WCBS - CBS2 News

[RGSJenkins 434]

Here's what KCBS's control room saw from their view doing WCBS's 5pm news yesterday (Courtesy of Tara Finestone, KCBS's news director). 

 

[IceManNYR 238]

Dana was on at 6 PM.

[kshow 166]

3 hours ago, IceManNYR said:

Dana was on at 6 PM.

this set actually looks amazing. 

[Viper550 291]

This ranks right up with WPEC/WGFL and the American Sports Network set in the "sports studios temporarily being used for local newscasts" department. The only overtly-baseball related thing is the platform the desk is on.

Edited March 22, 2020 by Viper550

[wabceyewitness 818]

Some commentary from FTV Live on WCBS still issues getting on air two weeks after the CBS Broadcast Center was closed. 

 

https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2020/3/25/you-would-expect-better

 

And here is how WBBM Chicago is preparing so they do not become the next WCBS. 

 

https://www.robertfeder.com/2020/03/25/remote-control-cbs-2-tests-emergency-newscast-street/?utm_campaign=Political Still Shines Despite Coronavirus&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Listrak&utm_term=WBBM Tests Emergency Newscast From Street

Edited March 26, 2020 by wabceyewitness

[Bill from Maspeth 33]

IDK how long ago this happened, but Ch. 2 seems to have cancelled the 12 Noon newscast.  They are running Entertainment Tonight or one of those other gossip shows instead.  Bad job by Ch. 2. if this is permanent.  In a time when NY needs more news/information than ever due to this Covid-19, this is a completely irresponsible move.  As it is Channel 2 is last place in the 3 station news race, to my knowledge, and will certainly stay there now.

[nathannah 2413]

1 hour ago, Bill from Maspeth said:

IDK how long ago this happened, but Ch. 2 seems to have cancelled the 12 Noon newscast.  They are running Entertainment Tonight or one of those other gossip shows instead. 

They know it'll be preempted by some kind of Tri-State governor's statement, so why prepare a noon show? They have more important things to worry about (not having a functional building/newsroom) than preparing a noon show that'll probably go in the shredder anyways. These are unusual times and there are stations placing their E/I burdens on during weekday noon hours in order to get them in if 45 preempts them on the weekends and provide something to kids knowing they're a captive audience.

 

Honestly, FTVLive's usual 'news grump' act looks kind of petty right now; I don't give a damn about their whining about some reporter having their regional Emmy in their home shot.

[RGSJenkins 434]

4 hours ago, Bill from Maspeth said:

IDK how long ago this happened, but Ch. 2 seems to have cancelled the 12 Noon newscast.  They are running Entertainment Tonight or one of those other gossip shows instead.  Bad job by Ch. 2. if this is permanent.  In a time when NY needs more news/information than ever due to this Covid-19, this is a completely irresponsible move.  As it is Channel 2 is last place in the 3 station news race, to my knowledge, and will certainly stay there now.

 

3 hours ago, mrschimpf said:

They know it'll be preempted by some kind of Tri-State governor's statement, so why prepare a noon show? They have more important things to worry about (not having a functional building/newsroom) than preparing a noon show that'll probably go in the shredder anyways. These are unusual times and there are stations placing their E/I burdens on during weekday noon hours in order to get them in if 45 preempts them on the weekends and provide something to kids knowing they're a captive audience.

 

Honestly, FTVLive's usual 'news grump' act looks kind of petty right now; I don't give a damn about their whining about some reporter having their regional Emmy in their home shot.

Plus, they're limited on in-studio news anchors since the weekday team is doing all the newscasts for the time being (one anchor only) while the rest is at home or on the field. Save the energy for mornings, evenings, and nights. Besides between 11am-6pm, they'll be preempted by Cuomo (NY), Murphy (NJ), DiBiaso (NYC), and Trump in that order.

[wabceyewitness 818]

Yes, at a time when more people are staying home during the day and wanting more news, it makes perfect sense to cut back on your daytime newscasts......

 

I am amazed at WCBS taking the easy way out of this situation while stations And networks all across the country ramp up news production while being innovative in adhering to social distancing measures.

 

I’m even more amazed at some of the comments here defending the laziness of WCBS during this time when viewers actually will expect more. 

[TVNewsLover 776]

It boggles my mind that some of you are sitting here complaining. Who cares if anchors in LA or SF are anchoring the news. You’re getting the news, aren’t you. It seems petty with everything else going on that people are finding the need to nitpick about every little thing. I’m sure they’re not purposely skipping the noon news. They’re at this age just not able to do it. Change over to channel 7! Some of you are saying that it is irresponsible that they are skipping it, well it’s irresponsible that you guys are sitting here complaining about instead of just changing the channel! End rant.

