For news outlets, Monday afternoon was all about coverage of the historic solar eclipse. Footage blanketed the airwaves as networks followed the event from the point it entered North America in Mexico at around 2:07 p.m. ET until it exited Maine at around 3:35 p.m. ET.
Below are pictures and video highlights from the various news outlets, and, from their reactions, TV newsers were clearly over the moon:
ABC News
- ABC World News Tonight’s David Muir and ABC News Live’s Linsey Davis were stationed at Echo, Lear Center overlooking Lake Champion in Burlington, Vt. Unlike the rest of the marquee anchors stationed in the hinterland for their coverage, they closed out solar eclipse coverage by being one of the last ones in America to experience the eclipse as it exited from the east.
Picture courtesy of ABC News/ MICHAEL LE BRECHT II )
- Robin Roberts and Whit Johnson were effusive while covering the event.
Hello Cleveland!@RobinRoberts and @WhitJohnson experience the total solar eclipse outside the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Ohio. https://t.co/70kUA9bDE4 #EclipseAcrossAmerica. pic.twitter.com/PLoVLsXqVT
— ABC News (@ABC) April 8, 2024
CBS News
- CBS News programming shared interesting facts with viewers. For instance, CBS News Space Consultant Bill Harwood told CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell that holding a cigarette behind the eyepiece of a telescope will light it. O’Donnell also tested out his binoculars, which block more than 99.99999% of the sunlight.
- CBS Mornings’ co-host Tony Dokoupil on the rare social event: “For a few moments today, Americans all over the country and every walk of life will pause their normal routines, close their email browser, put their phones away, and come together to look up.”
Picture courtesy of CBS News
“Wow!” “Oh my God!”
CBS News’ @NorahODonnell and @tonydokoupil take in the thrill of totality as the solar eclipse appears over Indianapolis, Indiana. pic.twitter.com/AdtGA7ulMx
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) April 8, 2024
CNN
- Anchors Boris Sanchez and Brianna Keilar, who were in Indianapolis, Ind., wore eclipse-themed costumes at one point during their coverage.
- Correspondent Kristin Fisher, also reporting from Indianapolis, interviewed her astronaut parents as well as her daughter, who were all present to witness the event.
Picture courtesy of CNN
In case you missed any of our special live coverage of the Eclipse Across America, here’s a few extraordinary moments from jam-packed solar spectacular with our hosts @brikeilarcnn and @Boris_Sanchez. pic.twitter.com/kSRSxlcaBb
— CNN News Central (@NewsCentralCNN) April 8, 2024
Fox Weather
- Meteorologist Stephen Morgan, reporting from Dallas, Texas, said, “It’s overwhelming. I didn’t think I was going to cry. It’s amazing to see. A thin cloud moving overhead, but how weather plays a role in the eclipse. I’m sorry, and I’m not a pretty crier.”
Picture courtesy of Fox Weather
We were live in Eagle Pass, TX, the first location of “totality” in the U.S. for today’s #Eclipse , as things went pitch black at 1:30pm in the afternoon. We had some midnight rave vibes, as people partied across the river in MX, & then we saw daylight return. Amazing sight. pic.twitter.com/Yf5n1p5uei
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 8, 2024
MSNBC
- The network used virtual reality technology to showcase a mixed-reality experience, blending the physical set with a virtual world to demonstrate the path of the eclipse across the U.S.
- MSNBC anchor Katy Tur was joined on set by Lee Billings, the senior editor of Space and Physics for Scientific American, who explained why this year’s solar eclipse was such a unique phenomenon.
Picture courtesy of MSNBC
NBC News
- NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt helmed NBC News’ special coverage from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway: “[We] cover a lot of difficult things to report sometimes, but this is magical … we are in a sea of strangers right now, united by this moment.”
- Plus, correspondent Gadi Schwartz reported on the eclipse’s totality from a plane above Arkansas: “I wish I could go back in time; seriously, it was such an incredible experience.”
Picture courtesy of NBC News
NewsNation
- WGN’s Tom Skilling shared the moment of totality from Carbondale, Ill., which also experienced totality the last time around.
- Ali Bradley reported live from Del Rio, Texas: “Del Rio, of course, coming together. We don’t have a huge crowd here yet because we’re still a little bit away. But we’re listening to live music. And I want to talk about this because Del Rio has only really been known across the nation, Brian, because they were Ground Zero pretty much for this border crisis. You remember when there were nearly 16,000 migrants, mostly from Haiti, underneath the International Bridge here. I was one of the only ones underneath that bridge to see that nearly three years ago. And now the community is hoping to kind of rewrite their history, right? You’re on the map, literally, for something historic and phenomenal.”
Picture courtesy of NewsNation
Scripps News
- Scripps News Correspondent John Mone was live at a viewing event in Kerrville, Texas—approximately 65 miles northwest of San Antonio—where the crowd erupted into cheers as the eclipse’s darkness drenched the town around 2:33 p.m. ET.
Spectrum News
- Spectrum News’ local news networks aligned precisely along the path of totality, enabling the network to have on-the-ground reporting of local reactions as well as perspectives from Spectrum News’ local meteorologists. With the North American solar eclipse starting in Texas, Spectrum News+ was able to dip into coverage of local networks Spectrum News 1 Texas, Kentucky, Ohio, New York and Maine as the eclipse completed its path on the continental U.S.
Picture courtesy of Spectrum News
Picture courtesy of Spectrum News
The Weather Channel
- Despite challenging cloud cover and weather predictions, The Weather Channel meteorologists delivered a seamless viewing experience.
- The Weather Channel also produced an interactive live chat called Follow the Shadow, hosted by meteorologist Heather Zons. This included a multiview of live telescope cameras from across North America, accessible through The Weather Channel streaming app.
Picture courtesy of The Weather Channel
“It’s spectacular.” @TWCChrisWarren shares how he feels about witnessing totality in Cleveland, Ohio. #Eclipse2024 pic.twitter.com/d5SCnwybrr
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) April 8, 2024
