Special 3PM Newscast Tomorrow

With the rainy weekend in Flushing, the U.S. Open had to deal with postponed matches. The men's final (between Juan Martin del Potro and Roger Federer) will now take place tomorrow afternoon, with CBS Sports coverage beginning at 4:00 p.m. and scheduled to last about three hours.

Due to the preemption, CBS 2 News will air a special newscast at 3:00... That information is according to Lou Young's Twitter.

New Round of Still Photos Promos

CBS 2 is now airing what looks to be a second round of those still photos promos. Reporters Mary Calvi and Lou Young are featured as well as the morning team of Maurice DuBois and Kate Sullivan.

"Reporting What Matters"


"Knowledge and Experience"


"Start Your Day with a Smile"

Guzman Out of Hospital

Pablo Guzman is resting at home after being released from a Westchester hospital yesterday evening. He was there being treated for injuries, including two broken ribs, sustained in a serious car accident Monday evening. "I shouldn't be here now," he told Lou Young, whose interview with Guzman aired last night at 11:00. The accident was so bad that the police who responded to the scene expected to find a fatality.

Guzman says he's still sore and his dreams keep going back to the accident. "I see the car spinning and I'm just wondering if I could have done anything different" he says. He thanks the paramedics and the police and says "God must want something else for you to do."

Young gave viewers a tour of the wrecked Honda CR-V at the junk yard, showing just how lucky Guzman was to get out alive. According to witnesses, someone cut Guzman off and that's when his car lost control, slamming into the rock wall and flipping over. "Am I going to get out alive?" was one of the thoughts Guzman says went through his head.

Young reported that Guzman could be out for a couple of weeks.

Click here for video of the interview of one veteran reporter interviewing another.

(Snapshots from the video on wcbstv.com)

Young Blogs the Economic Slowdown

Reporter Lou Young blogged about the likely recession and this passage is of particular interest in light of this week's events:

Add to that the news this week of layoffs. An industry like the one I'm in is facing so much uncertainty it's difficult to imagine how it all turns out. Shifting audiences, and new technology like the move to digital media are happening right as we enter the very expensive upgrade to HDTV. Put a recession in the mix and it's an equation with too many variables. I don't envy the people upstairs who have to make the books come out right.

The truth is, in economic terms, I don't envy ANY of us with what's likely to go in the next year or so. Before it's over there are likely to be more than a few of our neighbors who will need sympathy as well as a little help.

CBS 2 Nominated for 22 Emmys

The New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the nominees of Emmy Awards this morning. Here's a look:

DAYTIME NEWSCAST
Bronx Fire. March 8, 2007. (WCBS-TV). Chris Wragge, News Anchor.

EVENING NEWSCAST: Under 35 Minutes
Tragedy in the Bronx. March 8, 2007. (WCBS-TV). Brian Applegate, Producer; Dana Tyler, Anchor; Lou Young, Reporter.

EVENING NEWSCAST: Over 35 Minutes
Brooklyn Tornado. August 8, 2007. (WCBS-TV). Chris Wragge, News Anchor.

BREAKING NEWS STORY
East Side Plane Crash. October 11, 2006. (WCBS-TV). Michael Haynes, Director.

SPOT NEWS STORY
Subway Hero. January 2, 2007. (WCBS-TV). Ti-Hua Chang, Reporter/Producer/Writer.

CONTINUING COVERAGE
Son of Sam. May 7, 2007. (WCBS-TV). Scott Weinberger, Chief Investigative Reporter; Carl Gottlieb, Executive Producer; Sandra Kirkman Hines, Editor.

HARD NEWS: Single Story
Red Light Rabbi. November 29, 2006. (WCBS-TV). Scott Weinberger, Chief Investigative Reporter; Carl Gottlieb, Executive Producer.

INVESTIGATIVE: Single Story
Sky Chefs. November 6, 2006. (WCBS-TV). Scott Weinberger, Chief Investigative Reporter; Carl Gottlieb, Executive Producer; Sandra Kirkman Hines, Editor.

INVESTIGATIVE: Series
Foul Mouthed Mayor. April 30, 2007. (WCBS-TV). Scott Weinberger, Chief Investigative Reporter; Emily Smolar, Senior Investigative Producer; Carl Gottlieb, Executive Producer; Sandra Kirkman Hines, Editor.

EDUCATION
Generation Jets, Show 412: Governor's Island. December 2, 2006. (WCBS-TV). William Zagger, Director; James Thompson, Writer; Michael Tricarico, Animator.

