Quinn Permanent on "The Saturday Early Show"

NewsByte2 contributor David points out this mention in today's ShopTalk On The Move:

Ken Lindner & Associates is pleased to announce the following:

LONNIE QUINN joins "The Saturday Early Show" on CBS as the weathercaster. Lonnie will continue his duties as the main evening weathercaster for WCBS.

February Sweeps Begins

Nielsen's four-week February Sweeps ratings period begins today. CBS 2 News at 11:00 will feature an exclusive interview Pablo Guzman got with convicted murderer Danny Pelosi in a report titled "Murder in the Hamptons: The Next Chapter."

Two big news events happen to fall within the next few days. Sunday is the Giants' first appearance in the Super Bowl since 2001 and, while the game won't air on CBS 2 this year, CBS 2 News has been covering the Giants extensively. Ducis Rodgers' sportscasts have been originating from outside the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ, where John Discepolo has also been reporting. Hazel Sanchez has provided reports from around the region as well.

And Tuesday is the largest Super Tuesday primary election in U.S. history with more than 20 states, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, holding presidential primaries and caucuses. Political reporters Marcia Kramer and Andrew Kirtzman have been reporting on the latest campaign news and the station will undoubtedly provide extensive coverage on Tuesday. As for network coverage, CBS News will break in with updates during the 8:00 p.m. hour and air a two-hour special report beginning at 9:00 p.m.

Drossel Promoted to EP

Kelly Drossel has been promoted to executive producer of CBS 2 News at Noon, 5:00 and 6:00, according to the New York Post.

Drossel was recently profiled in this package about the Norovirus.

Judge Judy Re-Signs

"Judge Judy" will remain on TV at least through the 2011-2012 season, reports the Daily News. The article points out that the court show is the only original syndicated program to post year-to-year gains. The 4:00-5:00 p.m. timeslot on CBS 2 is said to be part of the renewal deal.

In other syndication news, CBS 2 will pick up "The Doctors" this fall to run at 9:00 a.m. That slot has been devoted to "The Insider" and "Entertainment Tonight" reruns. According to Broadcasting & Cable, the new show is a spinoff from "Dr. Phil" and will consist of five doctors talking about health-related topics.

CBS 2 Presents "Arts & Leisure Week"

CBS 2 will air an hour-long special tomorrow night with highlights from The New York Times' annual "Arts & Leisure Week." The forum took place earlier this month at the TimesCenter on 41st Street. According to the press release, the celebrities include Mel Brooks, Sidney Lumet, Josh Brolin and Wynton Marsalis.

Dana Tyler hosts the broadcast, which begins tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. Video from the 2007 and 2006 shows is available on wcbstv.com.

Here's a preview:

New Weather Factoid Promos

Due to popular demand, here's a look at some of the new weather factoid promos that began rolling out last month. They feature the CBS 2 weather team of Lonnie Quinn, John Elliott and Elise Finch. You'll find out why sunglasses are important in the winter, how to forecast winter weather by looking at spider webs, and the difference between sleet and freezing rain. These are winter updates to the ten spots that began airing back in June.

CBS 2 HD Fills the Screen

For the first time yesterday, some of CBS 2 News' video from the field filled the 16:9 screen. Since the changeover to high definition on April 11th, only CBS 2's studio shots and graphics did this. For the video that was not yet 16:9, CBS 2 used new pillar bar graphics on the sides (though the original ones were also used).



The on-air change comes as CBS 2 invests in some new technology behind-the-scenes. According to this Broadcasting & Cable article, the station has purchased 10 new Sony XDCAM HD cameras, which now allows for those widescreen field reports. Eventually, field video will be broadcast in high definition and 16 more XDCAMs will also be put into use. Additionally, CBS 2 has installed BitCentral's Precis server-based production system. Check out the article for more technical information from Kris Binder, the director of broadcast operations and engineering.

CBS 2 News Covers Giants Win

The New York Giants upset the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game Sunday night, advancing to the Super Bowl in two weeks. CBS 2 News at 11:00, anchored by Mary Calvi (Don Dahler was off), had team coverage: Sports director Ducis Rodgers was in the studio with highlights; Jackie Hyland was live at a sports bar in Park Slope, Brooklyn with fan reaction; and sports anchor Sam Ryan was live at Lambeau Field in Green Bay with player interviews. Rodgers had another 30 minutes of Giants coverage on Sports Sunday beginning at 11:35 and Sam Ryan provided more reports from Green Bay.






CBS 2 News announced yesterday that Ducis Rodgers, John Discepolo and Hazel Sanchez will file reports from Phoenix, site of this year's Super Bowl, beginning Monday.

Bartelstein: "Unfortunately, the chemo has not worked"

The Daily News' Richard Huff reports disappointing news in anchor Steve Bartelstein's battle with testicular cancer: Not only have his four rounds of chemotherapy not been effective, but doctors worry that the cancer has spread to his brain.

