Different Open For Nightcast

Earlier this week, Nightcast began using a new open, which had been used as a rejoin for about eleven months. Nightcast previews the newscast during the credits of the previous CBS primetime program, and then say "Nightcast, in thirty seconds" (as they always have). Then after the short break, they preview one of the upcoming stories, and the "CBS 2 Nightcast" logo flies in from the right. Then the old rejoin is used as the open: "You're watching Nightcast, part of the CBS 2 Information Network."
(Thanks to "Bob" and Teddy for alerting me to this!)

New 5:00 Talent Open

First came the 6:00 talent open, now here's one for the 5:00 newscast. This evening while going into the second commercial break at 5:20, CBS 2 played the newest talent open, which was very similar to the 6:00 version. It sounds like there is a new female announcer, who said, "You're watching CBS 2 News at Five, with Ernie Anastos, Dana Tyler, Brett Haber's sports, and weather with David Rogers and Janine D'Adamo." The 6:00 talent open has not aired since it premiered Monday, and to my knowledge no other newscast has received a new open with the anchors.

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 News Sunday Edition

This morning was the first "Sunday Edition" from Studio 43. The open went like this: "You're watching CBS 2, home of the CBS 2 Information Network. From the CBS 2 Information Center in New York, this is CBS 2 News Sunday Edition with Marcia Kramer." There was no graphic on the bottom of the screen for the second part, as all of the regular newscasts have. Also in the second part, they showed a shot of the interview set, where Marcia Kramer interviewed Alan Hevesi. The same theme they had been using for the past year was still used between commercial breaks and the end. Towards the end of the show, Marcia Kramer was at the plasma screens to tell us what's "On My Mind". Then at the end, they played the theme as she walked behind the desk to the interview set.

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!"

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.

CBS 2 News This Morning in Studio 43

Today's the big day! CBS 2 News This Morning started in Studio 43 this morning at 5:00. Michael Pomeranz and Lisa Hill previewed the newscast on the left of the news desk near four monitors with the "CBS 2 Information Network" and the "CBS 2 News This Morning" logos. They also welcomed viewers to their new studio at the CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan. The open of the show was changed, with a new Information Network animation. Then they showed Michael and Lisa walking over to the desk with the "CBS 2 News This Morning" logo on the bottom. 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 News This Morning." Here's a look at other changes that were made this morning:

Studio 43
This new studio, which we have been waiting for since May, finally came! It's a great studio with a news desk, an "Information Center" newsroom behind it, and an interview area. There are monitors and CBS 2 logos everywhere. Some monitors have views of New York City (nighttime scenes in the 5:00 hour, daytime views in the 6:00 hour). And the lighting creates "CBS 2 Information Network" and "CBS 2 Info Center" logos on the floor. Sweeping camera angles of the studio were shown often right before commercial breaks. And Janine D'Adamo mentioned that they now use a green chroma-key screen, instead of blue, so "I can wear blue now!"

CBS 2 Info Bar
Michael and Lisa introduced the "Info Bar" at 5:21. It's a black bar at the bottom of the screen (similar to the Sports Scoreboard) with news, weather, stocks, and sports. It's also where the current temperature is located (the "2" logo now has only the time above it). They said that it's an improvement of the CBS 2 Info Box, which used to appear on the bottom-left of the screen. It popped-up saying "INFOBOX: THIS SPACE FOR RENT".

Pet Pix and Wake-Up Call
After her weather report at 5:14, Janine D'Adamo introduced a new segment on CBS 2 News This Morning, "Pet Pix". As Brian reported earlier, CBS 2 will show viewers' digital pictures of their pets in the morning. This morning it was just some producers' pets used. And at 6:45, Janine did the "Wake-Up Call". CBS 2 News at Noon anchor Cindy Hsu was the person who was called this morning! Janine quizzed her to see how well she knew her co-anchors: Which anchor, Michael or Lisa, was a photographer before they anchored? Cindy correctly answered that it was Lisa. Janine also said that they may have contests and giveaways in the future.

