CBS 2 News Wins Five Emmys

CBS 2 News took home five Emmy awards Sunday night. Chris Wragge won two and Scott Weinberger, who was among last week's cuts, won one. Here are the winning entries:

DAYTIME NEWSCAST

Bronx Fire. March 8, 2007. (WCBS-TV). Chris Wragge, News Anchor; David Molko, Kathleen Rohan, Writers; Franca Braatz, Peter McGowan, Field Producers; Jeff Gesoff, Eric Berlin, Producers; Marcia Kramer, Magee Hickey, Reporters; Jay Dow, Field Reporter; Jim Fleischmann, Camera.

BREAKING NEWS STORY

East Side Plane Crash. October 11, 2006. (WCBS-TV). Michael Haynes, Director; Brian Lowder, Assignment Editor; Jim Rosenfield, Anchor; Joe Biermann, Chopper Reporter; Scott Rapoport, Reporter.

HARD NEWS: Single Story

Red Light Rabbi. November 29, 2006. (WCBS-TV). Scott Weinberger, Chief Investigative Reporter; Carl Gottlieb, Executive Producer; Pat Quinn, Editor.

ON-CAMERA TALENT: Anchor – News

Chris Wragge. August 8, 2007. (WCBS-TV). Composite.

ADVANCED MEDIA: Video Editor

William Lee. July 15, 2007. (WCBS-TV). CBS2 HDTV Image Campaign

A complete list of winners is available here.

Kirtzman and Weinberger Out at CBS 2

Brian points out that both Andrew Kirtzman's and Scott Weinberger's bios have been pulled from wcbstv.com.

Kirtzman joined CBS 2 from NY1 News on November 13, 2002, joining Marcia Kramer on the station's political team. He often contributed "Kirtzman's Columns" to the end of the 6:00 newscasts on Fridays, a political week-in-review of sorts. He began hosting "Kirtzman & Co." on September 7th of the following year. The show originally alternated with Marcia Kramer's "Sunday Edition" on Sunday mornings, but the shows aired back-to-back beginning in January 2005 and were later merged into "Kirtzman & Kramer" before eventually being discontinued. Since last year, Kirtzman most often served as a general assignment reporter.

Weinberger joined the station from NewsChannel 4 in October 2005 and served as its chief investigative reporter. He was behind several heavily promoted exclusive interviews, such as with the captain of the Staten Island ferry that crashed and the "Son of Sam."

The personnel moves come amid cost-cutting measures at other CBS O&O stations including KCBS in Los Angeles, WBBM in Chicago, KYW in Philadelphia, WBZ in Boston and WCCO in Minneapolis.

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.

Three-Part Interview with "Son of Sam"

CBS 2 News is excited about Scott Weinberger's three-part interview with David Berkowitz, better known as the "Son of Sam." The interview comes on the 30th anniversary of Berkowitz's killing spree. The press release calls it "a surprising and revealing sit-down interview" and says that "new developments about the case" will be uncovered.

The interview airs at 11:00 beginning tonight and continuing on Tuesday and Wednesday. It's being touted as a "world exclusive," a phrase not used since Jim Rosenfield interviewed Golan Cipel last November.

CBS 2 News Covers Anna Nicole Smith's Death

Lara Spencer, co-host of "The Insider," reported the top story on CBS 2 News at 5:00 yesterday: the death of celebrity Anna Nicole Smith. By today at noon, CBS 2 had sent two reporters to cover the story from opposite ends of the country: Tamsen Fadel reported live from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on news of the autopsy and investigative reporter Scott Weinberger reported from Los Angeles on the potential paternity test.

Is there anybody out there who thinks that this story would get the same play if it had happened next month?

Let The Sweeps Begin!

Today marks the beginning of the four-week February 2007 sweeps period, a time when broadcast networks and local stations try even harder for you to get you to watch their programs. Nielsen Media Research then puts out ratings data that gives broadcasters information to base their ad rates on.

This blog will try to have the most comprehensive sweeps coverage relating to CBS 2 News. Send in a tip, either by e-mailing or commenting on a post, if you see anything that looks like it might have been done just for sweeps.

Detailed promos have already been airing for the past few days for tonight's 11 p.m. story by Investigative Reporter Scott Weinberger called "Fake Cops, Real Dangers." We'll see how many more such promos and special reports air this month.

Perhaps the biggest event of the month comes on Sunday as it is CBS's turn to air the Super Bowl, annually the highest-rated broadcast of the year. It will be CBS 2's chance to catch the attention of viewers in the New York metro area.