WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center in midtown Manhattan, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building.
In the few areas of the eastern United States where viewers cannot receive CBS programs over-the-air, WCBS-TV is available on satellite to subscribers of Dish Network and DirecTV, which also provides coverage of the station to Latin America and JetBlue's LiveTV inflight entertainment system.

Logos
WCBS-TV housed one of the highest-rated news operations in New York from the mid-1960s until the early 1980s. Broadcast news pioneer Robert Trout did double duty as a CBS correspondent and as channel 2's main anchor for many years. In 1965, he left for a new assignment in Europe and was succeeded by Jim Jensen. Jensen had only come to WCBS a year earlier, but was already well-known for his coverage of Robert F. Kennedy's 1964 campaign for the United States Senate. His gravelly voice and demeanor were very similar to that of Walter Cronkite, and he was reportedly the model for the character of Jim Dial (played by Charles Kimbrough) on the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown. The station was known in the New York area as a hard news station, with lots of investigative reports and features. Like sister station WBBM-TV, which took a similar approach, it was one of the most respected local news operations in the country.
Under Jensen, WCBS-TV surged past WNBC-TV (channel 4) into first place in the news ratings, and stayed there for most of the time until the mid-1980s. WCBS-TV's other well-known personalities during this era included Jensen's co-anchor Carol Martin; anchors Rolland Smith and Vic Miles; meteorologists Dr. Frank Field and Irv "Mr. G." Gikofsky; reporters Michele Marsh, Tony Guida and Arnold Diaz; and sportscaster Warner Wolf. Meredith Vieira and Randall Pinkston are among other reporters who worked for at channel 2 before moving on to the CBS network.
Channel 2 first faced real competition after WABC-TV (channel 7) introduced Eyewitness News to New York. For most of the 1970s, WCBS-TV went back and forth in first place with channel 7. In the early 1980s, WABC-TV lost some momentum, but WCBS-TV faced a new challenger when WNBC-TV became the first station to run a successful newscast at 5 p.m. However, channel 2 scored a major coup when it lured Field from WNBC in 1984. For much of the early 1980s, New York's "Big Three" stations went back and forth in first place. During this time, three of the longest-tenured anchor teams in New York -- Jensen and Smith, WABC-TV's Roger Grimsby and Bill Beutel, and WNBC-TV's Chuck Scarborough and Sue Simmons -- went head-to-head with each other.
In 1987, WABC surged past WCBS for the lead, and channel 2's ratings went into rapid decline. One of management's more controversial responses was to take Jensen off the anchor desk in late 1994 and demote him to host of a Sunday morning public-affairs show, Sunday Edition. He also hosted a few episodes of the regular "Sports Update" show on Sunday nights at 11:30. At the time, Jensen had served as an anchor longer than anyone in New York television history (he has since been passed by WABC-TV's Beutel and WNBC's Scarborough). The move was roundly criticized by many in New York, especially since WCBS-TV had supported him after he went into drug rehabilitation in 1988. Another controversy involved an exchange between Jensen and co-anchor Bree Walker, whose fingers and toes are fused together (the condition is known as ectrodactyly). After Walker did a report about her experience with the condition, Jensen asked Walker, on the air, if her parents would have aborted her had they known she would have been born with the conditon. Although Walker kept her composure on air, she was obviously disturbed by the question, and soon left the station. This incident took place shortly before Jensen's entry to drug rehabiliation. Station management came under more fire in 1995 when Jensen was forced to retire shortly after the Westinghouse Electric Corporation announced it was buying CBS. By the end of 1995, channel 2 had crashed into last place for the first time in its history, and has remained there for most of the last decade.

News operation
On October 2, 1996, the station executed an unprecedented mass firing without any advance warning, citing the need to shake up its news operation. Seven people were fired: anchors John Johnson, Michele Marsh and Tony Guida; sports anchor Bernie Smilovitz; and reporters Reggie Harris, Roseanne Colletti, and Magee Hickey. The firings came after the 6 p.m. newscast. Johnson and Marsh had anchored the 5:00 newscasts and signed off at 6:00 saying, "We'll see you at 11," but never got a chance to say goodbye on the air.
"The massacre," as it has come to be known, was part of a move to boost ratings, although it came at a time when CBS was under pressure to boost revenues, having been merged with Westinghouse. It was also part of a major reconstruction of the newscast, culminating in the May 1997 rebranding to News 2.

