Covering the Boston Marathon and all the emotion surrounding it was a big job for the Boston TV stations, and they were up to the task, says the Boston Herald.
Official broadcaster WBZ was "the only choice," said the paper.
The race’s official broadcaster made the most of its unparalleled access to the 26.2 miles of the course and had camera crews who stayed at times a footstep ahead of the elite runners.
Analyst Toni Reavis was knowledgeable and enthusiastic, with an uncanny ability to get inside competitors’ heads based on their strides.
Still, there were missteps.
The station suffered technical hiccups at key moments during the women’s race. The image just froze.
It only seemed as if there was a commercial break every three minutes, but give WBZ credit for finding a way to pay the bills and keep the race coverage going with the use of a split-screen.
The other stations were pushed outside the race hot spots, says the Herald.
NECN’s coverage seemed so tranquil, it might have been in another city. WHDH (Ch. 7) and WFXT (Ch. 25) zeroed in on security checkpoints and marked the scale of law enforcement’s reach.
WCVB’s (Ch. 5) segment on youngest victim Martin Richard could have shattered the stoniest heart.
Reporter Mark Perigard gave cable lower marks:
Fox News Channel’s Bill Hemmer called the day “the story of triumph over tragedy,” but the network’s decision to re-air the footage of the explosions and the chaos at the finish line last year seemed like an epic fumble.
CBS owns WBZ. Hearst TV owns WCVB, Sunbeam has WHDH and Fox has WFXT.
