Reporter's Notebook: Building a New Morning Show at Spectrum News NY1

Three weeks ago, I finished my morning anchor shift at Spectrum News NY1 and somebody handed me a sledgehammer. And a pair of gloves. And safety glasses.

Then I got to destroy the office.

To clarify, it wasn’t just “an office.” The wall I destroyed was the backdrop for the news anchor desk in the studio that has been home to NY1’s around-the-clock programming since 2002.

We’re refreshing the channel this fall with new programming, new sets, new technology, and new graphics. The next step in that refresh came to life this week, with the debut of our new morning show “Mornings on 1." The live, three-hour show from 6-9 AM each weekday morning is designed to help New Yorkers get an informed start to their day with a dynamic mix of local news, headlines, politics, weather and transit reports. 

There's No Slowing Down in the 'City That Never Sleeps'

The Spectrum News NY1 “Mornings on 1” team: Traffic Reporter Jamie Stelter, Anchor Pat Kiernan, Business Anchor Annika Pergament and Meteorologist Stacy-Ann Gooden.

When you’re a 24-hour news channel in the “city that never sleeps,” you can’t slow down to launch something new. We had to build a new studio before we could rip apart the old one. And then we had to create a second morning team to rehearse “Mornings on 1.”

So for two weeks, I’ve been off the air anchoring a newscast watched by nobody. Our Spectrum News viewers have seen Kristen Shaughnessy in the weekday morning chair, while I’ve been in a studio down the hall with the "Mornings on 1" team.

That’s led to some interesting scenarios. Like the day when the producers working with me were upset that they weren’t the first to know about a major fire in Brooklyn. We’ve been treating our rehearsals as “real time” and we had to be reminded by our assignment desk that they felt obligated to call the “real” control room first, because our newscast wasn’t actually on TV yet.

A New Set Greets New Yorkers Each Morning on NY1

The new set for NY1's "Mornings on 1" show.

The set for “Mornings on 1” is beautiful. It’s the kind of inviting environment that encourages conversation and a bright start to the day. We’ve assembled a top-notch team for both sides of the camera. While our Senior Executive Producer Eric Gonon is leading the crew in the control room, I’m joined in the studio by Jamie Stelter, Annika Pergament and Stacy-Ann Gooden.

A few weeks ago I celebrated my 20th anniversary as morning anchor at NY1. When Spectrum subscribers approach me on the street, they tell me that the NY1 family has become a part of their family.

We’re going to build on that engagement and connection with "Mornings on 1."

Go behind the scenes with Pat Kiernan and Spectrum News NY1's "Mornings on 1" team here.