A man scaling Trump Tower in Manhattan using suction cups took over the 4 p.m. newscasts on two of New York’s stations this afternoon.
WABC was in its 4 p.m. news when it tossed to NJ Burkett at 57th and 5th ave. to cover the climb live. Burkett said at the time the situation was under control and NYPD was working to get him into a safe position and had established a perimeter around the building which is located in a heavily touristed area. The station also had reporter Jim Dolan on scene.
CBS-owned station WCBS, which doesn’t have a 4, had Valerie Castro on scene on its 5 p.m. newscast and got reaction from bystanders. The station cleared out its format to stay with the unfolding drama.
NBC-owned WNBC stayed with Olympic coverage which pre-empted its usual 4 p.m. newscast until 5 to show the man’s ascent after updating viewers on severe weather in the area. Ray Villeda was on scene for the station
Fox-owned WNYW broke into TMZ with a one-minute update from Steve Lacy. The station aired video shot by twitter user Jason Chu who they credited with breaking the story. The station returned at 5 p.m. for its usual newscast, going with the story after a severe weather update and a story about the presidential election. It had Jennifer Lahmers at the scene.
Tribune’s WPIX also covered the story in its 5 p.m. It took a short break from the climber to cover the severe weather warnings in Long Island before rejoining the story.