WCBS-TV News

CBS2 2000 – 2003

WCBS, lagging in ratings, brought in WSVN’s creator, Joel Cheatwood to revitalize its news operation. The solution that Cheatwood came up with was… controversial, to say the least. He reinventede the station as the “CBS 2 Information Network”, using reports from various “content partners” such as CBS News, US News and World Report, and even VH1! WCBS seemed to change something every few months. The impressive graphics were unveiled for “News 2” in April; they were then modified for the “CBS 2 Information Network” in October. The 11pm news was overhauled and became “Nightcast” in January 2001, with a different theme and graphics. The newscasts originated from CBS’ “The Early Show” studios, but then moved to the CBS Sports studios in mid-2001. With September 11th, WCBS began to tone down its graphics and eventually ended up dumping the Information Network and Nightcast in 2002.

CBS2 2003

A major shakeup of Viacom/CBS’ television station operations came in 2002, when Dennis Swanson was named president of Viacom Television Stations. Cheatwood was out and WNBC news director Dianne Doctor was in. Predictably, many of Cheatwood’s excesses were toned down under Doctor and Swanson – Nightcast was changed back to “CBS 2 News at 11”, and the tabloid elements began to be ditched in favor of a “news for the people” approach. WCBS unveiled its new sets, graphics, and theme in January 2003. The theme was a revised version of KCBS’ 1997 theme, composed by John Hegner and later named “News In Focus”. Ironically, KCBS dropped its original version just days before WCBS launched its version!