Glaros Heads to WBBM

Megan Glaros is following Kate Sullivan to Chicago's WBBM. The weekend morning meteorologist and weekday entertainment reporter will be doing weather for WBBM's retooled morning newscast. The Chicago Sun-Times reports she will be joined by another WCBS alum: Steve Bartelstein, who will be one of the new morning anchors.

Glaros' last day at CBS 2 was yesterday. While no mention of it was made on-air, Rob Morrison tweeted the news before the cameras turned on:

Attention NY viewers: Last morning with the lovely @MeganGlaros. Our loss is Chicago's gain.

Morrison also tweeted this photo after the newscast:


Glaros announced her move via Twitter later in the afternoon:

It's true! I'm off to CBS Chicago! Going home to do my thing. You're all making me feel very loved!

She began at CBS 2 in May 2008.

Friend Promoted to CBS Television Stations

CBS 2's news director and vice president David Friend will be overseeing all of the CBS owned and operated stations. Broadcasting & Cable reports that Friend has been promoted to senior vice president of news for CBS Television Stations, where he'll also work to strengthen CBS Radio and television partnerships.

Friend joins general manager Peter Dunn and creative services director Bruce Erik Brauer in adding the entire CBS O&O group to their WCBS duties.

CBS 2 Changes Twitter Name

CBS 2's Twitter account, @wcbstv, just announced to its 7,756 followers that the station will be using a new account name:



The new name, @eyeonny, currently has 83 followers. Interesting that the station chose to start a brand new account instead of simply changing the name and keeping the 7,756 followers it already had.

CBSNewYork.com Launches

Web surfers who type cbsnewyork.com into their browser are now redirected to newyork.cbslocal.com, the website that combines the resources of CBS 2 News with CBS Radio stations WCBS, WINS and WFAN. The same also happens when you type in wcbs880.com and 1010wins.com while wfan.com redirects to the sports page.

Until this morning, cbsnewyork.com redirected to wcbstv.com despite the new (well, old) web address being promoted on television since last week.

It is interesting to note that Kate Sullivan's bio is no longer on the website. It had been reported that Sullivan's last day at CBS 2 News would be last Friday but no indication was made on the morning or noon newscasts of her leaving. Cindy Hsu has been anchoring alongside Maurice DuBois this week with no mention of her being "in for" Sullivan. Promos for the morning newscast featuring the entire team have also stopped airing.

CBSNewYork.com Beta

Here's a look at the new CBSNewYork.com, which combines CBS 2, 1010 WINS, WCBS NewsRadio 880 and WFAN SportsRadio 66 in a clean design.

CBS 2 is joining forces with the most trusted local CBS RADIO stations in New York to give you the best New York has to offer.

Typing cbsnewyork.com into a browser still redirects to wcbstv.com despite being promoted on television already. The new website has "beta" by the logo, which might explain why the weather on the front page header is "N/A".

The new home page has the video player lower on the right side than the current design but the video page sports a larger video player window.

CBSNewYork.com looks to aim to become a search engine for New York with this CBS Local Search page.

It also appears that new Twitter and Facebook names will be used for the merged identities: twitter.com/EyeOnNY and facebook.com/pages/I-Am-New-York/119141781466627 .

WBBM Introduces Sullivan as Anchor

WBBM in Chicago today announced its new weeknight anchor teams, which includes Kate Sullivan. This would be why she's been off since anchoring CBS 2 News This Morning yesterday.

Here's what Sullivan had to say of her new assignment as co-anchor of the 5:00 and 10:00 newscasts starting September 13th:

While I have thoroughly enjoyed my four years in New York ... I am excited to return to the Midwest and do what I love for the people of Chicago. Joining Rob, Bill, Walter and the rest of the CBS 2 news team is a tremendous honor.

Sullivan's last day at WCBS will reportedly be tomorrow.

(By the way, WBBM last week adopted the graphics that CBS 2 recently premiered as the look spreads to other CBS O&O stations.)

Update: CBS2Chicago.com posted video of Kate Sullivan speaking with her new colleagues here.

CBSNewYork.com Returns... Sort Of

As reported yesterday, CBS 2 will again be promoting the cbsnewyork.com domain name instead of wcbstv.com. As of this morning, the "new" domain appears beneath the logo in the on-screen bug and in promos. (Being that the URL is longer, it is now aligned with the entire eye-2 HD logo instead of just the eye and the 2.)

Users who type in cbsnewyork.com are instantly redirected to wcbstv.com, which still has that domain all over the website. Look for that to change, likely later today and in the days ahead.

