Storm Tracker Premieres On CBS 2 News

This afternoon and evening on CBS 2 News, Meteorologists Janine D'Adamo and David Rogers showed off the station's newest weather tool: Storm Tracker. This appears to be a new mapping system which allows meteorologists to zoom in and out. This gives them a closer look at the radar and the type of precipitation falling in specific regions in the tri-state area. Both David and Janine said that we'll be seeing a lot of Storm Tracker in the coming days as winter weather invades the viewing area once again.

Double Team Weather on Nightcast

It's now official. A promo stating that David Rogers and Janine D'Adamo will do "double team weather" began airing this evening. Ira Joe Fisher now does the weather for the morning and noon broadcasts, Janine solos at 4:30, and teams up with David at 5, 6, and 11 (David Rogers does the "No Nonsense Weather" in the 5:30 half hour). Just last week the weather lineup was changed to include the team weather, and it has been changed once again just nine days later.

Ira Joe Fisher At Noon

There have been rumors circulating in the past few days that Ira Joe Fisher would once again join CBS 2 News at Noon. The rumors also indicate that Janine D'Adamo would "double team" with David Rogers on Nightcast (she would keep her positions at 4:30, 5:00, and 6:00). Ira Joe Fisher did the weather today at noon, with no mention of "filling-in" for Janine. So far there is no confirmation that a change has taken place on CBS 2's highest rated newscast, but it appears that it may have started today. One last note: Just before 12:30 today, a short double team weather promo aired, and it only said 5:00 and 6:00 on it. Stay tuned!

New 6:00 Talent Open

To reflect the recent addition of Double Team Weather coverage, CBS 2 News at 6:00 aired a new talent open at 6:14 today. The open, which aired after the second commercial break, begins and ends with the CBS 2 Information Network logo, and shows various pictures of the anchors. It's very similar to the talent opens which aired for a few months last year beginning in April. The announcer's voice over was this: "You're watching CBS 2 News at Six, with Ernie Anastos, Dana Tyler, Warner Wolf's sports, and weather with David Rogers and Janine D'Adamo." The video clips of the anchors was the same as the former open, except Janine, who was shown talking to the anchors at the desk. It's very likely that the other newscasts will begin sporting these new opens in the near future.

CBS 2 "Storm Watch" Coverage

CBS 2 Weekend News had special storm coverage last night, beginning at 6:06 (delayed a few minutes by NCAA Basketball). Vince DeMentri and Alexis Christoforous (who was filling in for Kirstin Cole) anchored. Meteorologist Craig Allen was in the studio with the forecast, and Chief Meteorologist David Rogers was outside on the roof on the CBS Broadcast Center. Whitney Casey reported on driving safety from New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Scott Rapoport was in Chelsea following the city's preparedness. Craig Allen also appeared on the CBS Evening News, talking about the area's first major snowstorm of the season. Coverage continued this morning with a special hour of news at 7:00, and then again with a half-hour edition of CBS 2 News at 11:30, with Michael Pomeranz and Cindy Hsu. Aimee Nuzzo was in New Jersey, Paul Fleuranges was on Long Island, and Marcella Palmer was in the City. Ira Joe Fisher was in the studio with the forecast, and Meteorologist Janine D'Adamo was on their West Side roof reporting on the melting snow. Debbie DuHaine had the CBS 2 Road Watch report. More CBS 2 News coverage tonight at 6:30.

CBS 2 Storm Watch

Winter weather could again hit the tri-state area this weekend, with over six inches of accumulation expected for parts of the region. The double team of meteorologists, David Rogers and Janine D'Adamo, were on hand with the forecast on CBS 2 News at 5:00 and at 6:00. David said "team weather [is] in effect for the next forty-eight hours." Judging from the latest promo, this team of meteorologists will consist of David Rogers and Craig Allen. The storm is expected to begin in the early afternoon tomorrow and last thoughout the night. For updated reports, visit Craig Allen's column and stay with the CBS 2 Information Network.

CBS 2 "Double Team Weather"

Today marked the beginning of the changes in the weather lineup and coverage on CBS 2 News. Ira Joe Fisher is the new weatherman for CBS 2 News This Morning, trading positions with Janine D'Adamo, who is now the meteorologist for CBS 2 News at Noon and First News @ 4:30.

