“Stay at home if you can and watch channel 7 all day long,” advised WABC reporter Anthony Johnson as he covered the aftermath of a storm that dumped over a foot of snow on the New York area.
New York stations expanded their morning coverage on Thursday to provide local reports on school closings, road conditions, and the city’s clean-up efforts. Viewers looking for sustained local coverage, though, had to flip to WCBS, not WABC, or WNBC, for that matter.
WNBC was the first to go to network programming as it cut to the “Today” show around 8:30 a.m. WABC decided to go to “Live! with Regis and Kelly” at 9:00.
As their competitors went to regularly scheduled programming, WCBS continued its special coverage anchored by Rob Morrison and Mary Calvi.
Meteorologist John Elliott (above, right) and traffic reporter Katie McGee worked alongside Morrison and Calvi in the WCBS studio while a team of reporters were stationed throughout the area.
WCBS reporter Jennifer McLogan, out on Long Island, illustrated the height of the heavy snow drifts in the area by hiking through them. Tony Aiello and Jay Dow drove around the area in the station’s “Mobile2” vehicles, reporting on road conditions from, well, the road. Kathryn Brown was in Brooklyn covering how residents were coping with the heavy snow.
Meanwhile, WNBC cut back to extended local coverage at 9:00 a.m.