NBC Nightly News took the show on the road last night — outside 30 Rock — to show viewers around the country what 20 inches of snow looks like. Brian Williams anchored the top of the broadcast from Rockefeller Plaza, and finished in the studio above “Today,” where Keith Olbermann hosts his MSNBC show. CBS’ Harry Smith, in for Katie Couric, and ABC’s David Muir, in for Diane Sawyer (who just passed the one-year mark atop “World News”) anchored their shows from inside.
It was around the time of the evening newscasts that we dug out, and headed to Central Park. We ran into NBC’s Lester Holt who was finishing up his “Nightly” live report at Columbus Circle, across from CNN’s New York studios. Like most of his colleagues, it was a long day for Holt, and a quick turn-around as he’s filling in for Matt Lauer on “Today” all week, and for Williams later this week.
We emerged from the park around 67th street where we ran into another news crew, this one from ABC’s affiliate service Newsone. Correspondent T.J. Winick was prepping a liveshot for Seattle affiliate KOMO. All tolled, Winick did 20 affiliate live reports. In all, Newsone produced 35 shots from early morning to late night across the U.S. as well as for the BBC and CTV.