At 5:10, during the teases before the break, David Rogers mentioned, "We'll have your team weather..." Then seven minutes later, Dana Tyler explained that CBS 2 now has a "double team of meteorologists," which consists of David Rogers at the chroma key wall and Janine D'Adamo in the Weather Center. After about a minute, David tossed it over to Janine, who had the forecast temperatures and conditions for three areas: Northwest Jersey, the Hudson Valley, and Connecticut. Then Janine sent it back to David with the more general forecast for tonight, tomorrow, and the next five days. The weather report was about three minutes long, and a similar procedure was followed at 6:17. The 5:48 report was "No Nonsense Weather", the same way it has been for over a year. Janine D'Adamo's role in the 5:00 and 6:00 newscasts was similar to the "Zone Weather", which was briefly used last Monday during the snow storm. It is also similar to the way the forecast was done in May, 1997, when "SkyTrak2" first debuted.

The New Newscasts

Today as CBS 2 aired "The Weakest Link" at 4:00, the debut of "CBS 2 First News @ 4:30" followed. Angela Rae and Todd McDermott anchored this shortened version of the old "First News @ 4:00". Top stories in the beginning, as always, followed by more news, and Robyn Carter's entertainment report at 4:53. Then Angela and Todd ended the newscast, and went to Dana Tyler and Ernie Anastos with a preview of CBS 2 News at 5:00. Brett Haber had the sports report at 5:14, and David Rogers had the forecast at 5:17. Dana Tyler previewed CBS 2 News at 6:00 at 5:19. Tony Tantillo came on at 5:22 with his "Top 5 @ 5:00" (originally "Top 4 at 4:00" since April, and "Top 5 at 5:00" previous to that). This newscast ended at 5:24, with Todd and Angela previewing the next half hour of the news. After a two-and-a-half-minute break, CBS 2 News at 5:30 opened. "No Nonsense Weather" with David Rogers came on shortly after the half-way point, as it has for over a year now. And CBS 2 News at 6:00 stayed relatively unchanged.

"Storm Watch" Coverage

As the first major snow storm of the season hit the tri-state area, CBS 2 News had special team coverage throughout the day. Cindy Hsu (filling-in for Michael Pomeranz) and Lisa Hill anchored this morning, with Meteorologist Janine D'Adamo tracking the storm. Chris Silveri, normally an off-camera meteorologist, was in the CBS 2 Weather Center updating the snowfall accumulation totals. Don Piccin (in for Rachel Lutzker) had the latest on the traffic. Marcella Palmer was live in Denville, and Rose Walia reported from Westchester. Manager J.R. Whalen explains what the Information Center did:

This morning, the CBS 2 Information Center reported on school closings and delayed openings in the viewing area throughout "CBS 2 News This Morning." Viewers and callers quickly realized that the Information Center, an exclusive service of CBS 2, was the best source of up to date information about the status of their local school district. Additionally, we fielded several calls from New York City residents who had trouble with heat and hot water service. They were advised of city regulations and were advised of hotline phone numbers to call to report problems with service.

Later this afternoon and evening, Chief Meteorologist David Rogers had the forecast for the entire area, and Scott Sumner (who is also usually an off-camera meteorologist) was in the Weather Center with storm totals. He also debuted "Zone Weather", temperatures and conditions for specific areas in the tri-state (including the Interior and Northwest regions). Morry Alter was in Denville, and Whitney Casey was in Mt. Kisco.

Weather Changes

It now appears that despite new promos, Janine D'Adamo will not start on "CBS 2 First News @ 4:30" until next Monday. And according to The New York Daily News (Thanks Michael!) and The New York Post, Janine will not do the weather with David Rogers from 5:00-6:30pm, but rather she will do "weather stories" (possibly either reporting from outside or from the Weather Center, similar to today).

Weather Changes Pushed Back Another Week

An updated Press Release now says the new weather anchor lineups will start Monday, January 14th. That's a week later than it had previously stated this afternoon. It appears that CBS 2 News likes to do these types of changes in phases, as it has done for the past few years. No other information was added to this Press Release, leaving the sub-headline "David Rogers and Janine D’Adamo Co-Anchor Afternoon Weather Reports" ambiguous in meaning. Also, "Increased Weather Coverage" has not yet been explained, leaving us to wonder what CBS 2 is ready to do. As always, stay tuned!

Nightcast in Studio 43

"Nightcast" began last night as usual: with a preview during the previous show's credits, then a 30-second commercial break. The open, which now has the new CBS 2 Information Network graphic, is now worded 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 Nightcast." The open had called it "CBS 2 Nightcast" since late April. It now appears as if they've changed the title back to "Nightcast". This open is now different than the other new opens that premiered yesterday because it does not show the anchors in the second half (they kept the animation for the open).

