2016)

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Visuals: Similar to the 9th logo, but without the glow, and different footage of the flags waving.

Technique: Live action.

Audio: An orchestral note.

Availability: Unknown. ^[Examples?]

12th Logo (March 13, 2016-)

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Visuals: Similar to the previous logo, but it's darker, it has a reflection, and the text reads "An Original Production of" above a big, white "WNED-TV" to the left of a sphere containing half of the US and Canadian flags, each in order. Below "WNED-TV" is "Buffalo-Toronto" with a white dot between the words.

Technique: Live action and computer animation.

Audio: A different orchestral note, the same from the previous logo, or the closing theme.

Availability: Seen on a rebroadcast of The Klondike Gold Rush.