‘CBS This Morning,’ ‘Fox & Friends’ Anchors Return To Studio

Ted Johnson
·4 min read

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As New York City entered a phase two of reopening to the coronavirus crisis, CBS This Morning and Fox & Friends anchors returned to their studios.

For nearly 100 days, CBS This Morning has been away from CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street. The network shut down the facility after multiple employees tested positive for coronavirus.

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“I couldn’t sleep last night, so I’m either nervous or excited. I’m not nervous so I know I’m very excited to be here,” co-anchor Gayle King said to co-anchor Anthony Mason on Monday’s show.

“It is great to be back,” Mason said.

“I can’t even tell you how great I feel today,” King added.

Co-anchor Tony Dokoupil continues to broadcast from home because “we want to be extra cautious,” he said, adding that “one of us will continue to broadcast remotely for the time being, and of those who are going in, it is only the most essential people to get us on TV every day. We are taking all the precautions. We are being safe as we possibly can be.”

Employees who are using the CBS Broadcast Center continue to take extra precautions, including limiting the number of people in elevators, wearing masks when not on the air and coming in separate doors, King said.

Fox & Friends also returned anchors to its studio on Monday.

Steve Doocy told viewers, “After 100 days apart, we are all back in the studio again social distancing, but nonetheless it’s good to be back live in the big room. Brian’s right there and Ainsley’s right there. Thank you for joining us.” Video here.

“You know what this means? This means when we have comments on each other, we no longer have a delay,” said Brian Kilmeade. “We can actually comment on what each other says.”

Co-anchor Ainsley Earhardt said thanked the crew. “There were points of this where people were scared to come into the city and come into the studio and that’s why we did our home studios. We all want to thank you all for sacrificing so much and still the show must go on,” she said.

Doocy said that everyone entering the building that houses Fox News still needs to wear a mask, but they are free not to wear them when they are socially distanced. He said that because “we have got our own little zones we are free not to wear it.”

Good Morning America has had anchors in studio through the entire coronavirus crisis, although Robin Roberts has broadcast from home as a precaution and George Stephanopoulos has done so as well. His wife, Ali Wentworth, contracted coronavirus, and Stephanopoulos said that he tested positive but was asymptomatic.

Today noted the new reopening phase on Monday, with Hoda Kotb, in studio, saying, “It’s starting to feel like it is coming to life a little bit around here.”

Kotb has been co-anchoring Today from studio 1A throughout the crisis, and co-anchor Savannah Guthrie has been anchoring from her home in upstate New York, which she has done since March 18. She has anchored from the studio with Kotb on the Tuesdays and Wednesdays they have headlined prime-time specials. Guthrie also covered the protests while anchoring live from New York on June 1 and 2, and anchored from New Jersey on June 15. Craig Melvin began anchoring from the studio on March 25, and Al Roker has been broadcasting from his home since March 17. Melvin and Roker anchor the first half of the third hour of Today.

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