Then Ernie Anastos and Angela Rae were at the plasma screens with the top story. Back at the news desk, they added an HDTV plasma screen on the right next to Ernie (possibly from Studio 59A or 59B). David Rogers previewed the weather standing by the large video wall (which shows nighttime scenes of the city). And after a story about PowerBall winners, Angela Rae said, "Well, we have hit the jackpot ourselves here at the CBS 2 Information Network. Look at us! We're in new digs!" Angela, Ernie, and David talked about the Information Center behind them, and welcomed viewers to their new home. Angela added, "And there's just more to come!"

Studio 43's First Day

All of the newscasts this evening at 4:00, 5:00, 5:30, and 6:00 used the new type of opening with the new CBS 2 Information Network animation and the anchors at the desk. At 4:08, a new CBS 2 First News at 4:00 anchor open was used: "You're watching CBS 2 First News at Four, with Dana Tyler, Ernie Anastos, Cindy Hsu, and Ira Joe Fisher's forecast." At 4:13 and 4:43, Cindy Hsu was standing by the plasma screens with the Information Network update. At 4:21, Dana Tyler and Ernie Anastos talked about the new studio, technology, and the people working in the Information Center behind them. Ira Joe Fisher added that they "have the best crew." At 4:38, Tony Tantillo had the "Top Four at 4" on the left side of the studio near the plasma screens (he used the table from The Saturday Early Show's temporary studio).

At 4:57, Angela Rae and Todd McDermott were at the plasma screens right after the top story and the open for CBS 2 News at 5:00. At 5:21, Todd, Angela, and David Rogers introduced the new studio and said that we're going to meet some of the Information Center volunteers later this week. And Angela added, "We're going to keep some of it [the changes] under the hat." Then at 5:22, the 5:00 anchor opening played but was modified so that the new CBS 2 Information Network graphic was in the beginning and the end.

At 5:58, CBS 2 News at 6:00 opened with the top story, the open, and the anchors at the desk (same as what happened today at Noon). Alexis Christoforous was in the Information Center with the CBS.MarketWatch.com report. Nightcast is coming up tonight at 11:00, and we'll have details on that tomorrow morning.

Rogers on the Road

This afternoon at 5:15, CBS 2 began to use a new animation and music for "Rogers On The Road". Today meteorologist David Rogers did the weather from the Rye Playland. It appears that this will be a summer feature that may either be every weekday or just Fridays.

CBS 2's Morning Storm Watch

As planned, "The News This Morning" started extra early at 4:00am. Michael Pomeranz co-anchored with Cindy Hsu, who was in for Lisa Hill. David Rogers was live on the roof of the CBS Broadcast Center on the West Side (as he has been for all major snow storms this season). Tony Pann was in the studio with more on the forecast. Aimee Nuzzo was reporting from Hopatcong, NJ. Hazel Sanchez was in the newsroom with updates on school closings. Carrie Lee was at Metro Traffic with the road and rail situation (she was also on CBS 2 last night at 6:30). John Slattery was live in Coney Island, and Morry Alter was in Paramus, NJ.

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.

"Nightcast" At 11:00

Last night, "The News at 11:00" was renamed to "Nightcast". There are many changes to newscast, besides Angela Rae and Ernie Anastos. The opening begins with the CBS 2 Information Network animation (with the sources fly by), and the announcer saying "You're watching the CBS 2 Information Network", but it wasn't the usual bright background. Instead, there were nighttime views of the city. The opening went like, "Live from Fifth Avenue, this is Nightcast." No anchors in the opening though. Here's the "Nightcast" opening. (thanks to Delaware Valley Media Watch for the online video). The graphics also changed to look darker, but still look similar to the regular graphics (just the "colors" part was changed). They also had an opening for sports and weather, which went like, "Now, Nightcast Weather with David Rogers." There was a new theme and a new "Coming Up" screen. Snapshots of the new newscast is coming soon in the near future.

CBS 2 Welcomes Back Ernie Anastos, and more

Today at 4:00 on CBS 2's "New York Live!", Dana Tyler welcomed Todd McDermott as her new co-anchor, and Cindy Hsu with the news headlines. The 5:00pm news is the only newscast that kept the same anchors, Todd McDermott and Angela Rae. At 5:20, they went to Ernie Anastos, and he talked for about a minute about coming back to WCBS. Then at 5:44, Ernie previewed The News at 6:00. Then the 6:00 newscast began, with Dana Tyler on the left and Ernie Anastos on the right. At 6:17, Dana and David Rogers welcomed Ernie back, just before weather. And right before sports, at 6:24, Warner Wolf welcomes Ernie Anastos back too.









