Lots of Breaking News: Ferry Crash and Crane Collapse

It was a busy day for breaking news in New York.

CBS 2 broke in after a commuter ferry crashed into Pier 11 at South Street Seaport at around 8:45 a.m..  Mary Calvi handled the early coverage and was soon joined by Rob Morrison.  Jim Smith reported from above the scene in Chopper 2 and, because of a chopper sharing agreement with Fox 5, Smith was also heard reporting "in SkyFox."

John Slattery reported from the pier via Mobile 2 signal by 10:22.  At 10:51, Sean Hennessey was live at New York Downtown Hospital, where around 20 of the injured had been taken, and the camera showed very close-up images of patients being loaded off ambulances.  Dr. Max Gomez later joined the coverage from the desk with analysis on what types of injuries might have been suffered.

As if often the case during special report situations lately, WLNY switched to airing CBS network programming, so viewers looking for "Let's Make a Deal" and "The Price is Right" didn't miss their shows if they knew where to look.  CBS 2 ended their special report at 11:30 and included more coverage during the regular noon newscast with reports from Slattery, Hennessey, Gomez as well as Tony Aiello in the newsroom and Steve Langford at the scene.

CBS 2 News interrupted regular programming again just before 3:00 with news of a 380-foot crane collapse in Long Island City, Queens.  Dana Tyler handled the brief special report with Chopper 2 coverage from Joe Biermann.  The station switched to "Dr. Phil" at 3:04.

CBS 2 broke in once again at 4:15 to carry an NTSB press conference with coverage anchored by Maurice DuBois until 4:30.

CBS 2 News Covers Second Times Building Climber

Just minutes after reporting about the "French Spiderman" Alain Robert, who climbed the 52-story New York Times Building earlier today, Dana Tyler announced that it was happening again. Yes, a second man was scaling the building's wall. CBS 2 was the first station to report the news at 6:05 and immediately tossed to shots from Dave Carlin's position on the ground. Pictures from Chopper 2 followed soon after and Joe Biermann provided additional information. At one point, an "exclusive" graphic was put up but that was quickly discontinued after it was clear that the other stations had joined in the live coverage of the odd scene.

CBS 2 went to a commercial break at 6:12 and returned with some of the day's other news, weather and sports (which was reduced to just a story about the Yankees) mixed in with additional live coverage. Tyler explained to viewers that the station did not want to follow it continuously because of the possibility that it could end tragically. At 6:17, Biermann noted, "He is getting tired."

At the end of the 6:00 news, Tyler said that they would have more on the climber at 11:00.

WCBSTV.com has a story about the incident here.

Update: WCBSTV.com has the video of the initial breaking news report here... and here are some snapshots:


Tagging the story about the day's first climber with some video of other notable NYC stunts.


CBS 2 had a live shot almost immediately because they had been covering the first climber.


Chopper 2 and Joe Biermann on the scene.


The 52-story New York Times building in Times Square.


A police officer tells Dave Carlin to move out of the way.


The "exclusive" graphic did not stay on the screen for long.

CBS 2 News Covers Deadly Upper East Side Crane Collapse

CBS 2 News broke in at 8:25 during its regular cut-in during "The Early Show" to report news of a crane collapsing on a 20-story building on 354 East 91st Street by 1st Avenue at around 8:00 (watch the initial report here on wcbstv.com). Maurice DuBois and Kate Sullivan handled the breaking news coverage, which lasted for the rest of the morning into the noon news. Initial reports said that two people were dead but that was later revised at 9:27 to at least one dead with several others injured. WCBSTV.com's breaking news text message alert was sent at 8:20 while the website streamed the live coverage.

Most of the pictures came from Reggie Harrison (a former NYPD cop) and Chopper 2. Sean Hennessey began reporting from the ground via phone but was later seen on camera at around 9:13 interviewing many witnesses of the collapse. Jay Dow also reported via his phone at around that time and was first seen on camera at East 91st and 2nd at 9:53. At 9:37, the first video from the scene was fed in as DuBois explained to viewers that it was difficult to get a live truck any closer. Katie McGee came on several times to talk about the traffic conditions and the bus detours. At 10:14, Chris Wragge reported from the 92nd and 2nd began interviewing witnesses and later spoke with Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. Magee Hickey, who said it took her and her crew nearly an hour to get from another story in Brooklyn, joined the live coverage from the ground at 10:56. Additional reporting was sourced to Tony Aiello and John Slattery.