CBSNewYork.com to Make a Return

CBS will merge the websites for WCBS-TV, 1010 WINS and WFAN SportsRadio 66 in the coming weeks, according to Broadcasting & Cable. The new domain name, CBSNewYork.com, is actually an old one, having been used by WCBS, WFAN and WCBS NewsRadio 880 around five to ten years ago.

The stations have already been collaborating in recent months, with CBS 2's sports anchors doing the 11 p.m. update on WFAN, weather anchors doing the weather on WCBS 880 during the day, and radio reporters often turning up on CBS 2's broadcasts.

B&C also reported this nugget:

The station is considering a 4:30 a.m. news, too. “We’ll see if it’s needed,” says [CBS Television Stations president Peter] Dunn. “If it is, we’ll do it.”

(Thanks to kshow on tvnewstalk.net for the link.)

Sullivan Leaving CBS 2 News

Apologies for being late in reporting this...

Robert Feder blogged Wednesday night that morning and noon co-anchor Kate Sullivan is headed to WBBM in Chicago to co-anchor the evening newscasts there. According to Brian, the print edition of the Daily News reported that Sullivan's final day is this Friday. The New York Post says Lisa Daniels, who was once a reporter and weekend at CBS 2, is among the possible replacements being interviewed, then reported the next day that weekend anchor Mary Calvi was the leading candidate to replace Sullivan.

Sullivan joined the station and a retooled CBS 2 News This Morning with Maurice DuBois in April 2006. The pair also took over the noon newscast last year.

Dana Tyler: 20 Years

On this day in 1990, Dana Tyler started at WCBS-TV as a reporter and weekend anchor. According to her bio, she and Reggie Harris became the first African American anchor team in New York. She has anchored the noon, 4:00 (and 4:30), 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00 newscasts. She's currently anchors CBS 2 News at 6:00 with Don Dahler.

Here's the promo CBS 2 started airing yesterday celebrating her 20 years at the station:

Videos of the New Look

Thanks to YouTube user NYNewsWatch, we have the following HD videos of CBS 2 News' new look from this afternoon:

CBS 2 News Debuts News Graphics

CBS 2 News debuted new graphics today at noon. It appears to be more of a update of the April 2007 Giant Octopus package than an entirely fresh look in that Arial is still the main font and similar CBS eye elements are used for the background animations. One major difference is that the yellow and gold colors that had been used along with the blue seem to have been dropped. As spotted last night and this morning, the "HD" lettering in the logo now sit next to the eye-2 logo and seems to make the logo look unbalanced, especially with the time, temperature and website address aligned with the eye-2 part in the bug.

The whole "upgrade" brings to mind the August 2006 simplification of the April 2006 look.

Here are some snapshots taken from the wcbstv.com videos:









2:29 P.M. UPDATE: A few more snapshots...
Looks like the CBS eye in the lower-thirds gets covered up for specific franchise brands, such as part of a caduceus for HealthWatch.


The weather graphics have also been updated. The graphics for the maps appear to be the same but the new unanimated background appears on the today/tonight/tomorrow slides and seven-day forecast along with new border treatments. The "CBS 2 HDTV" logos in the studio weather center have generally been replaced with "CBS 2 NEWS" logos.

More New Logo Sightings

Something's definitely up... Below is a composite of the new logos spotted in other areas of wcbstv.com this morning:

And here's a larger version of the graphic directing visitors to the station's Twitter page:

The main logo in the banner is still the current "HDTV" logo.

9:37 A.M. UPDATE: The Facebook page has an updated profile picture that seems to show the "HD" part in a slightly different shade as the eye-2 part of the logo, something that was also spotted above:

New Logo On The Way?

CBS 2 News seems to be testing out something on wcbstv.com. On top of the link for the live stream of CBS 2 News at 11:00, there's a graphic telling visitors to watch the noon newscast. What's noticeable is that the logo appears to be different. Instead of "HDTV" beneath the eye and the 2, it's just "HD" to the right of it.

Interestingly, the May 2010 "sweeps" period begins in just minutes.

"WCBS Grand" Anniversary

Ten years ago today, "News 2" debuted a graphics package that was significantly different than anything else the station had used before, including animated lower-thirds for the first time. The music was "WCBS Grand," which you can sample to on Southern Media's News Music Search Archive.

CBS 2's 20/20 Updates Start Tonight

CBS 2 News' sports anchors will begin providing the 11:00 p.m. "20/20 Update" for CBS Radio's all-sports station WFAN. Sam Ryan tweets that engineers are currently working on the audio equipment in the sports office. It had originally been reported that the updates would start last month but that timeline got moved back.

