NY 1 Marks 20 Years of Reporting Triumph and Tragedy

By Avril Regis

From the World Trade Center bombings and President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial, to the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon, NY1 has been there to give New Yorkers up-to-date 24-hour news coverage on everything happening in the city that never sleeps.

The station covers weather, local news, politics, traffic, sports and arts in the city’s five boroughs.

On Tuesday, in the Empire State Building’s lobby, the station commemorated 20 years on the air. There to celebrate were two of the station’s anchors, Pat Kiernan, who has worked for the station for 15 years, and Roma Torre who has been with the station since the debut.

“We started out as a very risky venture. Not too many people gave us much of a chance,air max 90 femmes ” said the anchorwoman. “We were the classic ‘Little Engine that Could’ in a city that was ruled by media giants. But we proved that youthful energy and good old fashioned chutzpah made us very competitive in this market.”

During the ceremony, the anchors flipped the switch on a miniature version of the Empire State Building to reveal lights in NY1’s signature colors, blue and yellow. The colors also lit the 1,454 feet Empire State Building Tuesday evening.

During her 20 years at NY1, Torre said that some of the best stories she’s covered were some of the most tragic.

“9/11 would have to be one of my best, while other stations were shut down because of their location,… we were able to broadcast live for two weeks straight, commercial free,” said the midday anchorwoman. “I didn’t go home that entire time.”

Anchorman Kiernan also described the September 11,Terrorist Attacks as one of the most important stories he’s covered.

“There were so many tuning in to us for information, we just told the stories of New Yorkers,” said Kiernan. “We’re just a part of the city, the same way the Staten Island Ferry is part of the city, the Yankees are part of the city, the New York Times is part of the city. NY1 is on that list now and that’s a pretty amazing accomplishment in 20 years.”