Pope Benedict

With the even the slightest hint that New York’s own Cardinal Dolan, dare we say it, could become the next pope, starions are flocking to wait for the puff of smoke.

Among the stations sending correspondents is WCBS/Channel 2 as reporter Tony Aiello spends the rest of week Rome.

WNBC/Channel 4 will send anchor David Ushery, who previously covered the pope, returns to the Vatican for the Conclave of Cardinals that is expected to start next week.

WABC/Channel 7 weekend anchor Joe Torres will be in Rome. The station could not confirm, though, when he will begin to file reports.

On radio, veteran reporter Rich Lamb will make his way to Rome early next week for the Conclave.

WINS is sending Juliet Papa to cover the events at the Sistine Chapel. News director Ben Mevorach tells FishbowlNY, “She has traveled to Rome to cover the Pope on several other occasions for us, so she is well prepared and will bring listeners a very experienced perspective.”

Update: WPIX is sending to reporters Dan Mannarino and Mary Murphy, according to a tweet by Mannarino.

NY1 reporter Vivian Lee is headed to Rome. She’ll cover the papal resignation Thursday. Lee will resume daily updates Sunday as the cardinals hold their Conclave to select the next pope.

Photo credit: biography.com

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The rampage is the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, behind the Virigina Tech massacre in 2007 where 32 students died.

The weekend was the time for families and friends to cope with the insurmountable loss. President Obama attended last night’s prayer vigil.

Although Newtown is on the outskirts of the New York tri-state area, it’s close enough for stations to easily send reporters to cover the services.

By Saturday, this was anything but a typical story. WNYW/Channel 5 brought in Dari Alexander to co-anchor with Christina Park. Likely unrelated, top meteorologist Nick Gregory was on-duty Saturday night as well.

For the Sunday night vigil, it was WABC/Channel 7 that shined. Bill Ritter anchored for Newtown, while Sade Baderinwa was behind the desk. Ritter struck the perfect balance of reporting the information, while masterfully dealing with the incredibly sad story.

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Most of the city stations took Mayor Bloomberg’s briefings live and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie‘s comments. WCBS/Channel 2 left wall-to-wall mode at 1 p.m. to join the New York Jets game. However, sister station WLNY TV 10/55, anchored by Cindy Hsu, broke into the Munsters Marathon for the latest Christie press conference.

Channel 2, though, was first to bring in the main team. At halftime of the Jets game, viewers got another sense of the severity as Maurice DuBois and Kristine Johnson assumed the coverage with Lonnie Quinn tracking the potentially deadly storm.

“I’ll be with you all night, guys,” Quinn said.

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Anchors Sandra Bookman and Joe Torres, meteorologist Jeff Smith, and sports anchor Laura Behnke now give viewers a comprehensive 60 minutes until midnight.

“We thought that another half-hour of news would be better received by the viewers than the repeat, syndicated programming that we have been running there,” Dave Davis, WABC president and general manager, tells FishbowlNY.

It’s rare to consider a newscast counter-programming, but with options like Saturday Night Live on WNBC and recent episodes of Alcatraz and New Girl on WNYW/Channel 5, WABC is providing another choice for the proven commodities.

Davis says the change has already been evident, as numbers indicate more people sticking with WABC’s news during the weekend than prior to the expansion.

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Last month, Dolan was chosen by the Vatican to become a Cardinal. His elevation is scheduled for Saturday, February 18 in Rome.

Dolan won’t be making the trip alone. A contingent of TV and radio reporters is headed to Italy to cover the elevation.

• WCBS/Channel 2: Anchor Maurice DuBois and reporter Tony Aiello will be in Rome starting at mid-week. Aiello files reports on Wednesday, while DuBois begins on Thurs. Channel 2 covers the elevation ceremony live at 4:30 a.m.
• WNBC/Channel 4: Weekend anchor David Ushery leaves for Rome on Sunday to take part in the station’s coverage next week.

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On a night that the world learned about the death of Osama Bin Laden, TV networks and New York City stations poured in special coverage.

The first word came in at 10:45 p.m. last night that President Obama would make a major announcement from the East Room of the White House. He actually was scheduled to speak to the nation at 10:30 p.m.

The major networks all hit the air.

At the same time, Fox 5/WNYW broke into Sports Extra with anchor Sharon Crowley telling the audience that President Obama would speak shortly. Waiting, Fox 5 returned its regularly scheduled programming. Following Sports Extra, Crowley did have an extended 10 minutes leading up to Fox News Channel’s simulcast at 11:10 p.m. (Ironically, FNC had the graphic as their standard–”Usama,” while previously he was “Osama” on WNYW.)

Meanwhile at WPIX, Jim Watkins informed viewers of the breaking news at approximately 10:50 p.m., moments after the networks took to the air.    
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— DIANE CLEHANE

How about a side order of sound investment advice with that salmon? When none other than Warren Buffett showed up at Michael’s today, every head in the dining room turned his way. Even if he is ‘the world’s greatest investor,’ this legend is, by all accounts, fairly low-key when dining out. He ambled over to his table without a fuss and waited patiently for his date, Fortune‘s Carol Loomis, who has written extensively on him.

It seemed money was on everyone’s mind today. When I sat down, I found myself right next to Cosmopolitan‘s Kate White as she lunched with Jean Chatzky, the financial guru who dispenses tips on the Today show and Oprah. When Kate asked, “Do you have any questions for Jean?” I wasn’t sure where to start. So, I decided to go with whether we’d seen the bottom of the market. Jean replied, “I think we could still see some dips, but that doesn’t mean I’m not investing.” Being a financial novice myself, I also queried her on why there’s so much talk about the recession being over when employment continues to climb. She explained, “The markets are the leading indicator” while the unemployment statistics “lag a bit behind.” All of us agreed that, based on all the folks we know who are under-employed or who have just given up searching for jobs all together at the moment, the unemployment figure is actually much higher than what’s reported. I guess that means don’t take all of that money out from underneath your mattress just yet.

Here’s the rundown on today’s crowd:

1. Mrs. Martin Bregman and pals, so we’re told.

2. The New York Post‘s Keith Kelly (love the beard!) and a fellow we didn’t recognize.

3. Warren Buffett and Carol Loomis were in and out before we even got our salads. Guess that proves the old adage ‘time is money!’

4. Men’s Health honcho Dave Zinczenko and William Morris’ Jon Rosen. Dave is everywhere these days promoting the 2010 edition of Eat This, Not That! and its low-cal cousin, Eat This, Not That! Restaurant Survival Guide: The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution. Watch out Zagats! He’s been on the Today show, Extra, and The Bonnie Hunt Show of late to reveal the staggering fat and calorie counts of some seemingly innocent-looking food. (Did you know Cosi’s Cobb salad has a whopping 55 grams of fat? Now you do!) Dave told me he was headed off to tape a segment on Rachel Ray after lunch. Perhaps he’ll helm his own show one day soon. Stay tuned.

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