WBBM Introduces Sullivan as Anchor

WBBM in Chicago today announced its new weeknight anchor teams, which includes Kate Sullivan. This would be why she's been off since anchoring CBS 2 News This Morning yesterday.

Here's what Sullivan had to say of her new assignment as co-anchor of the 5:00 and 10:00 newscasts starting September 13th:

While I have thoroughly enjoyed my four years in New York ... I am excited to return to the Midwest and do what I love for the people of Chicago. Joining Rob, Bill, Walter and the rest of the CBS 2 news team is a tremendous honor.

Sullivan's last day at WCBS will reportedly be tomorrow.

(By the way, WBBM last week adopted the graphics that CBS 2 recently premiered as the look spreads to other CBS O&O stations.)

Update: CBS2Chicago.com posted video of Kate Sullivan speaking with her new colleagues here.

CBSNewYork.com Returns... Sort Of

As reported yesterday, CBS 2 will again be promoting the cbsnewyork.com domain name instead of wcbstv.com. As of this morning, the "new" domain appears beneath the logo in the on-screen bug and in promos. (Being that the URL is longer, it is now aligned with the entire eye-2 HD logo instead of just the eye and the 2.)

Users who type in cbsnewyork.com are instantly redirected to wcbstv.com, which still has that domain all over the website. Look for that to change, likely later today and in the days ahead.

CBSNewYork.com to Make a Return

CBS will merge the websites for WCBS-TV, 1010 WINS and WFAN SportsRadio 66 in the coming weeks, according to Broadcasting & Cable. The new domain name, CBSNewYork.com, is actually an old one, having been used by WCBS, WFAN and WCBS NewsRadio 880 around five to ten years ago.

The stations have already been collaborating in recent months, with CBS 2's sports anchors doing the 11 p.m. update on WFAN, weather anchors doing the weather on WCBS 880 during the day, and radio reporters often turning up on CBS 2's broadcasts.

B&C also reported this nugget:

The station is considering a 4:30 a.m. news, too. “We’ll see if it’s needed,” says [CBS Television Stations president Peter] Dunn. “If it is, we’ll do it.”

(Thanks to kshow on tvnewstalk.net for the link.)

Sullivan Leaving CBS 2 News

Apologies for being late in reporting this...

Robert Feder blogged Wednesday night that morning and noon co-anchor Kate Sullivan is headed to WBBM in Chicago to co-anchor the evening newscasts there. According to Brian, the print edition of the Daily News reported that Sullivan's final day is this Friday. The New York Post says Lisa Daniels, who was once a reporter and weekend at CBS 2, is among the possible replacements being interviewed, then reported the next day that weekend anchor Mary Calvi was the leading candidate to replace Sullivan.

Sullivan joined the station and a retooled CBS 2 News This Morning with Maurice DuBois in April 2006. The pair also took over the noon newscast last year.

Dana Tyler: 20 Years

On this day in 1990, Dana Tyler started at WCBS-TV as a reporter and weekend anchor. According to her bio, she and Reggie Harris became the first African American anchor team in New York. She has anchored the noon, 4:00 (and 4:30), 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00 newscasts. She's currently anchors CBS 2 News at 6:00 with Don Dahler.

Here's the promo CBS 2 started airing yesterday celebrating her 20 years at the station:

Videos of the New Look

Thanks to YouTube user NYNewsWatch, we have the following HD videos of CBS 2 News' new look from this afternoon:

CBS 2 News Debuts News Graphics

CBS 2 News debuted new graphics today at noon. It appears to be more of a update of the April 2007 Giant Octopus package than an entirely fresh look in that Arial is still the main font and similar CBS eye elements are used for the background animations. One major difference is that the yellow and gold colors that had been used along with the blue seem to have been dropped. As spotted last night and this morning, the "HD" lettering in the logo now sit next to the eye-2 logo and seems to make the logo look unbalanced, especially with the time, temperature and website address aligned with the eye-2 part in the bug.

The whole "upgrade" brings to mind the August 2006 simplification of the April 2006 look.

Here are some snapshots taken from the wcbstv.com videos:









2:29 P.M. UPDATE: A few more snapshots...
Looks like the CBS eye in the lower-thirds gets covered up for specific franchise brands, such as part of a caduceus for HealthWatch.


The weather graphics have also been updated. The graphics for the maps appear to be the same but the new unanimated background appears on the today/tonight/tomorrow slides and seven-day forecast along with new border treatments. The "CBS 2 HDTV" logos in the studio weather center have generally been replaced with "CBS 2 NEWS" logos.

More New Logo Sightings

Something's definitely up... Below is a composite of the new logos spotted in other areas of wcbstv.com this morning:

And here's a larger version of the graphic directing visitors to the station's Twitter page:

The main logo in the banner is still the current "HDTV" logo.

9:37 A.M. UPDATE: The Facebook page has an updated profile picture that seems to show the "HD" part in a slightly different shade as the eye-2 part of the logo, something that was also spotted above:

New Logo On The Way?

CBS 2 News seems to be testing out something on wcbstv.com. On top of the link for the live stream of CBS 2 News at 11:00, there's a graphic telling visitors to watch the noon newscast. What's noticeable is that the logo appears to be different. Instead of "HDTV" beneath the eye and the 2, it's just "HD" to the right of it.

Interestingly, the May 2010 "sweeps" period begins in just minutes.

"WCBS Grand" Anniversary

Ten years ago today, "News 2" debuted a graphics package that was significantly different than anything else the station had used before, including animated lower-thirds for the first time. The music was "WCBS Grand," which you can sample to on Southern Media's News Music Search Archive.