Chris Wragge of WCBS-TV carves out niche as news anchor

Making his name in news/WCBS-TV

Five years ago, the story to tell about Rutherford, New Jersey, native Chris Wragge was his triumphant return. In 2004, Wragge was named the sports director and weeknight sports anchor at WCBS-TV, replacing local legend Warner Wolf.

Fast forward two years, and Wragge is put in position to receive even more visibility, when station executives make him an offer he can’t refuse—weeknight news anchor.

In hindsight, Wragge said they were doing him a favor with the promotion, given the dramatic changes to the local sports landscape.

Initially, Wragge, teamed with Kristine Johnson, handled the station’s daily noon and 5 p.m. newscasts. Seven months later, the duo got upgraded to main anchor team for the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. broadcasts.

Despite an affinity for sports, Wragge, 39, knew a move to news could only help his career in the long run.

“I wanted to be as versatile as I possibly could in this line of work. … This [news] was the one box on my resume that had not been checked off.”

Wragge’s on-camera work was picking up steam in the past decade, with the majority of it in sports. He also had a stint as a reporter on “Entertainment Tonight.”

Upon taking that different track in television, Wragge acknowledged, “It scared the hell out of me at first.”

Undeterred, Wragge knew he was comfortable enough with TV, no matter what he was reporting, to be successful.

His ears also perked up for the new position when Peter Dunn (WCBS President and General Manager) and David Friend (V.P. and News Director) told Wragge he wouldn’t be forced to “pay his dues” in news reporting.

“The role that they presented was good enough that it wasn’t going to be a huge departure from what I was doing, just a different genre.

“As far as not having the boots on the ground, never having done real hard news, I knew that would just come with time and they would have to be patient with me on that front.”

Part of the patience meant allowing him the chance to fully immerse himself in the day-to-day news operations.

Instead of starting with the newspaper’s sports section and watching the sports networks, Wragge’s regimen now includes reading The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, while tuning to the cable news networks. At this point, he is “so far removed” from the sports world.

Wragge said,“[News is] a bigger part of my fabric. So when things happen I’m much more keenly aware of everything I’m talking about.”

The newly-minted newsman was given some training for the gig, but “it was nothing much.” Wragge said he met with Priscilla Shanks, an independent consultant for on-air training, a few times “to give me a few tips here and there,” before assuming the news anchor role.

Not forgetting his sports background, though, Wragge credits it for helping him deal with breaking news situations. “I like to think I can ad-lib and I can talk out there better than anybody.”

In an effort to reduce criticism of being a “converted sportscaster,” Wragge said his focus was on doing whatever necessary to be seen as a serious newscaster. To that end, he has maintained a 6-day-a-week schedule. He co-hosts the network’s “Saturday Early Show,” while acting as the main fill-in during the weekday version for Harry Smith and newsreader Russ Mitchell. That gives Wragge more exposure, but less time to stay awake.

“Everytime that red light comes on, I’m on point.” Wragge laughed. “But [it’s] as soon as I get off the air that I literally fall into a coma.”

When those extra shifts do occur, Wragge would rather stay focused on his work ethic and not worry about spreading himself too thin.

“There’s never been a time where I’ve been on the air, where I’ve said to myself, ‘God, I really need to take myself away from this because it’s affecting me.’”

But the ability to take himself from the studio for live reporting has been the most rewarding aspect of the job.

“Whatever takes me out of the building and allows me to… get a feel for the situation …that’s what I really enjoy.

“For the most part … anybody in our line of work can sit at an anchor desk and read the TelePrompTer,” Wragge admitted. “I don’t find that to be the most challenging thing in the world. But when things go to hell… I like to think, that I can handle pretty well,” Wragge said.

The news anchor listed a tornado ripping through Brooklyn, Flight 1549 landing in the Hudson River and the Manhattan crane collapses among his most memorable events to cover.

The self-proclaimed workaholic is a six-time Emmy Award winner for his news work.

Among the topics discussed in part two with Chris Wragge include other standout TV moments, those who helped him become a broadcaster and how the recession is hitting WCBS hard.