As is often the case during breaking news coverage, the anchors spoke with politicians, experts and witnesses via the phone. Among the phone interviews were: Councilman Tony Avella, Buildings Committe - NYC Council; Jessica Lappin, (D) NYC Council - Manhattan; Bo Dietl, retired NYPD detective; Ann Marie Kross, 60 Minutes producer/witness; James Pritchett, crane collapse expert in Mobile, AL; Phillip Shiffman, lives in building/witness; Erik Dilan, Chairman of Buildings Committee - NYC Council; Mary Jo Gillis, who lives nearby and was woken up by the sound of the crash; and Ira Goldman, Red Cross spokesperson. Audio and then video of Mayor Michael Bloomberg calling the accident "unacceptable" on his weekly WOR radio show ran a few times.

At 9:51, pictures that viewer Victoria Pericon e-mailed in to wcbstv.com came on the screen. The series of three shots showed the crane as it fell.

A new conference with Mayor Bloomberg, Governor David Paterson and Acting Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri began at 11:21. They provided some new information, including the fact that the one fatality and the two seriously injured were construction workers, and took questions from reporters.

Sullivan and DuBois signed off at the top of the hour as Don Dahler anchored CBS 2 News at Noon from the ground. He tossed to Hickey, Dow, Slattery, Wragge, Harrison in Chopper 2, and McGee in the studio with traffic updates. The station took its first break in almost four hours at 12:18. When Dahler returned 90 seconds later, he tossed to Sullivan in the studio with a brief look at the other stories making news before turning to John Elliott with the weather. Sullivan then tossed back to Dahler and then Harrison with some final comments before saying goodbye and closing just before 12:28.

Here are some snapshots of the coverage:


























Updated news on this story is available at wcbstv.com.

Update: CBS 2 News broke in again at 3:00. Don Dahler, reporting from the scene, reported the news that a second victim had passed away. He also provided the identities of the two fatalities. The special report lasted just over 90 seconds. Dahler returned at 4:00 with a quick update and said that one of the victims who had died was in the taxi cab that the crane fell onto.

CBS 2 News Covers Spitzer's Resignation

CBS 2 had at least five separate special reports as news of Spitzer's imminent resignation broke.

At 9:06, Chris Wragge broke in from Albany to announce the news that Governor Eliot Spitzer would announce his resignation today. This eight-minute special report included Andrew Kirtzman in the studio, Mary Calvi in Albany and Marcia Kramer in the newsroom.

Chris Wragge returned to the air at 10:10 with word that Spitzer was scheduled to make an announcement before the media at 11:30. Back in the studio, Kirtzman spoke with political strategist Joe Mercurio and Kramer was in the newsroom with more. This report went until 10:16.

CBS 2 broke in again at around 10:50 to carry Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's press conference. Dana Tyler and Jim Rosenfield anchored this special report and signed off at 11:03.

Tyler and Rosenfield returned at around 11:10 to cover Spitzer's transportation from his Upper East Side apartment to his offices on the East Side. Chopper 2 provided live pictures of the motorcade as Tyler and Rosenfield talked with Kirtzman about the implications of what was about to happen. Spitzer came to his podium at 11:43 with more apologies and, at 11:45, announced his resignation, effective Monday. His statement lasted three minutes. Rosenfield and Tyler then continued anchoring the commercial-free coverage through 12:27, the time when CBS 2 News at Noon usually signs off. Wragge provided several live shots from Albany, including a brief chat with political analyst Bob Bellafiore. Calvi also had a package air from the state capital. Jay Dow reported live from Harlem with that area’s reaction to the news that David Paterson is about to become New York’s first black governor and Tamsen Fadal had even more reaction from Midtown. John Elliott came on with a brief weather forecast at 12:25 before Rosenfield and Tyler recapped the morning’s events and promised to be back at around 1:00 with State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s press conference.

CBS 2 News returned at 1:04, going straight to Speaker Silver’s press conference during which he took questions from reporters. This ended at 1:15, when Rosenfield and Tyler tossed to Calvi, who briefly spoke with State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, the Brooklyn Democrat. This special report ended at 1:17.

CBS 2 News Covers Spitzer Prostitution Scandal

Jim Rosenfield broke in at 2:28 this afternoon with a minute-long special report to announce "a potential bombshell rocking New York politics at the very top." Sourcing The New York Times, Rosenfield reported that Governor Eliot Spitzer had told advisers that he was involved in a prostitution ring.

Rosenfield returned at 3:01 with exclusive word that, according to multiple sources, Spitzer would not be expected to remain as governor. He also mentioned that Spitzer was expected to make a public statement within a few minutes.

