WCBS anchor Rob Morrison will be in a Connecticut courtroom tomorrow facing domestic abuse charges. NBCConnecticut, where Morrison once worked, reports Darien, CT authorities responded to the couple’s home at 1:30 a.m. Sunday after Morrison’s mother-in-law called police.

Morrison is accused of choking his wife, Ashley Morrison, a CBS MoneyWatch anchor. Police said he became “increasingly belligerent” over the evening and used both hands to choke her. He is charged with second-degree strangulation, second-degree threatening and disorderly conduct. He posted the $100,000 bail.

WCBS reported the news in the first block of Monday’s 5pm newscast. Anchor Maurice DuBois said the Morrisons released a statement saying they are cooperating with the police and “are confident a physical investigation will show the allegations have been greatly exaggerated.”

Morrison, 44, joined WCBS in 2009 and began anchoring the morning show in 2010. Before that, he’d spent nearly 10 years at WNBC including reporting for NBC News during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Morrison is a Marine Corps veteran.

>Update: a WCBS spokesperson said the issue is a “personal matter” and declined to comment.

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As you may have heard, Hurricane Sandy is taking aim at the Eastern Seaboard and has the potential to merge with a strong cold front coming in from the west, putting the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions in danger of being hit by a “superstorm” (or a “Frankenstorm,” depending on how much you want to get into the Halloween spirit) next week.

• Related, TVNewser: Ready or Not, Here Comes Hurricane Sandy

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a Friday afternoon press conference on the threat, calling Sandy a “large, unpredictable” storm and warning residents to be prepared. The five New York City stations all broke into their respective afternoon programming — “Dr. Phil” on WCBS, “Katie” on WABC, “Steve Harvey” on WNBC, “The People’s Court” on WNYW and “Maury” on WPIX — to broadcast the press conference.  continued…

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New York City stations devoted all resources this morning to coverage of the celebration parade for the New York Giants, who returned home yesterday after a big win in Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVI.

Rob Powers and Lori Stokes anchored WABC‘s coverage from City Hall. The pair were joined by 10 reporters along the parade route for “up-to-the-second excitement of this great parade,” Powers said.

WNYW-WWOR‘s coverage kicked off at 1o a.m. with Dari Alexander, Ernie Anastos and sports director Russ Salzberg anchoring outside City Hall. Steve Lacy, Jill Nicolini and John Huddy were along the parade route. continued…

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Chris Wragge

“It’s up to Peter and David.  I am strictly at their mercy,” Wragge told FishbowlNY on Tuesday, talking about his return to WCBS where Maurice DuBois is now top anchor.  “I’m just going to do whatever the hell they want me to do.”

Wragge has been co-anchoring WCBS’s 6 p.m. newscast since the beginning of September, in addition to appearing on “The Early Show,” but his role on the morning show will significantly decrease January 9th as Charlie Rose and Gayle King take over.

Wragge says he plans to come back to “The Early Show” at some point, though: “I’m being benched for a little while, but there is a second half.” Read more at FishbowlNY

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Just a few hours after the conclusion of the Chris Christie press conference, there was more breaking news in New York City — a helicopter crash in the East River, near Manhattan’s 34th Street.

WCBS‘ Maurice DuBois was the first to break the news 3:27 p.m., followed by WABC‘s Bill Ritter at 3:29 p.m. and WNBC‘s Chuck Scarborough at 3:31 p.m. Ernie Anastos on WNYW followed at 3:32 p.m. Anastos was also on the air less than ten minutes earlier reporting on a school lockdown on Long Island.

Cable news stations were using video from local affiliates — MSNBC was taking the WNBC feed, while CNN was using WABC’s chopper camera. Fox News Channel also took the WABC feed for short time after the news broke, switching over to Fox O&O WNYW when their chopper arrived on the scene.

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New York stations preempted regularly scheduled programming this afternoon to bring live coverage of President Obama’s visit to Ground Zero, which occurred around 1:00 p.m. today.

Bill Ritter anchored WABC‘s special coverage from Ground Zero, with Dianna Williams and Sade Baderinwa appearing in the studio. Reporters David Novarro, Tim Fleischer, and Anthony Johnson covered the president’s movements through Manhattan, from a local fire house, to Ground Zero, to an NYPD precinct.

On WCBS, Maurice DuBois was stationed at Ground Zero, in a position similar to Ritter’s, while Marcia Kramer reported live on the president’s appearance, in which he hung a wreath in honor of those that died on 9/11.

“It was truly the most somber ceremony I have ever seen,” Kramer said. “It was a very moving one for the very simplicity… President Obama said much more with his silence than he ever could have with his words.” continued…

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For the first time since the 1994, the year CBS aired the Lillehammer Winter Olympics, WCBS’s late newscast has finished first in the New York market.

WCBS averaged 486,000 viewers during the full week and 502,000 Monday through Friday.

“This is a remarkable achievement and a testament to the hard work of everyone here at CBS 2, both in front of and behind the cameras,” said Peter Dunn, WCBS’s president and general manager.

WCBS no doubt benefited from CBS’s #1 primetime lineup as well as a promotional push touting DuBois’s move to 11 p.m., which included ads throughout the New York City subway system. continued…

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Rob Morrison

TVSpy’s sister site FishbowlNY has obtained an internal memo sent to WCBS staffers this morning announcing the appointment.  “Thankfully, Rob has both the experience and familiarity with morning news viewers that make him a natural successor,” WCBS president and GM Peter Dunn writes in the memo.

Morrison joined WCBS in 2009 and has been anchoring the station’s weekend morning newscasts.  He is a veteran of the New York market, having worked as a reporter and anchor at WNBC for nearly ten years.
continued…

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