[MorningNews 1442]

Sure there are bigger issues at hand here and WCBS has been impacted by elements out of their control. But this is another example in a trend of lazy efforts for this news department.

[Weeters 1915]

Maybe their agreement with YES includes that YES needs their studio and control room during the midday. Maybe WCBS doesn't want to add additional stress to an already stressful situation for their staff.

 

There are stations out there who strategically do NOT cover things, to provide a place for people to go who don't want to be bombarded with news. For a long time, WDJT wouldn't do breaking news or severe weather coverage unless it was an extraordinary situation. Why? Not only because they knew that three other stations would do it better, but also because they knew that some people might not care and just want to watch something on TV. By NOT covering the situation, they were providing something for people to watch that wasn't the news.

 

They very well may be doing this on purpose, because they're in a situation where they might not be able to offer any decent coverage at noon, and also know that there are, what, five other OTA stations on at the same time that can do better?

 

They're working out of a borrowed studio, homes, and news cars. Give them a break.

[kshow 166]

They are back in midtown at a “temporary set”. Not sure where this is located. 
 

 

[SPerez 13]

23 minutes ago, kshow said:

They are back in midtown at a “temporary set”. Not sure where this is located. 
 

 

 

 

[RGSJenkins 434]

Y'all happy now? Because if the next time WCBS (or any other station) has to leave their studios for whatever reason, I'm sending them straight to y'all houses so they can stay local. There hasn't been a newscast on WLNY for over 2 weeks and y'all stayed silent but WCBS was forced out and someone else helped them back on the air and y'all think the world was ended.

 

I'm glad they are back at the Broadcast Center (not in the main studio) and they're using CBSN theme for bumpers and the close.

Edited March 27, 2020 by RGSJenkins

[Roadgeek Adam 170]

Listen, if they want to drive to Buffalo to shoot their news, damn it, I will bow in their presence. 

I have no problem with it being produced anywhere at any time, though I for one liked the sidewalk option. 

[TheRyan 560]

On 3/26/2020 at 3:57 PM, Bill from Maspeth said:

IDK how long ago this happened, but Ch. 2 seems to have cancelled the 12 Noon newscast.  They are running Entertainment Tonight or one of those other gossip shows instead.  Bad job by Ch. 2. if this is permanent.  In a time when NY needs more news/information than ever due to this Covid-19, this is a completely irresponsible move.  As it is Channel 2 is last place in the 3 station news race, to my knowledge, and will certainly stay there now.

 

Once they're back to normal in CBS Broadcast Center (and especially once everything calms down with COVID-19), I would imagine they'll get the 12pm newscast restored...if not sooner.

[dman748 1256]

On 3/26/2020 at 2:57 PM, Bill from Maspeth said:

IDK how long ago this happened, but Ch. 2 seems to have cancelled the 12 Noon newscast.  They are running Entertainment Tonight or one of those other gossip shows instead.  Bad job by Ch. 2. if this is permanent.  In a time when NY needs more news/information than ever due to this Covid-19, this is a completely irresponsible move.  As it is Channel 2 is last place in the 3 station news race, to my knowledge, and will certainly stay there now.

Looking at the schedule on the TV Guide app, they replaced the 12pm newscast with Inside Edition. I imagine it's just a temporary move.

[MorningNews 1442]

I'm really confused why some people are taking this so personally? Do you work for WCBS? Absolutely no problem with broadcasting from wherever in the world they can. But dropping an entire newscast with little to no explanation for viewers and at a time when the city is being deemed the epicenter for a global pandemic warrants  questions especially when viewers have complained about frequent unexplained shifts in presenters and traditional segments. 

 

Obviously this doesn't matter much at all and we're all hoping for the best for them and their situation.

[TVNewsLover 776]

10 hours ago, MorningNews said:

Sure there are bigger issues at hand here and WCBS has been impacted by elements out of their control. But this is another example in a trend of lazy efforts for this news department.

Lazy efforts? Sounds like someone sitting on a couch typing away on their phone/tablet complaining about petty items. NYC is currently at the epicenter of this crisis, and in a time where movement is restricted, we’re accusing a station of being lazy because their building may be infected with this disease and isn’t allowing them to resume normal operations resulting in one cancelled newscast (probably the least watched), and necessitating help from sister stations. Gimme a break! If everything else was normal And they were doing this, I would sympathize with your complaint, but not now.

3 hours ago, MorningNews said:

I'm really confused why some people are taking this so personally? Do you work for WCBS? Absolutely no problem with broadcasting from wherever in the world they can. But dropping an entire newscast with little to no explanation for viewers and at a time when the city is being deemed the epicenter for a global pandemic warrants  questions especially when viewers have complained about frequent unexplained shifts in presenters and traditional segments. 