Here are some of Bartelstein's quotes from the article:

• "I don't want to make it sound more dramatic than it is. I'm a little worried; it's somewhere else."
• "I'm not scared. I hate to say it, it sounds like a commercial for [Memorial] Sloan-Kettering, but they say not to be worried."
• "In their [the doctors'] words, 'We're disturbed, we're curious, we don't know why this is happening; if it was terrible, we would have seen something before this.'"
• "When I say I'm worried, I just want to find out. I'm still pretty upbeat about it. I've said this before; in some ways, it's been kind of this great gift, I've met so many amazing people."
• "I might have had one of those days last week, when word got back it didn't work. I'm really, really tired of being sick. For the most part, I haven't had many of those days, but I'm tired of being sick."

Update: Kristine Johnson spoke with Bartelstein at the end of CBS 2 News at 5:00... That segment is available on wcbstv.com.

"Eye on the Storm" Saturday

CBS 2 will air a half-hour special Saturday on winter weather. "Eye on the Storm: Extreme Winter Weather" will feature the CBS 2 weather team of Lonnie Quinn, John Elliott and Elise Finch. It begins at 7:00 p.m. For more information, check out this press release or watch this promo:



The special will re-air Sunday morning at 11:30.

CBS 2's last weather special was "Eye On The Storm: The Hurricane Threat," which first aired back in June.

Interview Set Spotted

CBS 2's interview set made a brief appearance during the noon news today. John Elliott mentioned during his forecast that students from Gettysburg College were in the studio to watch the newscast. On his walk back to the desk, a shot of the students was taken.

It is believed to be the first time this set has been shown on-air since the station switched over to broadcasting in high definition. And it looked a bit different: The background cityscape has been replaced by a large flag graphic, possibly in advance of election-related interviews.

Shelley Promoted to Director of Digital Media

CBS 2 promoted Dan Shelley yesterday to the position of director of Digital Media. "In this new post, Shelley will oversee all sales and editorial content for WCBSTV.com and the station's other digital content delivery platforms," says the press release. He previously served as that department's executive editor and is credited with increasing the traffic to WCBSTV.com by over 300% year-to-year.

CBS 2 News Reporters Across the Country, Around the World

CBS 2 News currently has three reporters covering political events happening outside of the tri-state area and providing live reports.

Marcia Kramer followed Mayor Michael Bloomberg to Norman, OK. The trip is seen by many as Bloomberg's testing of the political waters for a presidential run.

On the eve of the New Hampsire primary elections, Andrew Kirtzman is reporting from Manchester, NH. While he's been covering all of the Democratic and Republican candidates, his reports have focused on Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton because of her local ties. Kirtzman reported from Des Moines, IA last week on that state's caucuses.

And Lou Young began reporting from Jerusalem, Israel this evening. He's making his 11th trip to the area to cover President George W. Bush's visit later this week. Jim Rosenfield was originally slated to take the trip and even spoke to NewsByte2 about it, but he fell ill at the last minute.

Rosenfield Discusses Israel Assignment

As was previously reported here, CBS 2 News anchor Jim Rosenfield is headed to Israel this weekend. He'll be covering the president's trip to the country.

Rosenfield tells NewsByte2 that this won't be his first visit to the country. Here he recounts his experiences reporting during the Gulf War from Tel Aviv:

That was a time of high anxiety for Israelis, subjected to threats and rocket attacks from Saddam Hussein. But the Israelis tried their best to carry on with their daily lives, despite repeated trips at all hours of the night into their sealed rooms during scud alerts. We had to learn how to don gas masks, and head quickly to a sealed floor of our hotel just as the Israelis did in their own homes. My last night there, one of the scuds did, in fact, hit a neighborhood in a suburb of Tel Aviv. I still remember an elderly man walking through the rubble of what was his apartment. He was a Holocaust survivor who had lived through Hitler's atrocities, but lost his home to Saddam Hussein.

Rosenfield says his focus is to talk with Israelis and Palestinians, especially those with ties to the tri-state area, and getting their reactions on Bush's visit. He will provide live reports on the 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. newscasts beginning Monday and continuing through Thursday night.

Update on New Reporters

It is important to point out that Samantha Knapp and Jackie Hyland, who recently made their debuts on CBS 2 News, are freelance reporters. This blog incorrectly used the word "joined" when referring to their appearances. Those entry headlines have been modified to more accurately reflect the statuses of Knapp and Hyland. NewsByte2 will take greater care in reporting future events.

Hyland on CBS 2 News

Jackie Hyland made her debut on CBS 2 News at 5:00 this evening. She was most recently a morning anchor and reporter at WFAA-TV in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas. She left on November 28th, writing on wfaa.com, "I am going back home to New York to be with my family."

Prior to WFAA, Hyland served as a reporter and anchor at WPIX. She has also worked at News 12's Long Island and Westchester operations.

Hyland answered in this Q&A that she was born in New York, raised in Ireland and attended St. John's University.

Rosenfield to Israel

CBS 2 News anchor Jim Rosenfield announced this evening that he will report from Israel next week. He's going to cover President Bush's visit to Israel, his first as president, which aims to push Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.