CHILDREN
Generation Jets, Show 412: Governor's Island. December 2, 2006. (WCBS-TV). William Zagger, Director; James Thompson, Writer; Michael Tricarico, Animator.

SOCIETAL CONCERNS: News
Cost of a Life. November 29, 2006. (WCBS-TV). Lou Young, Reporter.

SPORTS PROGRAMMING: Program Series
Jets 24/7 with Eric Mangini, Show 501. September 10, 2006. (WCBS-TV). William Zagger, Director; James Thompson, Writer; Cameron Gordon, Production Manager.

SPECIAL EVENT COVERAGE
The Hamptons Classic. September 9, 2006. (WCBS-TV). Kirstin Cole, Host/Reporter.

PROMOTION: News Promo – Single Spot, Campaign
Son of Sam 30 Years Later. May 4, 2007. (WCBS-TV). Bruce E. Brauer, Executive Producer.
Weather Facts. June 6, 2007. (WCBS-TV). Bruce E. Brauer, Executive Producer.

ON-CAMERA TALENT: Anchor – News
Chris Wragge. August 8, 2007. (WCBS-TV). Composite.
Mary Calvi. October 2, 2006. (WCBS-TV). Breaking News: Amish School Shooting.

ON-CAMERA TALENT: Reporter – Features
Scott Rapoport. December 26, 2006. (WCBS-TV). Composite.

EDITOR: News
Sandra Kirkman Hines. May 23, 2007. (WCBS-TV). Composite.

ADVANCED MEDIA: Animator/Motion Graphic Designer
Bruce E. Brauer. April 16, 2007. (WCBS-TV). CBS-2 HD.

ADVANCED MEDIA: Video Editor
William Lee. July 15, 2007. (WCBS-TV). CBS2 HDTV Image Campaign.

Click here for a full list of nominees. The winners will be announced at a black tie gala on Sunday, April 6th at 7:00 p.m.

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.

CBS 2 Sponsors Two Charity Events This Weekend

It's going to be a busy morning for CBS 2 as the station is sponsoring a couple of walks/runs tomorrow.

Cindy Hsu and Jim Rosenfield will be at Battery Park for the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes while Lonnie Quinn will take part in the walk at the Bronx Zoo.

Beginning at 10:00 tomorrow morning, Chris Wragge and Kristine Johnson will anchor live from the Tunnel to Towers Run. The press release says that Brendan Keefe and Lou Young will contribute reports while Dana Tyler has an interview with the widow of Stephen Siller, the heroic firefighter who inspired the walk. The hour-long broadcast will also be streamed live at wcbstv.com.

Both events will be covered during CBS 2 News Sunday Morning from 6:00 to 9:00. Elise Finch will provide weather reports from the site of the Tunnel to Towers Run, which begins at the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.

CBS 2 News Covers the Nor'easter

CBS 2 News brought in some big names to cover the big storm tonight.

Regular weekend evening anchor Mary Calvi was joined by weekend evening anchor Jim Rosenfield at the desk in Studio 46. Meteorologist John Bolaris had the forecast in the weather center and reported that, as of 6:30, 5.51 inches of rain had fallen in Central Park, making it the wettest day in 30 years and the sixth wettest day of all-time. He tossed to weatherman Lonnie Quinn in Lindenhurst on Long Island. Brendan Keefe reported from Grand Central Terminal, with the news that Metro North service was suspended and added that, had this been snow, it could have been more than 40 inches. Christine Sloan reported from Secaucus, Westchester reporter Tony Aiello was in Larchmont, Dave Carlin was in Freeport and Lou Young was in Greenwich, CT. Elizabeth Hur (whose name was shortened to Liz on the graphic and by Mary Calvi's script) reported in the second block from LaGuardia Airport and CBS Newspath's Bianco Solorzano was live in Sea Bright, NJ.

Storm coverage continued until 6:55, interrupted only by two commercial breaks. CBS 2 then reported a non-weather story: an update on the health of New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine. Ducis Rodgers then did sports before the 6:30 p.m. newscast closed.

The coverage felt similar to that of snowstorms, except that the live shots looked more like TV news coverage of hurricanes with the wet and blurry camera lenses. A ticker ran across the bottom of the screen with additional information.

CBS 2 News This Morning will begin an hour early at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow with storm coverage.

