Mary Ann Childers was a reporter and anchor at WBBM-TV

WBBM-TV

WBBM-TV, virtual channel 2 , is the CBS owned-and-operated television station in Chicago, Illinois. WBBM-TV's main studios and offices are located in The Loop section of Chicago, as part of the development at Block 37, and its transmitter is atop the Willis Tower.-History:WBBM-TV traces its history...

 in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 from 1994 to March 31, 2008. Prior to that, she spent 14 years as an anchor at WLS-TV

WLS-TV

WLS-TV, virtual channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The station operates their full power digital operations on UHF channel 44, with their digital fill-in translator on VHF channel...

, where she became the first female to anchor a top-rated 10pm newscast in Chicago. It was announced on March 31, 2008 that she would be leaving WBBM along with 17 others, as part of cost cutting throughout the CBS news division. Her contract was not renewed along with on-air personalities Diann Burns

Diann Burns

Diann Burns is the first African-American woman to anchor the prime time news in Chicago and did so from 1985 to 2008, anchoring the 4pm, 5pm and 10pm news every weekday.-Career Outline:...

 and Sports Director Mark Malone.

Childers entered broadcasting as an intern at WGN-TV

WGN-TV

WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...

 in Chicago during her senior year as a broadcast major at Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

. WGN was home to The Phil Donahue

Phil Donahue

Phillip John "Phil" Donahue is an American media personality, writer, and film producer best known as the creator and host of The Phil Donahue Show. The television program, also known as Donahue, was the first to use a talk show format. The show had a 26-year run on U.S...

 Show. As her internship ended upon graduating from Northwestern with a Bachelor's degree, Mary Ann was hired for a position as an assistant producer of the Phil Donahue show. Mary Ann eventually became an associate producer, but left the show for news anchor jobs at WAVE

WAVE (TV)

WAVE aka "WAVE 3" is the NBC television station in Louisville, Kentucky. Owned by Raycom Media, the station broadcasts from its main studio in downtown Louisville...

 in Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

 and WTHR

WTHR

WTHR, channel 13, is a full-service television station serving the Indianapolis, Indiana metropolitan area. An affiliate of the NBC television network, its studios at 1000 N. Meridian Street anchor the south end of Indy's Television Row...

 in Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, which led to her move to the Chicago market.

Mary Ann is married to Jay Levine, a fellow journalist who worked with her at WLS and WBBM.