CBS 2 News broke in again at 3:11 minutes to carry Spizter's short statement via 1010 WINS-AM in which he apologized to the public and said that politics is about ideas, not individuals. A few minutes later, Rosenfield tossed to Marcia Kramer, who was live with more information from her sources in Albany. She was the first on the station's air to mention that Spitzer might be "Client #9" and said that rumors first began swirling last week. Rosenfield tossed from the newsroom at 3:25 to Chris Wragge in the studio. Wragge was joined by Andrew Kirtzman with analysis at the desk. This special report was 17 minutes long.

CBS 2 News at 5:00 with Wragge and Kristine Johnson covered the story with a team of reporters beginning with Lou Young at governor's office on East Side. Next up, CBS News correspondent Bob Orr, who broke the "Client #9" part of the story, joined Johnson live from Washington with more details. Kramer had more on what's next, John Slattery had New Yorkers' reactions from Times Square and Dave Carlin was in Brooklyn Heights with a closer look at The Emperors Club. At 6:00, Sean Hennessey profiled Lieutenant Governor David Paterson, the man who is next in line to replace Spitzer.

Wragge and Johnson returned with a special half-hour broadcast at 7:00. Young, Rosenfield, Kramer, Slattery and Hennessey all provided reports and Kirtzman was back in the studio with more analysis. Wragge and Johnson also spoke via phone with New York State Assemblyman James Tedisco, a Republican, who called for the governor to resign. Tom DeLuca, a Fordham University political science professor, was in the studio for more discussion. This broadcast was repeated on C-SPAN 2 at 8:30 and at around 9:10 on C-SPAN with the two commercial breaks taken out. It can be watched at wcbstv.com here: Part I, Part II.

CBS 2 News Covers Steam Pipe Explosion

Jim Rosenfield broke the news on CBS 2 News at 6:08: Police were being called to 42nd Street between Lexington and 3rd Avenues after reports of underground explosions. They then returned to the regular newscast until 6:15 when the story was again reported and updated. At 6:19, Rosenfield and Dana Tyler conducted a phone interview with a spokesman for the Transit Authority. A live metrocam shot showing the steam billowing up into the skyline. That there was no reason to suspect terrorism was a point that was frequently made. This coverage remained sustained until 6:30, when the station aired the "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric."

CBS 2 News returned at 7 with two more hours of live coverage, anchored by Chris Wragge and Kristine Johnson. Reporters on the scene included Dave Carlin (via phone), Scott Weinberger (via phone), Sean Hennessey (via phone), Brendan Keefe and Pablo Guzman (on the phone at first but on camera later in the evening). Casualty numbers came in: One dead and at least 20 injured. At 8:21, CBS 2 went live to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's press conference, at which the mayor declared that the incident was the result of "a failure of our infrastructure" and not related to terrorism.

CBS 2 News Covers Manhattan's Strange Smell

CBS 2 News broke into programming multiple times in the 9:00 and 10:00 hours this morning to report on a possible natural gas leak in the city. It seems that thousands of people called in to 911 to report a heavy odor just after 9 a.m. attracting coverage from all of the local stations and the cable news channels.

Maurice DuBois handled most of the breaking news reports from the newsroom with admittedly little information. They were awaiting Mayor Bloomberg's regularly scheduled press conference at 9:30, but that had been postponed and the media were told that it would happen "shortly." After 10 a.m., DuBois was joined by Scott Rapoport live in Midown and John Elliott with how the weather was affecting the smell. Chris Wragge anchored a brief special report at 10:30 from the studio and was back on at 10:43 with the mayor's remarks about the situation. Video of the special reports is available on wcbstv.com.

Team coverage topped the noon newscast: Rapoport in Midtown, Dave Carlin in Jersey City, Elliott in the studio and Kerri Lyon on the East Side with how the schools were handling the confusing situation.

CBS 2 News Coverage Of Crash Of Flight 587

Unbelievably, New York has suffered another tragedy just one day after the two month anniversary of the attacks on America. This time an American Airlines Airbus A300, Flight 587, crashed at 9:17am, just three minutes after takeoff, into the residential neighborhood of Belle Harbor, Queens. The flight took off from John F. Kennedy International Airport and was bound for Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. It is not believed to be terrorism-related, but rather an engine problem is likely the cause of the crash. 260 people were onboard the airplane, and there are at least six people reported missing on the ground.

