The New Newscasts

Today as CBS 2 aired "The Weakest Link" at 4:00, the debut of "CBS 2 First News @ 4:30" followed. Angela Rae and Todd McDermott anchored this shortened version of the old "First News @ 4:00". Top stories in the beginning, as always, followed by more news, and Robyn Carter's entertainment report at 4:53. Then Angela and Todd ended the newscast, and went to Dana Tyler and Ernie Anastos with a preview of CBS 2 News at 5:00. Brett Haber had the sports report at 5:14, and David Rogers had the forecast at 5:17. Dana Tyler previewed CBS 2 News at 6:00 at 5:19. Tony Tantillo came on at 5:22 with his "Top 5 @ 5:00" (originally "Top 4 at 4:00" since April, and "Top 5 at 5:00" previous to that). This newscast ended at 5:24, with Todd and Angela previewing the next half hour of the news. After a two-and-a-half-minute break, CBS 2 News at 5:30 opened. "No Nonsense Weather" with David Rogers came on shortly after the half-way point, as it has for over a year now. And CBS 2 News at 6:00 stayed relatively unchanged.

CBS 2 Announces More Lineup Changes

According to a CBS 2 Press Release, there will be some changes to the lineups starting Monday. The changes that we've been reporting for a few weeks have been confirmed by the station: Angela Rae and Todd McDermott at 4:30 and 5:30, and Dana Tyler and Ernie Anastos at 5:00 and 6:00. But additional changes are also coming in the weather department. Janine D'Adamo and Ira Joe Fisher will "swap" positions, once again placing Ira in the mornings. The information does not make it clear as to who exactly will do the 5:00, 5:30, and 6:00 weather reports. The release also promised "increased weather coverage", with News Director Joel Cheatwood quoted as saying, "Accurate and timely weather information plays a vital role in our everyday lives. These changes will afford WCBS’s talented weather team the opportunity to deliver the most extensive and complete coverage."

As for the change to "First News @ 4:30", the website has changed most mentions of "First News @ 4:00" to the new title, including an updated image here.
(Thanks to Brian for informing me of the press release!)

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

NY Post Article Confirms Anchor Switch Effective on January 7th, 2002

In today's NY Post, an article confirmed the new afternoon/evening anchor lineup since the day-time version of Weakest Link premieres a week from today reducing the amount of airtime for First News. The article reads:

In other local TV news, Ch. 2 is making some timeslot changes with its anchor teams, since it's slicing its 4 p.m. newscast in half to accommodate the 4 p.m. syndicated, half-hour version of "Weakest Link" hosted by George Gray.

Beginning Jan. 7, Angela Rae and Todd McDermott will now anchor from 4:30 to 5 p.m., with Ernie Anastos and Dana Tyler moving from 5 to 5:30 p.m. It will be Rae and McDermott again from 5:30 to 6 p.m., with Anastos and Tyler remaining at 6 p.m.

(Thanks to David for sending me this article!)

-Michael

More Changes Coming To CBS 2 News?

David has informed me of new information that there may be an anchor change on January 7th. Rumors are circulating that Todd McDermott and Angela Rae will anchor the 4:30 and 5:30 newscasts, while Dana Tyler and Ernie Anastos will anchor at 5:00 and 6:00. This is the first time in nearly four years that a different team will anchor the 5:30pm newscast.

On The Terror Trail

On CBS 2 News at 5:00 today, Michael O'Looney joined Todd McDermott and Angela Rae at the newsdesk today to discuss his recent assignment in Europe. His first report airs tonight on Nightcast at 11:00 on CBS 2. Also related to this story is that I noticed a CBS 2 "On The Terror Trail" promo locally on the three major cable news networks today: CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC. It looks like CBS 2 is trying to get the word out about their latest investigative series.

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.

Ask The Doctors on CBS 2

CBS 2 once again invited doctors into the Information Center in Studio 43 to take phone calls from viewers. At 4:00, Cindy Hsu asked the team of doctors (Dr. Eric Braverman from PATH Medical and Dr. Robert Crupi from Flushing Hospital) about what kinds of questions they were getting. Todd McDermott talked with the two doctors on CBS 2 News at 5:00. As always, the number to call was 1-866-INFO-TWO, and the phone lines were open until 6:30pm.

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.

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 At Noon in Studio 43

Today CBS 2 News at Noon began with the top stories at 11:58, but the anchors weren't standing on the left of the desk this time. Then they had the open, with the CBS 2 Information Network logo and a sweeping shot of Michael Pomeranz and Cindy Hsu at the desk ("Live from the CBS 2 Information Center in New York, this is CBS 2 News at Noon"). Lou Young, standing by the plasma screens on the left, reported on a developing story in Iraq. At 12:08, there was a new CBS HealthWatch animation, and Cindy was standing by the screens. A minute later, Alexis Christoforous joined her and did the CBS.MarketWatch.com report from inside the studio (she usually reports from the CBS.MarketWatch.com Newsroom at noon). Then at 12:17, Dana Tyler had a preview of CBS 2 First News at 4:00 "live in the Information Center". Then they went to Todd McDermott in the CBS 2 Newsroom who previewed CBS 2 News at 5:00, including Marcia Kramer's exclusive interview with Senator Hillary Clinton. More snapshots coming later this week!