Lou Young's Fall Fallout

Lou Young wrote about Tuesday night's live slip in the snow on his blog last night. He talked about how everyone has fallen... "It’s just that when I fall at work everybody sees it."

WCBSTV.com posted a fun story about the fall and the response:

After being assured nothing had been hurt but his pride, his colleagues on "CBS 2 News At 11" replayed the pratfall later in the newscast. It was shown a number of times on the next day's "CBS 2 News This Morning." It got nationwide play on Wednesday's CBS News' "The Early Show." And it was exposed to a world-wide audience when someone posted the clip on the popular video sharing Web site YouTube.

By the way, that video has already received over 20,000 hits.

"The thing I like about the fall is that it proves not everything is choreographed," Young told NewsByte2. "There are still honest moments possible. Even if they leave bruises."

Lou Young Slips On Ice Live

Just a few minutes ago, CBS 2 News reporter Lou Young took a tumble while doing a live report on the snow. While in Middletown, NY, he slipped onto his backside. He seemed to be okay, though, as he laughed and continued on with his report. A few minutes later, Dana Tyler joked to Young, "What hurt more: your pride or your bottom?"

11:50PM UPDATE: Here's the video:


12:06AM UPDATE: CBS 2 News replayed the event later in the newscast for viewers who missed it or just wanted to see it again. And WCBS NewsRadio 880 just played a brief audio clip of Young's fall.

Oh yeah, and do you think that the new style of lower-third graphics used for "Storm Watch" and "Spring Training" are a sign of changes to come?

CBS 2 Dumps, Reassigns and Renegotiates with Talent

The Daily News' Richard Huff says "It's getting uncomfortable inside WCBS/Ch. 2." Here's some more of what he reports:

Cindy Hsu's contract expires in March and will not be renewed.

Audrey Puente's status is still unclear. (John Elliott's first day on the air, Tuesday, was the same day that Puente filled in for Dave Price on "The Early Show," despite appearing to have a cold. She was introduced as being from New York's WCBS-TV.)

Veteran reporters like Lou Young are renegotiating their contracts to take pay cuts.

Political reporter Andrew Kirtzman has been reassigned to general assignment reporting.

Producers for CBS 2 News This Morning and at 11:00 have also been shuffled.

As for what Huff did not report, tech editor Brett Larson's bio was recently removed from wcbstv.com. He most often appeared on the morning newscasts (weekdays and weekends). A video search shows his last day as possibly being December 21st when he showed off the new Nintendo Wii system with Kate Sullivan. However, Larson appeared on Monday's taped edition of CBS's "The Early Show" and was introduced by Dave Price as being from WCBS-TV in New York.

And the same TVSpy poster who broke the news about Hsu and Larson mentioned that Long Island reporter Reid Lamberty is also on the way out.

Lou Young Travels To Israel Again

A gunman opened fire today in Jerusalem injuring dozens before he was shot and killed by police. This continues sixteen months of violence and bloodshed between the Israelis and the Palestinians. It was announced today at noon that Lou Young is headed to Israel once again, and he will begin live reports from the area once he lands. This will be Lou Young's third assignment to the Middle East in as many months.

New "CBS 2 Investigates" Promo

CBS 2 began airing an updated version of the "CBS 2 Investigates" promo. Among the changes are new colors, new stories, and a different logo, which is now on a slant. Also added in the 30-second version is another reporter: John Slattery. He now joins investigative reporters Marcia Kramer, Vince DeMentri, and Lou Young. However, Slattery is not included in the 15-second version. "If it's happening out there, we'll uncover it here."

CBS 2 New Year's Eve and Inauguration of Mayor Bloomberg Coverage

Last night's Nightcast, the final CBS 2 newscast of 2001, provided CBS 2 viewers of full coverage of the incoming year, 2002, and the inauguration of New York City's 108th mayor, Michael Bloomberg. Vince DeMentri and Hazel Sanchez were live in Times Square with reports and an interview with former NYC mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Lou Young was live at the mayoral residence, Gracie Mansion. Also, Todd McDermott was in-studio with more coverage of the new year and new mayor. Nightcast ended at its regular time, after showing highlights of New Year's festivities all around the world. At 11:55, Ernie Anastos and Angela Rae re-welcomed viewers to CBS 2 News coverage. They provided live coverage from Times Square as 2001 ended and 2002 began. One minute after midnight, CBS 2 News showed the inauguartion of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, also in Times Square. The live Times Square coverage was followed by brief commentaries from Ernie and Angela reflecting on the past year and the new mayor. CBS 2 News coverage ended after a final report from Lou Young at approximately 12:10.