1996 "massacre"
In 2000, Joel Cheatwood, creator of the 7 News format at WSVN in Miami, came in as news director. At his suggestion, the news department rebranded itself from News 2 to the CBS 2 Information Network, using "content partners" such as U.S. News & World Report and VH1. He also gave the newscasts more of a tabloid feel. While considerably watered down compared to Fox flagship WNYW and to Cheatwood's work at WSVN -- and even compared to WSVN's sister station, WHDH-TV in Boston -- it was much flashier than had previously been seen on New York's "Big Three" affiliates. It didn't work, and Cheatwood was gone by 2002 in favor of New York veteran news director Dianne Doctor. The station became simply CBS 2, and gradually phased out the tabloid elements. In its place, Doctor introduced a "news for the people" approach similar to that of her previous employer, WNBC.
After Doctor's arrival, WCBS placed a revived emphasis on hard news, while attempting to revive some elements of its glory days. For instance, in 2003 Arnold Diaz rejoined the station to revive "Shame on You," an Emmy-winning series of investigative segments. He had previously worked at the station from 1973 to 1995. In December 2005, Diaz once again departed, this time leaving for WNYW. Another segment was "Eat at Your Own Risk," which highlighted unsafe conditions at New York-area restaurants. Ironically, the cafeteria at the CBS Broadcast Center was cited for violations by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Violations included the presence of rats and roaches, as well as food temperature issues ([1] [2] [3]).
Despite this and other attempts at fixes, the ratings did not significantly improve under Doctor's watch. Doctor was criticized for airing "Shame on You" and "Eat at Your Own Risk" segments ahead of major stories. She also came under fire when channel 2 led its 11 p.m. newscast of May 24, 2005 with a story and exclusive video of actor Burt Reynolds slapping a CBS producer, while rivals WABC-TV and WNBC-TV led with an important vote in the U.S. House on stem cell research.
On May 27, 2004, Doctor fired popular sports anchor Warner Wolf, three months before his contract expired, without giving Wolf a chance to say goodbye on air. This incident was widely panned by several newspapers, including the New York Daily News [4]. The move alienated and angered many viewers. Wolf was replaced by the much younger Chris Wragge.
On June 1, 2005 Jim Rosenfield rejoined the station to anchor the 5 and 11 p.m. newscasts with Roz Abrams, who joined channel 2 the previous year after an 18-year run at WABC-TV. Rosenfield previously worked at the station from 1998 to 2000, before moving to WNBC (to anchor Live at Five) after a contract dispute with channel 2. Rosenfield replaced Ernie Anastos, who moved to WNYW in July.
On August 22, 2005, WCBS-TV launched its new Doppler radar named "Live Doppler 2 Million". It has one million watts of power, and is live, compared to other dopplers in the market which are delayed by about 15 minutes. "Live Doppler 2 Million" was the punch line of a joke on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live and also was ridiculed on the popular Opie and Anthony radio show. The station renamed the radar in 2006 to "Live Doppler". The station also uses a VIPIR radar. Coincidentally, WCBS transportation reporter Arthur Chi'en was fired from the station three months earlier after mistakenly using expletives live on the air in response to someone from Opie and Anthony disrupting his live report as part of their "Assault on the Media" contest.
On April 14, 2006, Dianne Doctor left WCBS-TV. The station decided to move its news department in a new direction under new general manager Peter Dunn, who axed "Shame on You" and "Eat at Your Own Risk". Doctor reportedly did not agree with the new plans, and opted to leave. The station has since overhauled its graphics and anchor lineup, winning praise from media observers.
Like other CBS-owned stations, WCBS-TV offers a web only newscast called "CBS 2 at Your Desk", available weekdays at 9 a.m. (anchored by Maurice DuBois or Kate Sullivan). Also, you can see streamlined news casts of the noon, 5 and 6 p.m, and the 11 P.M. newscasts (anchored by Kristine Johnson, Chris Wragge, Dana Tyler, and Jim Rosenfield). There is also a "LoHud Report" edition of "At Your Desk", operated by WCBS-TV and LoHud.com, the website for The Journal News, a Gannett Company-owned newspaper covering Westchester County and other areas of the lower Hudson River valley. The Journal News has a partnership with the station where WCBS-TV uses their offices for their Westchester Bureau, and The Journal News gets a 30-second promotion during the 6:00 pm newscast for the next day's top story.
In early September 2006, WCBS-TV's weather department entered into a partnership with The Weather Channel, with meteorologists from the cable service often appearing on-air with existing WCBS-TV meteorologists. WCBS-TV also receives information from the Weather Channel in addition to using their radars and satellite imagery.
On November 6, 2006, WCBS-TV made a personnel change on its Noon and 5 p.m. newscasts. Former sports director and anchor Chris Wragge became co-anchor of both aforementioned programs, along with newly-hired Kristine Johnson. Wragge and Johnson replaced Roz Abrams and Mary Calvi on those shows; Abrams' contract was allowed to lapse, and Calvi was reassigned to weekends as the sole evening anchor. More changes came in early 2007, as John Elliot was introduced as the new morning and noon meteorologist, replacing Audrey Puente, who left the station to become the new chief meteorologist at WWOR-TV. WCBS-TV has also hired Lonnie Quinn, previously a weatherman in Miami. On June 25, 2007, anchors Chris Wragge and Kristine Johnson were promoted as the station's new 5 and 11 p.m. anchors, trading places with Dana Tyler and Jim Rosenfield on the Noon program; Tyler and Rosenfield continue to co-anchor the 6 p.m. newscast. There is speculation that the veteran anchors will leave WCBS-TV once their contracts expire.
In the February 2007 ratings period, WCBS finished second behind WABC from sign-on to sign-off — its best showing in 16 years, although most of its newscasts still finished in third place. [5]
On April 11, 2007, WCBS-TV began broadcasting their newswcasts in high-definition, becoming the third New York City television station to do so.
WCBS-TV cooperates with sister station KYW-TV in Philadelphia in the production and broadcast of statewide New Jersey political debates. When the two stations broadcast a statewide office debate, such as for Governor or United States Senate, they will pool resources and have anchors or reporters from both stations participate in the debate. Additionally, the two stations cooperate in the gathering of news in New Jersey where their markets overlap; sharing reporters, live trucks, and helicopters.

WCBS-TV news in the 2000s

Mary Calvi - weekend evenings
Maurice DuBois - weekday mornings
Deborah Garcia - weekend mornings
Brendan Keefe - weekend mornings
Kristine Johnson - weeknights 5 and 11 p.m.
Jim Rosenfield - weekdays Noon and 6 p.m.
Kate Sullivan - weekday mornings
Dana Tyler - weekdays Noon and 6 p.m.
Chris Wragge - weeknights 5 and 11 p.m.
John Bolaris - weekend evening meteorologist
John Elliot - weekday morning and noon meteorologist
Elise Finch - weekend morning meteorologist
Lonnie Quinn - chief/weeknight meteorologist
John Discepolo - weekday mornings
Ducis Rodgers - sports director/Sunday-Thursday evenings
Sam Ryan - Fridays and Saturdays Personalities

Tony Aiello (Westchester County)
Ti-Hua Chang (investigative)
Kirstin Cole (consumer affairs)
Jay Dow (New Jersey)
Tamsen Fadal
Pablo Guzmán
Magee Hickey
Sean Hennessey
Cindy Hsu (family features)
Brendan Keefe
Andrew Kirtzman
Marcia Kramer (politics)
Katie McGee (morning traffic)
Jennifer McLogan (Long Island)
Dr. Holly Phillips
Tanya Rivero
Hazel Sanchez
John Slattery
Christine Sloan (New Jersey)
Tony Tantillo (food and produce)
Scott Weinberger (investigative)
Lou Young Reporters
(D) - deceased

Roz Abrams
Vanessa Alfano
Craig Allen
Morry Alter
Ernie Anastos
Gary Apple
Gordon Barnes
Pat Battle
Bruce Beck
Len Berman
Jeff Berardelli
Chris Borgen (D)
Steve Bosh
Mario Bosquez
Jim Bouton
Maureen Bunyan
Lisa Castleman
Linda Church
Mary Civiello [6]
Stephen Clark
John Coleman
Roseanne Colletti
Penny Crone
Dennis Cunningham
Chet Curtis
Mark Danon
Vince DeMentri
Arnold Diaz
David Diaz
Diane Dimond
Tom Dunn (D) [7]
Douglas Edwards (D)
Linda Ellerbee
Michael Evans
Kendra Farn
Dr. Frank Field
Storm Field
Ira Joe Fisher
Paul Fleuranges [8]
Jack Ford
Emily Frances
Shon Gables
Leeza Gibbons
Frank Gifford
Irv "Mr. G" Gikofsky
Dr. Max Gomez
J.J. Gonzalez
Tony Guida
Brett Haber
Leonard Harris
Reggie Harris (D) [9]
Lisa (Cooley) Hill
Carol Iovanna
Jim Jensen (D)
John Johnson
Jennifer Jordan
Sukanya Krishnan
Reid Lamberty
Brett Larson
Pia Lindström
Steve Levy
Lynda Lopez
Kerri Lyon
Josh Mankiewicz
Dave Marash
Sal Marchiano
Michele Marsh
Carol Martin
Todd McDermott
Vic Miles
Paul Moniz
Paul Moyer
Mary Murphy
Bill O'Reilly
Dick Oliver
Ralph Penza (D)
Randall Pinkston
Michael Pomeranz
Dave Price
Brigitte Quinn
John Roberts
Carol Reed (D)
Lucille Rich
Jim Ryan
Marilyn Salenger
Mike Schneider
Mark Schumacher
Ren Scott
Roger Sharp (D) [10]
Joel Siegel (D)
Dave Sims
Bernie Smilovitz
Brian Smith
Rolland Smith
Andrea Stassou
John Stossel
Mike Taibbi
Barbara Nevins Taylor
John Tesh
Robert Trout (D)
Earl Ubell (D) [11]
Jane Velez-Mitchell
Meredith Vieira
Bree Walker
Bob Weaver (D)
Robb Weller
Brian Williams
Jerome Wilson [12]
Joe Witte
Warner Wolf
Bob Young Notable alumni

News of the Night (1950s)
The Six O'Clock Report/The Eleven O'Clock Report (1960–1964)
Channel 2 News (1964–1996)
2 News (1996–1997)
News 2 (1997–2001)
CBS 2 News (2001–present) Trivia

WCBS (AM), aka "WCBS Newsradio" (880 kHz.)
WCBS-FM (101.1 MHz.)
Early television stations