Major Changes Starting Tomorrow!

The New York Daily News and the New York Post report the following changes coming to CBS 2, starting tomorrow:
-"New York Live!" will be renamed "First at Four", and anchors will be Dana Tyler and Ernie Anastos (replacing Todd McDermott). This change comes as CBS 2 is trying to give viewers more local news as it looks to improve its ratings.
-"The News at 5:00" with Todd McDermott and possibly Cindy Hsu (instead of Angela Rae), although only The Post is reporting this. This may be false because, just last night, CBS 2 aired a new 5:00 promo with Todd and Angela with a new slogan, "See What's New In Local News".
We're working on getting everything straight, and will have more information as soon as we get it.
(Thanks to Brian, Michael and David for sending me the articles!)

Ira Joe Fisher Returns Next Week

Ira Joe Fisher was live on the phone today at 4:00 during CBS 2's "New York Live!". He confirmed that he's coming back to CBS 2 Wednesday, February 28th as weatherman for the Noon and 4:00 broadcasts. On January 29th, Ira Joe slipped and fell on the ice while walking his dog, and had knee surgery the next day. This is the second time he joined anchors Dana Tyler and Todd McDermott on the phone, the first time was on February 7th.

One The Phone: Ira Joe Fisher

Today at 4:00 on "New York Live!", Dana Tyler and Todd McDermott talked live for a few minutes with Ira Joe Fisher, who was on the phone. Over a week ago, Ira Joe slipped on ice while walking his dog, requiring surgery on his knee cap. He said he was doing well, thanks to his wife and children. It may take weeks, even months, before Ira returns to CBS 2's "The News at Noon" and "New York Live!". I know that CBS 2 viewers and fans hope Ira quickly recovers and returns to his weather anchoring duties soon.

Ira Joe Fisher Hospitalized

Today near the beginning of "New York Live!", Dana Tyler and Todd McDermott said that Ira Joe Fisher, weatherman for the noon and 4:00 newscasts, is in the hospital. Last night, while walking his dog Theodore, he slipped on the ice and hurt his leg. He had surgery on his knee cap in the 4:00 hour, and word is that he's doing fine. It looks like he will not be on CBS 2 for a while, but the "CBS 2 New York" fansite wishes him a speedy recovery!

Giant January on CBS 2

Sports anchors Brett Haber and Gary Apple, along with Amy Stone, have been in Tampa all week long covering the Pre-Super Bowl events. Todd McDermott was live in Tampa yesterday afternoon and evening, anchoring "New York Live!" and "The News at 5:00" as a split-screen edition. Tiki Barber has been providing "Tiki's Journal" since late last week, home video of the Giants and the Super Bowl (Tiki's coming back to "CBS 2 This Morning" in March). Now that we are only 2 days away from the big game, CBS 2 will have special shows. Tonight and Saturday night, CBS 2 will have a special 7pm broadcast. Sunday morning at 11am, CBS 2 will have a special "Super Bowl Warm-Up" show. CBS 2 is also running a lot of "Giant January" promos advertising their coverage (including "Tiki's Journal") and primetime shows (including "Survivor II").

CBS 2 Welcomes Back Ernie Anastos, and more

Today at 4:00 on CBS 2's "New York Live!", Dana Tyler welcomed Todd McDermott as her new co-anchor, and Cindy Hsu with the news headlines. The 5:00pm news is the only newscast that kept the same anchors, Todd McDermott and Angela Rae. At 5:20, they went to Ernie Anastos, and he talked for about a minute about coming back to WCBS. Then at 5:44, Ernie previewed The News at 6:00. Then the 6:00 newscast began, with Dana Tyler on the left and Ernie Anastos on the right. At 6:17, Dana and David Rogers welcomed Ernie back, just before weather. And right before sports, at 6:24, Warner Wolf welcomes Ernie Anastos back too.









There are also some more promos I saw this afternoon and evening. There's a new 30-second "Nightcast" promo, advertising the new 11:00pm newscast with different music (thanks to Delaware Valley Media Watch for the online video). There's also a new 5 second morning promo with Michael and Lisa, Noon promo with Michael and Cindy, and 5:00 promo with Todd and Angela.

CBS 2 Update - Storm Watch, Lisa Hill, and more!

While I was on a vacation for about a week, and while this website was down for over a week, a lot happened regarding CBS 2! I would like to thank David, Teddy, Michael, Brian, and Kevin for keeping me updated while I was away!

