Geoffrey

I think Cindy stated on Facebook recently that she prefers working evenings to mornings. It's easier to have a more normal sleep/life schedule that way. But she always just goes with the flow and smiles while doing whatever is asked of her. There was a brief time years ago (around 2007) when it seemed like they'd let anyone other than Cindy anchor. Seemed like she was on her way out. But then they put her on weekends and she's back to filling in on weekday mornings. You can tell from both on-air and social media comments that the other anchors love having her there.

Don Dahler is filling in for Maurice DuBois tonight at 5:00. He used to be the 6:00 co-anchor before moving to CBS News a few years ago to report. Interesting that they have him back to fill in.

Hmm, I missed the beginning of 12 Nightside but I think I watched from around 7:20 through 8:00. It seemed like the same newscast to me. I didn't notice any format change. But maybe it was all at the top?

WNYT Albany's Jessica Layton says she will be joining WCBS to report at the end of June: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1017144121706442

Many companies allow for leave of absence. Anyone judging Dana without knowing the full story is a fool.

Unsure of the new graphics. This is much more in line with how I expected the show to look when I heard it was going to be called "CBS This Morning": White and yellow. The CBS This Morning logo (which has been altered... "CBS THIS" on top and "MORNING" on the bottom) is much closer to the left side edge, as if they're airing in 16:9 everywhere. But the CBS Eye bug on the right has not been moved, looking like a 4:3 broadcast. The time/temp section of the ticker no longer matches the angles. I liked how the previous lower-thirds seemed more dynamic, with the top bar re-sizing, depending on the length of the words/name.

Disappointed in that article. An unnamed source is cited as believing something. Not only does it sound like it could be something someone told him to stop asking questions, but it sounds like it could be a very personal issue and now her business is out there in the open. I know Cindy Hsu is a public figure but she is due some privacy and publishing speculation like this just seems lousy to me. Either way, I wish Cindy a speedy resolution to whatever is going on as she is an awesome person and deserves only the very best. I look forward to seeing her back on CBS 2 very soon.

CBS This Morning is broadcasting from the observation deck of 1 World Trade Center this morning ahead of its opening next week. Norah, Charlie and Gayle are on the 102nd floor with a very nice view behind them. The photos to the left of the CTM logo in the bug are also WTC-focused.

WFAA in Dallas has hired Mike Leslie as a sports reporter: https://twitter.com/wfaasports/status/581131542451326976 He'll begin April 6th and will be taking over for the recently retired George Riba. https://twitter.com/MikeLeslieTV/status/581126753428463616 / He was most recently in Charlotte, where he was a host on ESPN 730. Before that, he was a sports anchor at Fox 46 Charlotte. He's also done sports on 7 News in Boston.

Actually, I believe CBS 2 was one of the first stations to stream its newscasts, especially in New York. But not too long after the website merged with the radio stations', they dropped it.

I noticed the morning newscast also streamed this morning. Hope they don't get lazy and give up on the live streams like they did a few years ago. (The website is run by the radio stations and TV always seems to be an afterthought for them. This is very backward to me.)

On WCBS this morning, the local ticker has been updated to reflect the new graphics. (I didn't notice it previously and they had their snow delays ticker yesterday when I watched). Like the updated bottom line of the lower-third, the ticker no longer "curves"/"wraps" next to the CBS eye bug. And for the first time in years, WCBS displays it correctly. (It's hard to explain but the angle that divided the time/temp and the rest of the text seemed strangely difficult for WCBS to handle while other affiliates had no problem with it.)

Can't provide snapshots (rushing to work) but CBS This Morning updated their lower-thirds this morning. Similar design but they're taller now and they've eliminated the blacks. The logo is now on a light gray/silvery shape and the top part, when showing a name, is now blue instead of black. I'm not a fan of the change. The previous look was simple but sleek. Now it looks clunky and cartoonish. I missed the open so I have no idea if that changed at all. Upper thirds for the locations and stuff are unchanged (white text on black).

I think live shots as large backdrops are difficult. If it's even slightly windy, the size of the screen will magnify the shakiness and not only destroy the illusion of it being a window but also make viewers dizzy. You need a camera that's stabilized and I think most skyline ones stations use are not.

Now that they added "Tonight" to the title, they should remove "World" and "News".

I think the first one was supposed to be their take on ABC 7's promos where they have "real people" interacting with the anchors. However, unlike the ABC 7 promos, CBS 2's "real people" seemed more like bad actors.

The big difference is that WLNY didn't have a tradition of excellence, especially at 7 a.m.

She's not the first person at the sttaion recently to lose her gig coming back from maternity leave: http://newsbyte2.blogspot.com/2014/04/alex-denis-returns.html

Apologies if this has been noted before but it's new to me... During the Mets broadcast just now, Gary Cohen was reading a promo for the next Mets broadcast on the station and ended it with "...on New York's own PIX 11." Not the same as "Chicago's very own" but it reminded me of WGN. I wonder if this will be used more often or if it was just a one-time line in a live promo script?

I'm surprised local newscasts have been so slow to do this. ESPN, CNN and Fox News did this years ago. Fox Sports has also been doing this for some time on broadcast TV. It's time for this to be a thing.

I think it's Steve Stone... He's been their backup since Brian Lee started in April 2007. It's weird for him to be filling in during sweeps... I wonder if Lee's under the weather or something.

Very nice spots. I like the humor and the fast pace. Though I could imagine getting sick of them quickly, especially if you're watching the Olympics all night and you see them multiple times.

They've also been promoting a "new and improved Mobile 2, equipped with more high-tech features." No further explanation but it looks like those high-tech features are mounts for the cameras. (One facing the reporter, the other facing forward.)

"TV" at the end of the Twitter names is weird. I've come to associate it with what freelancers use. I think it's even worse than "WCBSWLNY"... Bravo to Chris Wragge for being apparently the only one to keep his name his name.

NBC 4 also carried the address live.