Minutes after the crash, CBS 2 News broke into regular programming with a special report. Michael Pomeranz and Cindy Hsu anchored the coverage all morning long, and a Metro camera shot of the smoke filled the screen. David Diaz provided constant updates from the newsroom. Jennifer McLogan, the first CBS 2 News reporter near the scene, reported via telephone. Then at 10:15, CBS 2 provided the first live camera shot from Belle Harbor, which was picked up by cable news networks CNN and Fox News Channel. CBS 2's full team of reporters were soon reporting from the scene, the area airports, and in the Broadcast Center. By 11:15, CBS 2 began using special graphics created for the tragedy. Just after 1:00, Todd McDermott took to the anchor desk along with Cindy Hsu. Angela soon joined him at around 2:00. Two minutes after 3:00, the anchor team was Dana Tyler and Ernie Anastos. An hour later, CBS 2 began to use a special opening animation, soon accompanied by a theme and the announcer. The regular 5:00 anchor team of Todd McDermott and Angela Rae came on at 4:59, and Dana Tyler and Ernie Anastos returned to the desk at 5:58. A special one-hour edition of the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather started at 6:30. By 7:30, CBS 2 was back on with another special report updating viewers on the ongoing situation.

Coverage Of The Terrorist Attacks On The World Trade Center

Tuesday, September 11th started out as a beautiful day throughout much of the northeast. That all changed when a hijacked airplane crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center at 8:45am. Eighteen minutes later, another plane hijacked by terrorists crashed into the south tower. A half hour later, all air traffic nationwide was halted, the first time in U.S. history that has happened. But that wasn't enough to halt the attacks. At 9:43, another hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Just before 10, the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed. At 10:10, a fourth hijacked airliner crashed near Pittsburg, missing its probable target: The White House. Less than twenty minutes later, the north tower fell in ruins. Over 6,000 people are reported missing, including hundreds of police officers, firefighters, and other rescue workers.

CBS 2 had continuous coverage of these tragic and horrific events all week long. Dana Tyler, Ernie Anastos, Angela Rae, and Todd McDermott anchored the coverage, called "Attack On America", throughout the afternoon and evening. CBS 2's full team of reporters provided every angle of the story; from the disaster, the local, national, and international reaction, the search, the rescue, the recovery, the investigation, and the healing. Whitney Casey joined CBS 2's reporting team on the day of the attack. CBS News and Dan Rather had special reports for many days as well, but CBS 2 chose to stay local most of the time, providing more local coverage than any other station. At 5:25, Seven World Trade Center collapsed, live on CBS 2.

On Tuesday, CBS 2 announced, "It is with deep regret that WCBS-TV announces that two of our transmission engineers were located on the 110th floor of One World Trade Center when it was attacked. Isaias Rivera, an employee of the station for more than 30 years, and Bob Pattison, who joined CBS 2 in 2000, are both still missing. Channel 2 and all of its employees regard Isaias and Bob as tremendous professionals. We are saddened by these tragic events and offer our prayers to the families of our colleagues." CBS 2 was the only New York station to have a back-up transmitter located on the top of the Empire State Building. All other stations were knocked off-the-air for viewers without cable or satellite.

Saturday morning, September 15th, CBS 2 and CBS News renamed the coverage to "America Rising", focusing on the aftermath of Tuesday's deadly terrorist attack. CBS 2 continued to use their regular weekday anchors. The week after, CBS 2 began to lessen the amount of coverage slightly and resumed some normal network programming. Most local shows during the day (Martha Stewart Living, Crossing Over, Entertainment Tonight, and Hollywood Squares) were preempted for local coverage beginning at 9:00am, 3:00pm, and 7:00pm (the CBS Evening News sometimes went on for one hour until 7:30pm).

On Thursday, "America Rising" became "America Fights Back", changing the focus slightly to the nation's response and military retaliation. The same day, Dr. Mike Rosen joined CBS 2 as medical reporter. Yesterday, CBS 2 started out yesterday morning at 7:00 with a two-hour newscast anchored by Michael Pomeranz and Cindy Hsu. CBS 2 had more hour-long newscasts at 11:00am and 2:00pm. Vince DeMentri and Kirstin Cole (who has probably replaced Amanda Grove as weekend anchor) were on at 7:00pm. Then they were back at 11:00 with more coverage. This morning, "Sunday Edition" with Marcia Kramer was live for one hour starting at 6:30 interviewing the six mayoral candidates running in Tuesday's primary elections (they were originally scheduled to take place September 11th, but were postponed due to the attack). At 7:30, Lisa Hill and Cindy Hsu had more news until 9:00. Dana Tyler and Ernie Anastos had coverage of the "A Prayer For America" memorial service at Yankee Stadium from 2:00 to 4:00. More news tonight at 11:00. And this week ahead, CBS 2 will have special coverage at 9-10am, and more coverage beginning at 3:00pm.