CBS 2 News Reporters Across the Country, Around the World

CBS 2 News currently has three reporters covering political events happening outside of the tri-state area and providing live reports.

Marcia Kramer followed Mayor Michael Bloomberg to Norman, OK. The trip is seen by many as Bloomberg's testing of the political waters for a presidential run.

On the eve of the New Hampsire primary elections, Andrew Kirtzman is reporting from Manchester, NH. While he's been covering all of the Democratic and Republican candidates, his reports have focused on Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton because of her local ties. Kirtzman reported from Des Moines, IA last week on that state's caucuses.

And Lou Young began reporting from Jerusalem, Israel this evening. He's making his 11th trip to the area to cover President George W. Bush's visit later this week. Jim Rosenfield was originally slated to take the trip and even spoke to NewsByte2 about it, but he fell ill at the last minute.

Rosenfield Discusses Israel Assignment

As was previously reported here, CBS 2 News anchor Jim Rosenfield is headed to Israel this weekend. He'll be covering the president's trip to the country.

Rosenfield tells NewsByte2 that this won't be his first visit to the country. Here he recounts his experiences reporting during the Gulf War from Tel Aviv:

That was a time of high anxiety for Israelis, subjected to threats and rocket attacks from Saddam Hussein. But the Israelis tried their best to carry on with their daily lives, despite repeated trips at all hours of the night into their sealed rooms during scud alerts. We had to learn how to don gas masks, and head quickly to a sealed floor of our hotel just as the Israelis did in their own homes. My last night there, one of the scuds did, in fact, hit a neighborhood in a suburb of Tel Aviv. I still remember an elderly man walking through the rubble of what was his apartment. He was a Holocaust survivor who had lived through Hitler's atrocities, but lost his home to Saddam Hussein.

Rosenfield says his focus is to talk with Israelis and Palestinians, especially those with ties to the tri-state area, and getting their reactions on Bush's visit. He will provide live reports on the 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. newscasts beginning Monday and continuing through Thursday night.

Rosenfield to Israel

CBS 2 News anchor Jim Rosenfield announced this evening that he will report from Israel next week. He's going to cover President Bush's visit to Israel, his first as president, which aims to push Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Press Release: CBS 2 Establishes Middle East Bureau In Jerusalem

Beginning next month, CBS 2 will set up a new bureau in Jerusalem, Israel. This comes after reporter Lou Young and former reporter Michael O'Looney have reported on the crisis from the Middle East. CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier will report daily for CBS 2 News as the bureau chief.

CBS 2 News Director Joel Cheatwood says:

The events taking place in the Middle East have an enormous impact on the tri-state area and the people who live here. Many people in our area have family and friends who live in or around the Mideast, while others reside there part-time. Needless-to-say, there is a keen interest in the issues and events impacting the region. It is truly local news to the tri-state area. We are thrilled to have a reporter the caliber of Kimberly Dozier to lead our Middle East bureau. Over the years, she has reported from many of the world’s hot spots, and has been a featured contributor to some of the world’s top news organizations, risking her own safety to keep viewers informed.

To read the press release, click here.

Lou Young Travels To Israel Again

A gunman opened fire today in Jerusalem injuring dozens before he was shot and killed by police. This continues sixteen months of violence and bloodshed between the Israelis and the Palestinians. It was announced today at noon that Lou Young is headed to Israel once again, and he will begin live reports from the area once he lands. This will be Lou Young's third assignment to the Middle East in as many months.

Michael O'Looney To Report From Israel

Last week, CBS 2 News reporter Lou Young traveled to Israel and reported on the latest developments in the region, including the terrorist suicide bombings and the Israeli retaliation. The reports are titled "Assignment: Israel". CBS 2 continues their committment to the ongoing situation in the Middle East when CBS 2 News reporter Michael O'Looney will report from the area, starting tomorrow. Last month, O'Looney traveled through Europe for a series of special reports called "On The Terror Trail".

Lou Young Reports From Tel Aviv

CBS 2 News reporter Lou Young has just arrived in Israel for his latest series of reports, "Assignment: Israel". Today at noon, he reported live on the phone from Tel Aviv, and he talked about the latest Israeli attacks against the Palestinians. He will report live once again on CBS 2 News at 5:00, and later in the evening on Nightcast at 11:00. For more information on "Assignment: Israel", log on to cbsnewyork.com.

Lou Young Travels To Israel Again

This past weekend, over two dozen Israelis were murdered in multiple suicide attacks in Jerusalem and Haifa. To cover the highest tensions in the Middle East in over a year, CBS 2 is sending reporter Lou Young to cover it. Young just returned from the area, including Jerusalem, where his month-long series, "Assignment: Mideast", took him. He will now once again provide live reports and the latest developments from the region beginning tomorrow afternoon. His latest series is called "Assignment: Israel".

CBS 2’s Michael O’Looney Goes Inside Mohammed Atta’s Hamburg Apartment for Special “Nightcast” Reports

A CBS 2 Press Release:

CBS 2’s Michael O’Looney reports from Hamburg, Germany where suspected terrorists Mohamed Atta and Marwan Al-Shehhi had lived prior to the attacks on the World Trade Center. Atta and Al-Shehhi are believed to have been at the controls of the two planes that crashed into New York’s twin towers. O’Looney’s reports will be featured during NIGHTCAST beginning on Thursday, Nov. 15 (11:00-11:35 PM).