 

Obviously this doesn't matter much at all and we're all hoping for the best for them and their situation.

What viewers are complaining? It seems like just you and two other people. And if it doesn’t matter, then why ARE you complaining? Then again, I don’t know why I’m surprised as your posts usually stick out to me as overcomplaining anyways (see GMA and Today threads). C’mon, there are bigger problems in the world to worry about right now.

Edited March 28, 2020 by TVNewsLover

[MorningNews 1442]

27 minutes ago, TVNewsLover said:

Lazy efforts? Sounds like someone sitting on a couch typing away on their phone/tablet complaining about petty items. NYC is currently at the epicenter of this crisis, and in a time where movement is restricted, we’re accusing a station of being lazy because their building may be infected with this disease and isn’t allowing them to resume normal operations resulting in one cancelled newscast (probably the least watched), and necessitating help from sister stations. Gimme a break! If everything else was normal And they were doing this, I would sympathize with your complaint, but not now.

What viewers are complaining? It seems like just you and two other people. And if it doesn’t matter, then why ARE you complaining? Then again, I don’t know why I’m surprised as your posts usually stick out to me as overcomplaining anyways (see GMA and Today threads). C’mon, there are bigger problems in the world to worry about right now.

There were viewers flooding the WCBS station chatter here months ago upset about the random and unexplained personality swaps on the morning show. And before that there were complains about traffic segments being dropped and inconsistent with no explanation. Obviously COVID-19 is a special circumstance but that has never stopped this site from being a discussion on broadcast news and production, whether it’s praise or criticism. It’s my opinion that WCBS has had some unfortunate luck as of late and it’s showing in their production decisions. 

 

If you’re not surprised, then why are you saying anything to me? This isn’t the first time you’ve felt the need to jump down my back because I gave an opinion. Is the ignore button still an option on this site? If so please feel free to use it.

Edited March 28, 2020 by MorningNews

[Bill from Maspeth 33]

On ‎3‎/‎26‎/‎2020 at 3:57 PM, Bill from Maspeth said:

IDK how long ago this happened, but Ch. 2 seems to have cancelled the 12 Noon newscast.  They are running Entertainment Tonight or one of those other gossip shows instead.  Bad job by Ch. 2. if this is permanent.  In a time when NY needs more news/information than ever due to this Covid-19, this is a completely irresponsible move.  As it is Channel 2 is last place in the 3 station news race, to my knowledge, and will certainly stay there now.

 

Honest to God fellas, I didn't mean to start a war here!

Can we please agree to disagree without being sarcastic to each other?  This has turned into a Twitter like war.

[MediaZone4K 2165]

With the internet (which includes WCBS's website) functional 24/7, and both WABC & WNYW having 12pm newscasts, plus WNBC at 11am, WCBS temporarily omitting a 12pm newscast isn't that critical. It might reflect on some less than stellar internal management as some suggest, but it's nothing that serious. 

 

I will concede that should a situation like this arise again, WCBS, including the other stations/networks need solid contingency plans for backup studio space.

 

Did people really take time out of their day to call the news station because regular news presenters weren't on air?

Edited March 28, 2020 by iron_lion

[ma na ma na 6]

58 minutes ago, iron_lion said:

With the internet (which includes WCBS's website) functional 24/7, and both WABC & WNYW having 12pm newscasts, plus WNBC at 11am, WCBS temporarily omitting a 12pm newscast isn't that critical. It might reflect on some less than stellar internal management as some suggest, but it's nothing that serious. 

 

I will concede that should a situation like this arise again, WCBS, including the other stations/networks need solid contingency plans for backup studio space.

 

Did people really take time out of their day to call the news station because regular news presenters weren't on air?

you're only as good as your last newscast. Anybody on-air at all who left the biz anytime after 9/11 was forgotten by the viewers the next day. local celebrity went out the door almost 20 years ago. aside from a few lifelong fans of particular stations - nobody really notices or cares (especially after the news explosion/expansion from the 90's onward). I wouldn't be the first one to admit about the certain on-air news people that spend every minute of down-time adding anybody and everybody they can to beef up their social media followers. the typical public also follow everything and anybody when they first join social media platforms, then later onward they are actually paying attention to very few of the people they follow.

Edited March 28, 2020 by ma na ma na

[RealNews18 203]

So does anyone actually know how bad/ what exactly is going on at WCBS? News12 Long Island/ Hudson Valley got sent home because there was a case in the newsroom. NJ/ Connecticut took over this morning. Tonight they’re back on air in the building. 24hours as opposed to weeks.