One of the perks of living in NYC is getting NY1, a Time-Warner run all-NYC-news, all-the-time channel. While it’s barely live (and they are careful to label their field reporters with “On Scene” instead of “Live”), it has some interesting
qualities.
For instance: Pat Kiernan, who normally anchors in the weekday mornings, can be a little silly in a dry way, and isn’t afraid to poke fun at himself. Here is a man who, after hearing a long-winded explanation of why the new Time-Warner building was not a mall but a “vertical shopping experience”, shrugged his shoulders and plainly said “Well, it’s a very nice mall.” Here is a man who referred to himself (in reference to an article about a lawsuit he had filed) as “some lunatic”.
And as for why I’m bringing this up today – Gary Anthony Ramsay is a reporter for NY1 who has been notable over this winter because he’s always stuck outside (always in Queens) whenever there’s a segment about the weather. Yesterday, he looked absolutely miserable as the snow was piling up on his head, although he tries to stay chipper about it.
This morning, it’s still snowing, and since not much newsworthy happened in the city yesterday, it remained the top story. But as I watched Gary’s segment come on, I noticed something a little different…
They let Gary report from a car! Not only that, but look at him – he’s reclined!
And then they took time out for banter! This is at 5 minutes in to the half-hour news “program” (they operate similarly to Headline News). Normally such a slot is reserved for, you know, news.
Even the field reporter after him took a dig at him, saying that he was “really earning his money today, unlike Gary”.
I have grown weary – and who hasnt? – of droning news reporters, or the EVERYTHING IS THRILLINGLY SERIOUS! style of reporting. And shows where the primary device is “Hey, we’re all sitting around a living room, come join our family” reek of insincerity. NY1, on the other hand, stays just serious enough while not acting like the world is crumbling, and they stay smiling through all of it. It certainly comes across better than any other news show I’ve ever watched, and I’m saying this as someone who used to watch Today in the morning.
And let’s not forget the other perks – the triple entertainment reporter whammy of George Whipple (how can you not love those eyebrows?), Neil Rosen (who does surprisingly balanced movie reviews), and Dalton Ross (of Entertainment Weekly snarky-tv-summary fame). Weather reports every 10 minutes. Restaurant and Broadway reviews. Live event coverage of all the major things in NYC, including seemingly minor things like the Village Halloween Parade.
All in all, it’s a fantastic station – so if you’re ever visiting NYC and in your hotel in the morning, turn on NY1. It’s a good time.