Only days after police lifted the seal on the apartment shared by Atta and two of the 19 suspected hijackers, O’Looney was given an exclusive look at where authorities suspect the terror attacks were plotted. He visits with the landlord of the building who said, “I’m shocked… normal students and they’re terrorists!”

O’Looney’s reports also focus on the investigation into the Hamburg terrorist cell, including a look at a radical mosque being monitored by the German Secret Police where Atta and his followers often met. He also examines the alleged link between al Qaeda and Iraq, as well as the relationship between the father of suspected hijacker Ziad Samir Jarrah, a former member of the Stasi, and the al Qaeda terror network.

O’Looney has served as a reporter for WCBS-TV since 1995. His credits include foreign assignments in Egypt, where he investigated the rise of the Islamic fundamentalist movement following the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and in the Bahamas, where he tracked the criminal trail of Sante and Kenneth Kimes, the mother/son grifter team convicted of murdering Manhattan millionaire Irene Silverman.

Cliff Cohen serves as Executive Producer of ON THE TERROR TRAIL. Joel Cheatwood is Executive Vice President for News, Viacom Television Stations and WCBS-TV News Director.

David Diaz Reports From The Dominican Republic

After providing updates from the newsroom yesterday, CBS 2 News reporter David Diaz has been reporting from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, where Flight 587 was scheduled to land yesterday afternoon. His live reports began on CBS 2 News at Noon today. He will cover how the community and the families are coping with yesterday's tragic plane crash. He is the third CBS 2 reporter to travel out of the country this month; Lou Young is reporting from the Middle East, and Michael O'Looney will begin reporting from Europe beginning Thursday night.

Michael O'Looney To Report From Europe

This past weekend CBS 2 began to air promos for Michael O'Looney's trip to Europe. He will travel to France, England, and Germany and will report on how Europe is fighting terrorism. O'Looney will also interview Interpol's top detectives. His reports will start Thursday night at 11:00 on Nightcast.
(Thanks to Kevin for the "CBS 2 Information Network" snapshot!)

CBS 2's Lou Young To Report From Middle East

A CBS 2 Press Release:

Who are our fiercest enemies and are our newest allies really our friends are some of the questions CBS 2’s Lou Young will attempt to uncover when he travels to the heart of the Middle East on a search for answers to the growing number of questions of the American people. Young’s schedule includes visits to Egypt, Jordan, Dubai, Kuwait and Israel, where he will interview intelligence officials, heads of state, religious moderates and extremists, among others. His reports will be broadcast during CBS 2’s 6PM and NIGHTCAST newscasts beginning on Monday, Nov. 5. As Young follows the terror trail of the world’s most wanted men, he will bring to life the stories of those people living everyday with the threat of terrorism, and gauge their reaction to the United States’ retaliatory strikes to one of the nation’s darkest days in history.

A four-time Emmy Award-winner, Young joined WCBS-TV in June 1994. He has served as a reporter in the New York market since 1981. His credits at CBS 2 include reports on the 2000 presidential election, the inauguration of George W. Bush, the recovery efforts of Swissair Flight 111, school shootings in Littleton, Colo. and Conyers, Ga., and investigative reports on the abuse of prescription drugs, and food safety as part of CBS-2’s “Eat at Your Own Risk” series. Additionally, Young also reported from New York and Miami on the international struggle between the U.S. and Cuba involving Elian Gonzalez.

Cliff Cohen serves as Executive Producer, ASSIGNMENT MIDEAST. Joel Cheatwood is Executive Vice President for News, Viacom Television Stations and WCBS-TV News Director.

CBS 2 To Send Reporters Young and O'Looney Overseas

Tuesday, 10/23/01, 3:00pm CBS 2 To Send Reporters Young and O'Looney Overseas
Today's Daily News reports that CBS 2 News's Lou Young will travel to the Middle East next week to report in that region for at least three weeks. Michael O'Looney will go to France where he will interview the head of Interpol (the International Criminal Police Organization) about tracking terrorists such as Osama bin Laden. CBS 2 News Director Joel Cheatwood tells The News, "We wanted a perspective from the opposite side of the coin. This is a story that demands a level of perspective and context that requires going halfway around the world to get." Cheatwood expects to spend thousands of dollars for the trips, mainly due to the high cost of satellite time needed to transmit the reports back to New York.
(Thanks to Michael for informing me about this article!)

CBS 2's Marcia Kramer Reports from Israel

From CBSNEWYORK.com:

CBS 2’s political reporter, Marcia Kramer, will be traveling to Israel to report on a fact-finding mission headed by New York Senator Chuck Schumer. A New York-based Jewish delegation will also be on hand to discuss pressing issues and their impact on Jewish communities in Israel and New York City.

The schedule includes meetings with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Mayor of Jerusalem, Ehud Olmert and United States Ambassador Martin S. Indyk. CBS 2 will be present during a visit to the potential site of the US Embassy in Jerusalem and will be talking to families of victims of recent violence in the region.

Reports from Israel will be televised on WCBS during the 6PM and 11PM “Nightcast” newscasts on Sunday, July 8th and Monday the 9th.

All reports filed from Israel will also be available online at www.cbsnewyork.com.

(Thanks to Kevin for sending me this article!)