Though Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's death did not come at a great surprise to some, the shock in losing one of the United States' most notable figures was still there early Tuesday morning. For New England TV stations and news outlets, it's been a story to prepare for since the news broke in May 2008 that Kennedy was battling a brain tumor.

Even for the most prepared, Kennedy's death, which occurred very early Tuesday morning, left stations scrambling to put the finishing touches on coverage plans that had been in place for months.

"I got the call in the middle of the night and was able to put our digital plan into action from home," said Jule Eich, the managing editor of Boston's WBZTV.com, a CBS O&O. "We had several prepared elements that i was able to launch before coming into the station."

Eich said the station had lengthy text and video obituaries prepared for several months. Her web staff updated them regularly as news about the senator warranted.

In delivering breaking news alerts to WBZ's audience, Eich opted to wait until morning, instead of during the overnight hours.

"We had a very complete plan in place, so I just jumped into action and got the web site in order. We actually opted not to send out text alerts because of the early hour," she said. "As far as the text alerts go, we try to keep our audience in mind. I'm not sure how many people would have appreciated hearing their cell phone alert going off at 2 a.m. Our station has been well prepared for this event, no matter what time of day it might have happened. We had staff on call and in place almost immediately."

For a look at WBZ-TV's complete Sen. Edward Kennedy coverage, click here


Watch the video below for MSNBC's Sen. Edward Kennedy obituary: