As you undoubtedly know by now, Osama Bin Laden was killed Sunday in Pakistan. Yesterday, local stations were still focusing their energy and resources on the latest developments, especially at Ground Zero.

First, though, a couple of good moves by WPIX. They were the only over-the-air station to carry the White House press briefing at 2 p.m., where presidential advisor John Brennan gave details of the firefight.  Reporter Howard Thompson anchored the coverage from their New York studios.

For its 10 p.m. newscast, Jodi Applegate flanked by a  full compliment of (mostly live) reporters did away with their ”11 Stories in 11 Minutes” segment, and therefore the urgency (also variations on the same story) meant no rundown icons at the bottom of the screen.

Of course, Ernie Anastos and Dari Alexander had their own full coverage at 10 p.m. with multiple reporters, including Harry Martin at Ground Zero.

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If you haven’t seen the PIX News at Ten in the past two weeks, what’s staring back at you might be surprising.  

Gone are the desks and chairs.

Gone is the familiar studio set.  Yet another staple of the TV news biz–the two anchor format with Jim Watkins and Kaity Tong at the helm–has been uprooted in favor of Jodi Applegate flying solo, something she has rarely done throughout her career.

The station built the new look in the newsroom, allowing Applegate to be free of the usual TV news constraints. If nothing else, WPIX management, led by news director Bill Carey, should be recognized for trying to break with the norm. Unfortunately, there’s not much else.

More on the WPIX new appearance after the jump Read more