Alan Pergament: WGRZ's Claudine Ewing impresses covering mass shooting story that hits home

“It is personal,” said Ewing in a telephone interview Sunday afternoon.

An African American woman who grew up in Buffalo a few miles from the shooting, Ewing has been in the store on Jefferson Avenue, knew the history of ground being broken for it and even knew the judge who arraigned the alleged shooter lived near the store.

Ewing’s advantages in covering the story were evident throughout the telecasts by all three broadcast network affiliates Saturday.

In the beginning, I headed Saturday to WKBW, which for more than an hour was first to provide extensive coverage. Reporter Ed Drantch did an outstanding job at the scene as anchor Ashley Rowe in the studio asked him the right questions when I watched. Rowe also noted that her husband, Daniel Greene, who is involved in a nearby school, was at the Tops store about an hour before the shooting.   

Channel 7 deserves huge credit for getting Drantch, Hannah Buehler and Rowe on the air first, something Buffalo viewers aren’t used to seeing from the station.

“It was an all-hands-on-deck situation,” said News Director Aaron Mason. “Our anchors are among our best reporters, so I immediately reached out to all of them as we learned the magnitude of this horrible, heartbreaking situation. Others called on their own asking how they could help, including senior reporter Eileen Buckley. We sent Ed right to the scene … into the community and communicated information as it was confirmed, and just let people talk.”

As impressive as Channel 7 was at the start, once Channel 2 got on the air, I couldn’t stop watching Ewing calmly co-anchoring the station’s coverage alongside Scott Levin until past 8 p.m.

I occasionally switched over to Channel 7’s coverage as well as WIVB Channel 4’s coverage, which in the beginning was led by weekend anchor Jeff Preval and included impressive reporting by Marlee Tuskes, Kelsey Anderson and Tara Lynch. The station's main anchor team of Jacquie Walker and Don Postles came into anchor later, another measure of the importance of the story. 

All the stations did a good job initially reporting the few facts they had and interviewing some of Buffalo’s top lawyers, including Paul Cambria, Barry Covert and John Elmore, and former Buffalo FBI director Bernie Tolbert on what to expect in the state and federal criminal cases. Preval, who is originally from Boston, Mass., also had an enlightening interview with former Buffalo police captain Jeff Rinaldo.

The stations collectively did the jobs TV news does best – trying to help communities heal from unspeakable tragedies while illustrating the immediate emotions of frustration, sadness and anger.

But it was Ewing’s knowledge that stood out once Channel 2 started covering a story that led all three national newscasts Saturday night, with Drantch providing some reporting for ABC’s “World News Tonight.”

“It just hit home in a different way,” Ewing said of the story. “I'm from here and I know the nooks and crannies of places. This is a place that I have frequented. This is a neighborhood where I know people who live there. I didn't grow up in that neighborhood, but I know people who live there.

“I've gone to that store, as many people have. I know the layout of the store. When you just think about how this unfolded from what we know so far, it just rips at you. And as a journalist, how can I not incorporate that into what I'm reporting? I’m here to tell a story, but I'm also there to tell you the real deal and that's what I tried to put forward in my report and it was truly off the cuff. There was no preparation. It was just as it is.”

She knew City Court Judge Craig Hannah lived near the supermarket because she did a profile on him for the show “commUNITY" she co-anchors with Pete Gallivan.

She talked about the community excitement after ground was broken for a smaller-than-usual Tops in a neighborhood that was without a supermarket like it for some time.

“I just remember how jubilant and so happy they were when they got that supermarket there,” said Ewing, before repeating one of the things she said on air.

“It is just one of those stores that even if you live in the suburbs, sometimes you'll go there just for some of the prepared foods and if you're from the city, you're bound to know somebody who either knows you or knows your parents or knows your auntie. It's just a meeting place.”

As the only Black TV anchor-reporter who is a Buffalo native leading the coverage Saturday on one of the three primary local TV news channels, Ewing's superb work was another example of the importance of diversity in TV news staffs. 

“Diversity only enhances your coverage,” said Ewing. “I am happy that I was working. I'm happy that I just stayed on the anchor desk to help keep calm, but also deal with the facts of what was happening as we were getting them in and asking the questions that I felt needed to be asked that people in no matter what community you lived in wanted answered. And that's what I did.”

Her expertise covering this tragic story was continually obvious.

“I think just being an African American woman who grew up in Buffalo, it's no secret that people have talked and been concerned about racism. And so to see something like this, it just hurt on a different level because some of the things that people have talked about and they've seen and they were concerned about and now you have a tragedy like this unfold.”

Her ability to stay calm during the hours of coverage that had some viewers in tears was also impressive.

“It's just my nature,” said Ewing. “I'm not going to say I wasn't crying on the inside. I'm not going to say that after we were done that Scott Levin did not cry on the set next to me. Once we were done, yes he did. But I needed to keep my composure and remain calm.”