Calgarian inspires loyal news audience in NYC

In this mini-profile of morning news anchor Pat Kiernan, The Man Who Plays Pat Kiernan on TV, the New York Observer says “thousands of culturally literate New Yorkers” have “a certain degree of sincere admiration, bordering on obsession for some, of Mr. Kiernan and his deadpan delivery, his boyish face, and his slight Canadian accent.”

Kiernan, originally from Calgary, moved to New York in 1996 and joined NY1 the following year. He hosts the morning news round-up “In the Papers,” in which he runs through summaries of his news picks from the day’s major newspapers. His show has sparked a kind of cult following, made up of both news junkies and just plain Kiernan junkies. The Observer quotes Kiernan on his success:

“I think the presentation of TV news is as much the problem as the technological changes,” he continued. “People like a more honest presentation of the news. I don’t shy away from that honesty and presentation of analysis in the news. I hope people have the sense that I understand the stories I’m talking about. I’ve personally edited scripts on my computer.” Indeed, in an age in which broadcast news audiences have been atrophying at an alarming rate, Mr. Kiernan seems to have maintained his morning viewers over the past few years: Weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., about 73,000 people tune in; the station says this number is larger than it was five years ago.

(Photo by the dancing kids, reprinted under Creative Commons license)