There are also some more promos I saw this afternoon and evening. There's a new 30-second "Nightcast" promo, advertising the new 11:00pm newscast with different music (thanks to Delaware Valley Media Watch for the online video). There's also a new 5 second morning promo with Michael and Lisa, Noon promo with Michael and Cindy, and 5:00 promo with Todd and Angela.

CBS 2 Update - Storm Watch, Lisa Hill, and more!

While I was on a vacation for about a week, and while this website was down for over a week, a lot happened regarding CBS 2! I would like to thank David, Teddy, Michael, Brian, and Kevin for keeping me updated while I was away!

CBS 2 Storm Watch Coverage
The biggest storm since the Blizzard of '96 hit the tri-state area all day Saturday. And CBS 2 had expanded team coverage to keep viewers informed. Here's what happened:
Friday, 7:00-8:00pm: Todd McDermott and Angela Rae anchored a one-hour special edition of CBS 2 from Studio 59A. David Rogers had weather. Mostly coverage of the snow storm that was headed directly towards New York City, but also some news, not related to weather, was included.
Saturday, 8:00-9:00am: Michael Pomeranz and Lisa Hill (she went on maternity leave in August 2000 - this was the first time she was back on WCBS since she left). David Rogers also had weather on the rooftop of the CBS Broadcast Center (not the Fifth Avenue studio). Tony Pann was in the studio (59B) with more weather. The first hour of The Saturday Early Show continued at its normal WCBS time, 9:00am, but the second hour did not air.
Saturday, 10:00am-12:??pm: Michael and Lisa had more coverage, which lasted over two hours.
Saturday, 1:00pm: Michael and Lisa had a few more minutes with Storm Watch updates.
Saturday, 2:00-4:30pm: another over-2 hour Storm Watch report with Michael Pomeranz and Lisa Hill, and Metro Traffic reports from Debbie DuHaime (traffic updates from Debbie were all day long).
Saturday, 6:00-6:30pm: Todd McDermott, Angela Rae, and meteorologist Craig Allen had more Storm Watch coverage.
Saturday, 7:00-8:00pm: Todd McDermott, Angela Rae, and meteorologist Craig Allen with another CBS 2 Storm Watch report.
Saturday, 11:00-11:35pm The News at 11:00 with Todd McDermott, Angela Rae, and meteorologist Craig Allen.
Sunday, 8:00-9:00am: Michael Pomeranz and Lisa Hill back with another special weekend morning newscast. Tony Pann with weather, and Carrie Lee with traffic.
Sunday, 6:30-7:00pm: Todd McDermott and Angela Rae with The Weekend News at 6:30.

CBS 2's New Year's Eve Coverage (12/31/00)
Todd McDermott and Angela Rae anchored The News at 11:00 for just over an hour (coverage ended at 12:05am). Tony Pann had weather, and Gary Apple had sports. Live coverage of the famous ball dropping at midnight!

Stephen Clark, CBS News reporter?
David tells me that Stephen Clark, who left CBS 2 on December 22nd, will become a freelance reporter for CBS Newspath for a while, starting tomorrow (Tuesday, January 2nd). He may cover the Presidential Inauguration on January 20th. Will we see Stephen on CBS 2 doing national reports for all CBS affiliates? We will find out soon!

Anchor Changes, Begins Tuesday, January 2nd!
Beginning tomorrow, most CBS 2 newscasts will have anchor changes. Here's a look at what will probably happen:
5:00-7:00am, Michael Pomeranz and Lisa Hill
12:00-12:30pm, Michael Pomeranz and Cindy Hsu
4:00-5:00pm, Cindy Hsu/Todd McDermott and Dana Tyler
5:00-6:00pm, Todd McDermott and Angela Rae
6:00-6:30pm, Ernie Anastos and Dana Tyler
11:00-11:35pm, Ernie Anastos and Angela Rae

Joel Cheatwood, Mark Danon, and Radio City

The Daily News reports that in one of the acts of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, there's a film montage including the city's weather forecasters, like Al Roker, Sam Champion, Storm Field, and Mark Danon. Mark Danon was fired from WCBS-TV in May after buying cocaine near the CBS 2 studio. News director Joel Cheatwood would like to replace Mark Danon with current chief meteorologist David Rogers, but that would cost Channel 2 $70,000 to $100,000. The article also says that Mark Danon's next court date is on Friday, December 8th.
(Thanks to Michael for sending me this article!)