Maurice DuBois ‘Pleased’ to Get Weeknight Anchoring at WCBS

Since 1997, Maurice DuBois has become a familiar face for millions of viewers. The majority of those years were waking up New Yorkers, first at WNBC, then at WCBS. Now, the affable DuBois is ready to put the alarm clock in a drawer and head for nights. “I was pleased. …I don’t know if you ever expect anything,” DuBois tells FishbowlNY. “You just sort of react to events like this.” Truth be told, this is DuBois’ second stint into the evening at WCBS. He was hired away from Channel 4 in 2004 for the noon and 6 p.m. “I took that job with no guarantees…but sort of a feeling that CBS was going to be in a good place,” DuBois recalls. He says it was the new management team [Peter Dunn and David Friend] that requested DuBois switch back to mornings, leaving the anchor to contemplate his next move. “It took some doing… Initially, I was reluctant,” DuBois admits. “But once I got back to it, it was like going home.” DuBois, a Port Jefferson, N.Y. native, says he has nothing to prove now, despite losing the evening gig in 2006. “That doesn’t even occur to me.” In hindsight, DuBois says the move back to mornings turned out to be a great move. He says CBS 2 This Morning did well in the ratings, plus after doing that daypart for seven years at WNBC, he had a “built-in relationship” with viewers. “And you stick around long enough, look what happens.” After Chris Wragge left WCBS on Friday to join the reconstituted Early Show, it only took another day for DuBois to be named as his replacement. “They presented it to me and said, ‘You don’t have to do this. We know you’re not unhappy.’” Even though happy, and well-established in mornings, DuBois says he’s looking forward to the next chapter of his career, where he’ll co-anchor the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. with Kristine Johnson. The duo previously worked some newscasts together. Additionally, they participate in the annual Komen Race for the Cure special. “We know each other. …We’re pretty familiar with each other, and talking with her, we’re both excited and ready to go,” DuBois says. The DuBois/Johnson pairing starts on January 3. Of course, walking away from mornings is still bittersweet for DuBois. “I really like the people I work with, in front of and behind the camera. …You hear from a lot of people who consider the morning show as part of their routine,” DuBois admits. “So sure I’ll miss that.” Saying he’s never been a morning person, DuBois, who wakes up by 3:30 a.m., won’t miss that. “I’m throwing my alarm clock out,” DuBois laughed.

Fishbowl

Maurice DuBois ‘Pleased’ to Get Weeknight Anchoring at WCBS

Jerry Barmash

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Jerry Barmash