Matt Buckler: Gayle King, CBS win Emmy for morning show

Sep. 29—Ever since the days when it used to share the morning time slot with Captain Kangaroo, CBS has finished last in the network morning show ratings.

It didn't matter who the anchors were, from Harry Smith to Phyllis George, to Bryant Gumbel. And it didn't matter what the format was — CBS couldn't escape the cellar.

The outlook has improved during the past several years with the morning show's emphasis on hard news instead of soft features.

"CBS Mornings" is still in last place, trailing ABC's "Good Morning America" and NBC's "Today."

But it picked up something Wednesday that the other two shows didn't — an Emmy Award.

"CBS Mornings" was selected as Outstanding Live News Program during the first night of the 43rd Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards.

That means that Gayle King, a former anchor for WFSB-TV3 before joining CBS' morning show, is part of an Emmy-winning team.

CBS also was a winner in the Outstanding Recorded News Program for "60 Minutes." After more than 50 years, the show is still ticking.

ABC and Vice tied for the most Emmys with eight while CNN and the New York Times took home five.

Judy Woodruff, the longtime anchor of the "PBS NewsHour," received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The event concludes tonight with the documentary portion of the Emmys.

"CBS Mornings," however, had a huge moment. It may not get the ratings, but it does get the recognition.

Florida focus

A disaster was taking place on the West Coast of Florida Wednesday and the local stations were using all their resources to cover it.

All that was needed, however, was the video. It took just a few shots of Fort Myers, Florida buried under water for viewers to realize what a major impact this story had.

There was one video of a reporter unable to walk straight, almost getting blown away, trying to hold a street sign that was being blown away. When you take your life in your own hands just crossing the street, you know Hurricane Ian was packing some fisticuffs.

WTNH-TV8 reporter Bob Wilson was able to talk to a former East Hartford woman who is now living in Fort Meyers who was able to describe first-hand how vicious the weather was.

"It's scary," she said. "the wind is howling like a freight train."

It was a train carrying wind, rain, and storm surges.

Local reporters were also at Vinyl Tech High School in Middletown to show how students are giving first responders in Florida valuable information. Helping first responders is even better than getting an A+.

The major sports story of the night took place in Toronto, where New York Yankees' star Aaron Judge hit his 61st homer to tie Roger Maris for the Yankee and American League record.

Three stations — WTNH-TV8, WVIT-TV30, and WFSB-TV3 led with the blast on their late sportscast while WTIC-TV61 presented a story on UConn football before finally going to Judge. Since Judge did something that hasn't been done in 61 years, you have to question the news judgement.

During the 11 p.m. sportscast, anchor Jonah Karp shifted gears and did open up with Judge.

Channel 61 should receive some credit for sticking with UConn football, despite its 1-4 start. Channels 8 and 3, for example, have already shifted its coverage to UConn men's basketball, which started practice this week.

UConn football hasn't completed half the season, and already local TV is looking ahead to the basketball season.

Follow Matt Buckler for more television, radio, and sports coverage on the JI's Twitter @journalinquirer, and see his articles on the Journal Inquirer Facebook page.