-Michael

Lou Young Reports From Tel Aviv

CBS 2 News reporter Lou Young has just arrived in Israel for his latest series of reports, "Assignment: Israel". Today at noon, he reported live on the phone from Tel Aviv, and he talked about the latest Israeli attacks against the Palestinians. He will report live once again on CBS 2 News at 5:00, and later in the evening on Nightcast at 11:00. For more information on "Assignment: Israel", log on to cbsnewyork.com.

Lou Young Travels To Israel Again

This past weekend, over two dozen Israelis were murdered in multiple suicide attacks in Jerusalem and Haifa. To cover the highest tensions in the Middle East in over a year, CBS 2 is sending reporter Lou Young to cover it. Young just returned from the area, including Jerusalem, where his month-long series, "Assignment: Mideast", took him. He will now once again provide live reports and the latest developments from the region beginning tomorrow afternoon. His latest series is called "Assignment: Israel".

CBS 2 News Sunday Morning

This morning was CBS 2's eighth edition of their Sunday morning newscast. At the anchor desk were Michael O'Looney and Hazel Sanchez. Craig Allen had the weather forecast, and Don Piccin reported on the traffic. There will be at least three more of these one-hour Sunday morning newscasts at 8:00 as CBS 2 tries to increase its weekend presence. Starting tomorrow, Lou Young reports from the Middle East on CBS 2 News at 6:00 and on Nightcast at 11:00 in his reports, "Assignment Mideast."

CBS 2's Lou Young To Report From Middle East

A CBS 2 Press Release:

Who are our fiercest enemies and are our newest allies really our friends are some of the questions CBS 2’s Lou Young will attempt to uncover when he travels to the heart of the Middle East on a search for answers to the growing number of questions of the American people. Young’s schedule includes visits to Egypt, Jordan, Dubai, Kuwait and Israel, where he will interview intelligence officials, heads of state, religious moderates and extremists, among others. His reports will be broadcast during CBS 2’s 6PM and NIGHTCAST newscasts beginning on Monday, Nov. 5. As Young follows the terror trail of the world’s most wanted men, he will bring to life the stories of those people living everyday with the threat of terrorism, and gauge their reaction to the United States’ retaliatory strikes to one of the nation’s darkest days in history.

A four-time Emmy Award-winner, Young joined WCBS-TV in June 1994. He has served as a reporter in the New York market since 1981. His credits at CBS 2 include reports on the 2000 presidential election, the inauguration of George W. Bush, the recovery efforts of Swissair Flight 111, school shootings in Littleton, Colo. and Conyers, Ga., and investigative reports on the abuse of prescription drugs, and food safety as part of CBS-2’s “Eat at Your Own Risk” series. Additionally, Young also reported from New York and Miami on the international struggle between the U.S. and Cuba involving Elian Gonzalez.

Cliff Cohen serves as Executive Producer, ASSIGNMENT MIDEAST. Joel Cheatwood is Executive Vice President for News, Viacom Television Stations and WCBS-TV News Director.

CBS 2 To Send Reporters Young and O'Looney Overseas

Tuesday, 10/23/01, 3:00pm CBS 2 To Send Reporters Young and O'Looney Overseas
Today's Daily News reports that CBS 2 News's Lou Young will travel to the Middle East next week to report in that region for at least three weeks. Michael O'Looney will go to France where he will interview the head of Interpol (the International Criminal Police Organization) about tracking terrorists such as Osama bin Laden. CBS 2 News Director Joel Cheatwood tells The News, "We wanted a perspective from the opposite side of the coin. This is a story that demands a level of perspective and context that requires going halfway around the world to get." Cheatwood expects to spend thousands of dollars for the trips, mainly due to the high cost of satellite time needed to transmit the reports back to New York.
(Thanks to Michael for informing me about this article!)

"America On Guard"

Friday evening, CBS News changed the title of their coverage from "America Fights Back" to "America On Guard". Shortly after, CBS 2 News began to use the new title as well, but still use the "Fights Back" title along with it. This is the fourth title used since September 11th (the others were "Attack on America" and "America Rising"). CBS 2's coverage continued this morning at 8:00, when Lou Young and Hazel Sanchez anchored a special newscast (the regular "CBS 2 Weekend News" open was used).