Amanda Grove's Online Biography Removed

Late this afternoon, www.cbsnewyork.com removed Amanda Grove's biography from the bio page. This morning, The New York Post reported that Karen Mateo, CBS 2's spokeswoman said that her contract was not renewed. On Sunday, we reported that Amanda Grove's last day at the station was Friday. She had most recently been a weekend anchor and "CBS 2 On The Money" reporter. The new weekend anchor is Kirstin Cole, who will anchor with Vince DeMentri.

Amanda Grove Leaves CBS 2 News - Confirmed

Michael Starr of The New York Post reports: "Amanda Grove is no longer with Ch. 2, which declined to renew her contract, says a station spokeswoman." We reported on Sunday that Amanda Grove had left, but we were unable to confirm this, until today's "The Starr Report" article.
(Thanks to Brian for letting me know!)

Amanda Grove Leaves CBS 2 News

Sources on television news-related message boards are reporting that Amanda Grove's last day at CBS 2 News was Friday. She reportedly e-mailed her colleagues at CBS 2, thanking them and wishing them well. Her biography page remains listed on CBS 2's website, CBSNEWYORK.com.

Behind The Headlines: Amanda Grove
Amanda Grove joined WCBS-TV in late December, 1999 from cable network CNBC, and was originally going to anchor "NEWS 2 at 4:00" with Dana Tyler starting the following month. She anchored "NEWS 2 at 6:00" with Dana Tyler for a few evenings around the holiday season. Then it was decided that the 4:00 anchor team would be Stephen Clark and Dana Tyler. Amanda Grove began anchoring "NEWS 2 This Morning" with Cindy Hsu in January, 2000, and "CBS MarketWatch New York" with Betsy Karetnick for a few months. In early June, she moved to anchoring the weekend newscast with Vince DeMentri. While anchoring on the weekends, she reported three days a week for "CBS 2 On The Money". She has been the weekend anchor until this past August, when Kirstin Cole replaced her.

CBS 2 News This Weekend/Weekend News

Today was the weekend newscast's first chance in Studio 43. Vince DeMentri was there along with Kirstin Cole, who was filling in for Amanda Grove. The open went like this: "You're watching CBS 2, home of the CBS 2 Information Network. Live from the CBS 2 Information Center in New York, this is CBS 2 Weekend News." The title the announcer said in the open, "CBS 2 Weekend News", did not correspond to the graphic on the bottom of the screen, which said "CBS 2 NEWS THIS WEEKEND". At 6:26, Gary Apple (who was reporting from the U.S. Tennis Open in Flushing) said, "Now back to you in Studio 43." Then Vince replied, "Studio 43... Feels good!"

Kirstin Cole Reports for CBS 2 Nightcast

Michael tells me that Kirstin Cole did her first report for CBS 2 Nightcast last night at 11:00. "The report was not live and was on a car sales fraud." Kirstin Cole is expected to eventually replace Amanda Grove on CBS 2 Weekend News. Amanda Grove has not anchored the weekend newscast for the past two weekends, although it does appear that she will anchor for at least one more weekend before Kirstin Cole begins.

Kirstin Cole To Anchor CBS 2 Weekend News

Brian tells me that a post at his WCBS News NY club says that Kirsten Cole will soon be anchoring the weekend newscasts, as well as being a weekday general assignment reporter. On Friday, we reported that Kirsten Cole would soon be joining CBS 2. While we do not have more information at the moment, it does appear as if Amanda Grove will soon be leaving CBS 2 Weekend News. Another possibility is that a new weekend morning newscast is in the works, although this is probably not the case. We'll have more information as soon as we get it!

The Big Snow Storm is Almost Here!

This evening "The Weekend News" came on the air at 6:30. Vince DeMentri and Amanda Grove were live in Studio 59A, the first time CBS 2's weekend newscast was in that studio (The Weekend News has always been from 59B since early last year). Team coverage of the big snow storm headed our way started off the newscast. Aimee Nuzzo reported from New Jersey and Sukanya Krishnan reported from New York. Craig Allen was in the studio with the forecast. And at the end of the newscast, it was announced that an extended edition of "Nightcast" would begin at 11:15pm (delayed fifteen minutes because of a CBS primetime movie). "The News This Morning" will start off tomorrow morning at 4:00, adding an additional hour to the newscast.