CBS 2 Storm Watch Coverage
The biggest storm since the Blizzard of '96 hit the tri-state area all day Saturday. And CBS 2 had expanded team coverage to keep viewers informed. Here's what happened:
Friday, 7:00-8:00pm: Todd McDermott and Angela Rae anchored a one-hour special edition of CBS 2 from Studio 59A. David Rogers had weather. Mostly coverage of the snow storm that was headed directly towards New York City, but also some news, not related to weather, was included.
Saturday, 8:00-9:00am: Michael Pomeranz and Lisa Hill (she went on maternity leave in August 2000 - this was the first time she was back on WCBS since she left). David Rogers also had weather on the rooftop of the CBS Broadcast Center (not the Fifth Avenue studio). Tony Pann was in the studio (59B) with more weather. The first hour of The Saturday Early Show continued at its normal WCBS time, 9:00am, but the second hour did not air.
Saturday, 10:00am-12:??pm: Michael and Lisa had more coverage, which lasted over two hours.
Saturday, 1:00pm: Michael and Lisa had a few more minutes with Storm Watch updates.
Saturday, 2:00-4:30pm: another over-2 hour Storm Watch report with Michael Pomeranz and Lisa Hill, and Metro Traffic reports from Debbie DuHaime (traffic updates from Debbie were all day long).
Saturday, 6:00-6:30pm: Todd McDermott, Angela Rae, and meteorologist Craig Allen had more Storm Watch coverage.
Saturday, 7:00-8:00pm: Todd McDermott, Angela Rae, and meteorologist Craig Allen with another CBS 2 Storm Watch report.
Saturday, 11:00-11:35pm The News at 11:00 with Todd McDermott, Angela Rae, and meteorologist Craig Allen.
Sunday, 8:00-9:00am: Michael Pomeranz and Lisa Hill back with another special weekend morning newscast. Tony Pann with weather, and Carrie Lee with traffic.
Sunday, 6:30-7:00pm: Todd McDermott and Angela Rae with The Weekend News at 6:30.

CBS 2's New Year's Eve Coverage (12/31/00)
Todd McDermott and Angela Rae anchored The News at 11:00 for just over an hour (coverage ended at 12:05am). Tony Pann had weather, and Gary Apple had sports. Live coverage of the famous ball dropping at midnight!

Stephen Clark, CBS News reporter?
David tells me that Stephen Clark, who left CBS 2 on December 22nd, will become a freelance reporter for CBS Newspath for a while, starting tomorrow (Tuesday, January 2nd). He may cover the Presidential Inauguration on January 20th. Will we see Stephen on CBS 2 doing national reports for all CBS affiliates? We will find out soon!

Anchor Changes, Begins Tuesday, January 2nd!
Beginning tomorrow, most CBS 2 newscasts will have anchor changes. Here's a look at what will probably happen:
5:00-7:00am, Michael Pomeranz and Lisa Hill
12:00-12:30pm, Michael Pomeranz and Cindy Hsu
4:00-5:00pm, Cindy Hsu/Todd McDermott and Dana Tyler
5:00-6:00pm, Todd McDermott and Angela Rae
6:00-6:30pm, Ernie Anastos and Dana Tyler
11:00-11:35pm, Ernie Anastos and Angela Rae

Emotional Goodbye To Stephen Clark

If you saw the special holiday edition of "New York Live!" today, you know what I mean by saying it was an emotional show. The last 15-20 minutes of the show were holiday memories with the anchors. Ira Joe Fisher read a poem to a bunch of kids in the studio, and then all of the 4:00 anchors were at a table talking about their Christmas memories. Tony Tantillo ("The Fresh Grocer"), Robyn Carter (entertainment reporter), Todd McDermott (news anchor), Ira Joe Fisher (weather man), Dana Tyler (4, 6, and 11:00 anchor), and Stephen Clark (4, 6, and 11:00 anchor) were all there.

At the end, they mentioned it was Stephen's last day at CBS 2. Dana couldn't finish talking, so Ira Joe quickly helped out. Stephen was obviously very sad about this too, as his eyes became very red, and he didn't say much at all, only smiled. Then at the very end, he played his guitar and sang a song to end the show.

Tonight is Stephen Clark's last newscast, at 11:00. It will also be Dana Tyler's last newscast at 11:00 as she has next week off, and Angela Rae takes her place the week of January 1st.

Evening News Update

Today on "New York Live", the opening was different than the other openings. It looked similar to some of the promos for the show, which started airing on Thursday. After the open, Todd McDermott had a preview of the news, and Ira Joe Fisher had a preview of the weather. After, Dana Tyler and Stephen Clark had a much longer chat than usual, and it appears to be part of the new 4:00 format. Todd McDermott had the news headlines three times (around 4:05, then at 4:31, and at 4:45). Traffic with Heather O'Rourke was twice, at the usual 4:32 and 4:55. Robyn Carter had the "CBS 2 Hollywood.com Entertainment Report" after Ira's weather (the CBS 2 Information Network animation came before the Hollywood.com animation).

At 4:39, a few minutes later than it used to be, "Tomorrow's Daily News Today in New York" segment (the CBS 2 Information Network animation also came before the Daily News animation). The music for the show is the same as used in the commercials, and the graphics are the same, except for the "New York Live!" logo on the left.

On "The News at 5:00", Todd McDermott did a report about the CBS 2 Information Network (same report as the one shown this morning) and there was a "The News at 5:30" opening also. On "The News at 6:00", Michael Pomeranz filled in for Stephen Clark, although Stephen was there for "New York Live!"