Other important notes are that Susan McGinnis did the CBS MarketWatch report only once, at 5:44. This is probably because she had to go to Fifth Avenue to The Early Show's studio for her 7:20 report. The "Inside The Daily News" animation was changed to use the new Information Network graphic. There is also a new full screen for the morning newscast. The "Traffic And Weather on the 2's" animation was changed. And "Rock N Roll History", which was added to the newscast two months ago, has disappeared. Here are some snapshots, courtesy of Kevin:

CBS 2 News at 5:30's Open This Week

Friday, 6/1/01, 6:50pm CBS 2 News at 5:30's Open This Week
Every day this week at 5:30, CBS 2 has done something different for the open than the day before. On Monday, they used the same open as they have been for a few weeks (with Angela Rae, Todd McDermott, and David Rogers). Tuesday, the voice-over was redone to include Brett Haber. On Wednesday, they used the one without Brett. Then on Thursday, there was no opening at 5:30, and today they used the Brett Haber one again! Last month, CBS 2 kept switching between the "CBS 2 News" and "The News" openings, and finally made the choice to go with "CBS 2 News".

Brett Haber in CBS 2 News at 5:30's Open

Today, CBS 2 News at 5:30's opening was redone to include Brett Haber. The wording is now, "You're watching the CBS 2 Information Network... Live from Fifth Avenue, this is CBS 2 News at 5:30, with Angela Rae, Todd McDermott, David Roger's forecast, and Brett Haber's sports." Brett Haber has been doing occasional sports reports for the 5:30 newscast shortly after he joined last October. He has been doing "Haber's Sports Shorts" since April 27th, a regular feature to CBS 2 News at 5:30. In my opinion, the old voice-over change on May 18th didn't sound as good as the original one (which premiered on March 22nd). The new voice-over sounds like an improvement.

"CBS 2 News" is Here!

Friday, 5/18/01, 6:45pm "CBS 2 News" Is Here!
It looks as if the name change to "CBS 2 News" has officially taken place. At 5:00, the "CBS 2 News at 5:00" opening was used. This has been used two times in the past few weeks. At 5:30, a new "CBS 2 News at 5:30" opening was used (the announcer recorded the voice over again). And at 6:00, it was called "CBS 2 News at 6:00". Previously, this opening has only been used once. "CBS 2 News This Morning" and "CBS 2 News at Noon" have been using the new title since late April.

CBS 2 News at 6:00

Today was the first time that the "CBS 2 News at 6:00" opening was used. "The News at Noon" changed to "CBS 2 News at Noon" on April 25th, then "CBS 2 News This Morning" on April 26th, followed by "CBS 2 News at 5:00" on April 26th and May 2nd. This appears to be a slow changeover because "CBS 2 News at 5:00" has only been used twice. More information on the name changes as soon as more information becomes available.

CBS 2 Weekend News

At 6:00, "The Weekend News" changed to the "CBS 2 Weekend News". The opening's wording was: "You're watching the CBS 2 Information Network. Live from Fifth Avenue, this is CBS 2 Weekend News." It looks like the "CBS 2 News" is slowly coming!

CBS 2 First News @ 4:00 Talent Opening

Today at 4:09, the new "CBS 2 First News @ 4:00" had a talent opening! It's pretty much the same as the one used in the morning, at noon, at 5:00, and at 6:00, except it begins with the CBS 2 logo. The male announcer says, "You're watching CBS 2 First News at 4, with Ernie Anastos and Dana Tyler." The other talent openings start with the CBS 2 Information Network logo and the female announcer says, "You're watching the CBS 2 Information Network, with..." It's important to point out that Ira Joe Fisher is not in the opening.

CBS 2 News This Morning

This morning, "The News This Morning" officially changed to "CBS 2 News This Morning". Only the wording in the opening changed, and there has been no change to the logo. There are also some "Information Network noises" in the first part of the opening (like at Noon and 4:00). Expect this new name change to carry over to the 5:00 and 6:00 newscasts tonight.

CBS 2 News? Not Yet!

This afternoon we reported that CBS 2 changed the title of their noon newscast to "CBS 2 News at Noon". No changes to the title yet at 5:00 and at 6:00, but it will probably change very soon. Kevin (webmaster of the NBC 10 InfoSite) has sent me the following video of the opening from today at noon: Click here to watch it.