CBS 2 Storm Watch

Last night on CBS 2's special 7:30pm newscast, the two top stories were the Presidential Inauguration and the Winter Storm Warning. Vince DeMentri and Amanda Grove said that there would be a special CBS 2 Storm Watch report at 7:00 on Sunday morning. This morning, the two-hour special Storm Watch report began at 7:00, and the anchors were Michael Pomeranz and Cindy Hsu. David Rogers was on the roof of the Broadcast Center, and Ira Joe Fisher was live inside the studio with the forecast. Carrie Lee was live at the Metro Traffic Center, and the reporters were Jennifer McLogan (in Garden City), Aimee Nuzzo (in Paramus), and Sukanya Krishnan (at LaGuardia Airport). Another special report at 11:00am on CBS 2.

"News 2 Info Box" on News 2 at 11:00

Last night on News 2 at 11, Amanda Grove said that the "News 2 Info Box" would be on the bottom-left corner of the screen, so viewers could stay updated with the World Series score, without having to miss the news. The Info Box is normally only used on News 2 This Morning, where it shows the weather forecast, sports scores, and traffic delays. Last night, the Info Box had the Mets and Yankees logos on the left, and the score on the right of the logo. When updating the inning (the score did not change during the newscast), the Info Box disappeared for a few seconds, and then came back with the correct inning.

Amanda Grove and New Meteorologist Tony Pann On NEWS 2 Weekend

This evening at 6:00, Amanda Grove began to co-anchor NEWS 2 Weekend with Vince DeMentri. Amanda Grove previously co-anchored NEWS 2 This Morning with Cindy Hsu, until this past Tuesday. And, meteorologist Tony Pann began on NEWS 2 this evening! Tony Pann is from WBAL-TV (NBC) Channel 11 in Baltimore.

Todd McDermott Anchors NEWS 2 This Morning

This morning on NEWS 2, Todd McDermott co-anchored NEWS 2 This Morning with Cindy Hsu. So far, there was no new opening for this morning or this evening at 5:00pm. When NEWS 2 opened at 5am this morning, Cindy Hsu introduced Todd McDermott as her new co-anchor.

As a side-note, Amanda Grove's biography at CBSNewYork.com was updated this morning, which now says, "In June of 2000 her assignment changed and she can be seen anchoring the weekend editions of News 2."

Amanda Grove Moves To Weekend

This morning at the end of NEWS 2 This Morning, Lou Young (in for Cindy Hsu) said that this was Amanda Grove's last morning on NEWS 2, and that she is moving on to weekends. Amanda Grove joined NEWS 2 This Morning in January, and had co-anchored "CBS Market Watch New York" at 5:00am since January 31st, until this week, when NEWS 2 This Morning expanded to 5:00am again.

Linda Church Leaves NEWS 2, Craig Allen Joins

Yesterday morning on NEWS 2 This Morning, at around 6:52, Amanda Grove mentioned that it was Linda Church's last day with the NEWS 2 team. This evening on NEWS 2 Weekend at 6:00pm, Craig Allen was the meteorologist. At the end of his weather report, Dana Adams told him, "Welcome on board!"

Craig Allen has been with WCBS Newsradio 88 since 1980. Craig Allen was also on 2 News for a while, until the start of CBS's "This Morning" with Mark McEwen and Jane Robelot in August, 1996. He stayed on CBS Television until 1999, when "The Early Show" premiered in November.

NEWS 2's New Studios

On Monday, NEWS 2 This Morning began to use a brand new studio, called 59B. Behind the two anchors, Amanda Grove and Cindy Hsu, is a giant window which shows what is going on at The Early Show. Camera people, cameras, lights, and other behind-the-scenes things can be seen here! This same studio is also used for NEWS 2 at 11:00. NEWS 2 at Noon, 5:00, and 6:00 are using the same studio as The Early Show. NEWS 2 at 4, beginning Monday, will be using The Early Show's studio as well. For some pictures of the new studio, click here.