Newsroom Reopens

CBS 2 staffers moved back into the newsroom today after renovations relocated them down the hall into the former Guiding Light studio about two months ago. The following pictures were tweeted via TwitPic by Sam Ryan and Kristine Johnson, respectively:

Johnson also tweeted that the Sales Department provided cookies for them to welcome them back home.

CBS 2 Weather on WCBS 880

CBS 2 News meteorologists and weather anchors began providing the forecast on sister station WCBS NewsRadio 880 this morning. After longtime 880 (and former CBS 2) meteorologist Crag Allen's morning reports are over at 10:00, John Elliott jumps in for "Traffic and Weather Together on the 8s." Lonnie Quinn takes over from 2:00 to 4:00, when Allen returns for the evening commute. It seemed that every other hit was live, at least during Quinn's two hours, while the others were prerecorded.

As reported a few weeks ago, CBS 2's sports anchors Sam Ryan and Otis Livingston will soon be anchoring the 11:00 p.m. "20/20 Update" on WFAN SportsRadio 66 but it won't be tonight, as was originally planned.

21 Emmy Nominations

The 53rd annual New York Emmy Award nominations are in and here's a look at CBS 2's 21 entries:

EVENING NEWSCAST: Under 35 Minutes

CBS2 News at 11: The Miracle on the Hudson. January 15, 2009. (WCBS-TV). Chris Wragge, Kristine Johnson, News Anchors.

CBS2 News at 11: The Passing of a Broadcast Legend, Walter Cronkite. July 17, 2009. (WCBS-TV). Chris Wragge, Dana Tyler, News Anchors.

EVENING NEWSCAST: Over 35 Minutes

CBS2 News at 5: The Miracle on the Hudson. January 16, 2009. (WCBS-TV).Chris Wragge, Kristine Johnson, News Anchors.

GENERAL ASSIGNMENT

Cop Puts Cameraman into Choke Hold. October 28, 2008. (WCBS-TV). Christine Sloan, Reporter; Jim Quodomine, Photographer; Chris McAnerney, Editor.

BREAKING NEWS STORY

Flight 1549 Lands in the Hudson River. January 15, 2009. (WCBS-TV). Andrew Friedman, Assignment Manager.

HEALTH/SCIENCE: Program/Special

Race for the Cure. September 6, 2008. (WCBS-TV). Franca Braatz, Executive Producer.

SPORTS PROGRAMMING: Program Feature/Segment

Jets 24/7: Kenyon's Dream. November 23, 2008. (WCBS-TV). William P. Zagger, Executive Producer; Cameron Gordon, Producer; Dominic Savio, Assistant Producer.

SPORTS PROGRAMMING: Special

That Super Season with Joe Namath. October 25, 2008. (WCBS-TV). Richard Gentile, Bob Parente, Executive Producers.

COMMUNITY/PUBLIC SERVICE (PSAs)

Summer Streets Campaign. July 27, 2009. (WCBS-TV). Lonnie Quinn, On-Air Spokesperson.

PROMOTION: News Promo

Bulletproof Your Job. November 10, 2008. (WCBS-TV). Bruce Erik Brauer, Creative Services Director; Tim Taylor, Writer/Producer.

Weather Team: Fun Facts. January 24, 2009. (WCBS-TV). Bruce Erik Brauer, Creative Services Director; Lee E. Grossman, Writer/Executive Producer.

PROMOTION: Image

Holiday Kids IDs. April 12, 2009. (WCBS-TV). Bruce Erik Brauer, Creative Services Director.

COMMERCIAL – Single Spot

New Jets Stadium Promo. September 4, 2008. (WCBS-TV). Richard Gentile, Producer/Director

COMMERCIAL – Campaign

Dial 7’s. December 1, 2008. (WCBS-TV). Bruce Erik Brauer, Creative Services Director.

FTI. February 1, 2009. (WCBS-TV). Bruce Erik Brauer, Creative Services Director; Jennifer Bennett Lee, Writer/Producer.

ON-CAMERA TALENT: News Anchor

Chris Wragge. January 15, 2009. (WCBS-TV). “Coverage of Flight 1549.”

ON-CAMERA TALENT: Weather Anchor

Lonnie Quinn. March 4, 2009. (WCBS-TV).

ON-CAMERA TALENT: Features Reporter

Scott Rapoport. August 18, 2009. (WCBS-TV). Composite.

ON-CAMERA TALENT: Live Reporter

Chris Wragge. January 16, 2009. (WCBS-TV). “Miracle on the Hudson.”

WRITER: News

Sean Hennessey. October 13, 2008. (WCBS-TV).

EDITOR: Short Form

Robert Sevilla. September 25, 2008. (WCBS-TV). Compilation.

Update on Glaros' Baby Girl

CBS 2 News reported the birth of Megan Glaros' girl this morning. Glaros and her husband Lance welcomed Lana into the world Thursday night. Little Lana weighs 6 pounds and measures 17.5 inches long. Mother and baby are said to be doing well.

Below are two pictures from the wcbstv.com video:

Glaros Gives Birth

CBS 2 News meteorologist Megan Glaros just tweeted the good news minutes ago:

Welcome to the world Lana! Little girl is gorgeous and healthy!

Glaros spent Wednesday afternoon reporting live in the snow in Montclair, New Jersey.

20/20 Updates with Ryan and Livingston

Jerry Barmash from NY Media Examiner tweets news that CBS 2 sports anchors Sam Ryan and Otis Livingston will anchor the 11:00pm "20/20 Update" on WFAN SportsRadio 66. This would appear to be the other part of the cross-promotion that began last week when CBS 2 began including the WFAN brand in graphics during sports reports.

Newsroom Renovation Update

Kristine Johnson tweeted this picture of the CBS 2 newsroom yesterday:

Newsroom renovation update: desk pods being assembled now. Some HD monitors up too.

If the remodeling is still on schedule, it should be ready for staffers to move back in about three weeks.

WFAN-Branded Sports Segments

As of Monday, CBS 2 News has been including the WFAN Sports Radio 66 brand in its sportscasts. The WFAN logo appears on the plasma monitor and over-the-shoulder graphics as well as on a new sports ticker/flipper on the bottom of the screen.

This isn't the first time WFAN, a CBS Radio station, has partnered up with CBS 2. During the Jets' playoff run a few weeks ago, CBS 2 News This Morning occasionally had reporters live at the WFAN studio to chat with morning hosts Craig Carton and Boomer Esiason. Carton also co-hosted a Jets playoff special with Sam Ryan. A similar special aired just before the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2008. And CBS 2 relied on WFAN team beat reporters Ed Coleman and Sweeny Murti to cover the Mets and Yankees at spring training last winter.

Ten Years of Eating Fresh and Staying Healthy

Last Friday, CBS 2 News at 5:00 took a look back at Tony Tantillo's ten years on CBS 2. Tantillo began first appeared on the station in January 2000 when "News 2" moved its broadcasts to The Early Show's Studio 59 at 59th and Fifth. His produce tips also appear on other stations but CBS 2 is his home base as he appears live in the studio with his best buys and fresh recipes as well as on location "Dining Deals."

Take a look back at The Fresh Grocer's decade at CBS 2 with this video.

Lighting Director Passes Away

CBS 2's Kristine Johnson reported minutes ago that a lighting director for the station passed away yesterday. Pat Ryan, who worked on CBS 2's weekend morning newscasts as well as for the CBS network, "worked tirelessly to make sure that our anchors and studio guests looked great," Johnson said. The Giants and Mets fan leaves behind a wife and five-year-old son. He was 45 years old.

Megan Glaros tweeted about Ryan's passing earlier today:

So sad one of the crew guys on our weekend show passed away.

Jets' Road to Glory

The New York Jets are one game away from Super Bowl XLIV and CBS 2 News is prepared. All this week, stories on Jets fever have been airing under a "Road to Glory" brand. Saturday night at 7:00, the station will put together a live one-hour special with Sam Ryan and WFAN Sports Radio 66's Craig Carton. Otis Livingston and Hazel Sanchez will report from Indianapolis, where the Jets will face the Colts in the AFC Championship, which is on CBS Sunday afternoon.

Should the Jets pull off a win, expect CBS 2 to go even crazier with coverage, especially because it's CBS's turn to carry this year's Super Bowl.

Newsroom Renovations

For the past two weeks, staffers at CBS 2 News have been working out of a makeshift newsroom in the former "Guiding Light" studio, which is right next to CBS 2's Studio 46. That's because the current newsroom is being renovated. Here's what it looked like on January 6th, thanks to Kristine Johnson's TwitPic:

Assignment editors, producers, writers, reporters and website producers are among those working from the temporary newsroom. The offices of the news director, assistant news director and anchors are unaffected, as are the edit rooms.

While the construction is going on, CBS 2's flashcam position has been moved from the newsroom to master control and is being dubbed the "news desk." Fake monitors appear behind the window to make it look similar to the old newsroom shot.

We're told that the new newsroom should be ready in about five weeks.