WFLD
Encyclopedia
WFLD, virtual channel
32 (digital channel
31), is the Fox
owned-and-operated television station
, based in Chicago, Illinois; through its parent company News Corporation
, the station is owned in a duopoly
with area MyNetworkTV
affiliate WPWR-TV
(channel 50). Its studios and offices are located in Chicago's Loop
neighborhood and its transmitter sits on top of Willis Tower.
WFLD broadcasts almost 40 hours of local newscasts every week, along with airing syndicated first-run talk, court and reality shows, off-network sitcoms, Fox's primetime network programming and sports.
complex on State Street
. Its founding owner was Field Enterprises
, which also owned the Chicago Sun-Times
and Chicago Daily News
and was owned by heirs of the Marshall Field's
department store chain. The station was christened the "Station of Tomorrow" by the Sun-Times in an April 1966 article because of its innovative technical developments in broadcasting its signal. It also broadcast news from the Sun-Times/Daily News newsroom.
Field Enterprises sold controlling interest in WFLD to Kaiser Broadcasting
in 1972, and the two companies' new partnership resulted in WFLD joining Kaiser's stable of UHF
independent stations in Los Angeles
, San Francisco, Boston
, Philadelphia
, Cleveland
and Detroit. In 1977, Kaiser ended the partnership by selling its share of the stations back to Field Enterprises. From 1966 to 1986, WFLD carried a wide variety of off-network syndication shows primarily from the 1950s and 1960s, and first-run syndicated TV series such as Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
, 1975–1978, All That Glitters, 1977–1978, and Fernwood 2 Night/America 2-Night
, 1977–1978. Thicke of the Night
an American
late night talk show
produced by MGM Television
that was carried by the station during the 1983-1984 TV season.
The station also aired movies, and local public affairs programming. To counter-program against its more established VHF
rivals, channel 32 offered documentaries, adult dramas, westerns, and live sports, though for much of the time it trailed WGN-TV
(channel 9) in the ratings among Chicago's independent stations until the late 1970s. When it won bids to air shows in syndication such as M*A*S*H (which it continues to air to this day,) All in the Family
, Happy Days
, Wonder Woman
, Star Trek
and others, the station finally beat WGN-TV in the ratings, and the two stations continued to go head-to-head throughout the 1980s.
In 1968, WFLD acquired broadcast rights to the Chicago White Sox
baseball team from WGN-TV, carrying them initially until 1972, and again from 1982 to 1989. During the 1980s WFLD also aired games of the National Basketball Association
's Chicago Bulls
, until WGN-TV acquired broadcast rights to both teams in 1990 (Chicago-area attorney and real estate investor Jerry Reinsdorf
owns both franchises). WFLD was also noteworthy as the longtime home of the local B-movie
program Svengoolie
. There were two versions of this show; the original began in 1971 as Screaming Yellow Theatre with local disc jockey
Jerry G. Bishop doing scary voices and later wearing a long blond wig. Bishop became such a hit with viewers that the show was popularly called "Svengoolie" after his character (although the name didn't change), and this version lasted until 1973. The second version began in 1979 with Rich Koz
as "Son of Svengoolie", and it ran until 1986. The show currently airs on WCIU-TV
(channel 26).
In 1983, Field sold WFLD to Metromedia
as part of a company-wide liquidation. At that time programming changed slightly but graphics were abruptly changed to reflect the new ownership. Metromedia's television stations, including WFLD, were sold to the News Corporation
in 1986, and they formed the core of the new Fox Broadcasting Company.
Following the 1986 sale to the new Fox ownership, the station continued to compete aggressively in the market. Now known on-air as "Fox 32", the station expanded its news presence as well. Fox's news presence began in 1987 with the premiere of the half-hour Fox 32 News at 7 (touted as "the news that doesn't get home before you do") along with a half-hour 11 p.m. newscast which lasted until both newscasts were consolidated to compete with then-independent WGN's 9 p.m. newscast. The newscast was moved back to 7 p.m. by the fall of 1988, and returned to 9 p.m. by the fall of 1989, in anticipation of Fox's expanding prime time schedule. Sometime in 1991, the newscast rebranded its news operation from "Fox 32 News" to "Fox News Chicago" (though most verbal references are to simply "Fox News"). The station started airing a morning newscast first called Good Day Chicago, which later became Fox Thing in the Morning in place of the morning cartoon block.
The afternoon cartoon block, which became Fox Kids
by 1992, continued on the station, as well as the top-rated off-network sitcoms in the evening. It also added more first-run talk shows and court shows. When Fox ended the weekday kids block in January 2002, WFLD added more first-run reality and talk shows to the lineup.
In the mid-1990s, after several years of being known on the air as "Fox 32" (or even "Fox Thirty-Two"), the station rebranded itself as "Fox Chicago" due to the perceived embarrassment of being on a UHF analog channel in the third-largest market in the US where The WB (now The CW) is on a VHF analog channel, WGN-TV
on channel 9. WFLD is currently the only Fox O&O that does not use the usual Fox branding of "Fox (Channel Number)", even though most Chicagoans still refer to WFLD as "Fox 32" or "channel 32." (Its Philadelphia sister station did this same practice for some time when Fox bought it from Paramount in the mid-1990s.)
In 1995, WFLD became the unofficial "home" station of the Chicago Bears
when Fox acquired the television rights to the National Football Conference
of the NFL, of which the Bears are a member. It is now the official station of the Bears, airing preseason telecasts in addition to most regular season tilts, as well as Bears Gameday Live and Gamenight Live, which follows The Final Word on Sunday evenings during the season. Fox purchased WPWR-TV in 2002, and WPWR's operations were integrated into WFLD's facilities in downtown Chicago.
In January 2003, WFLD dropped the Fox Saturday morning cartoon block, by then outsourced by Fox to producer 4Kids Entertainment
and subsequently rebranded 4Kids TV
, and the programs were moved to WPWR which aired them in the same four-hour time block until the block went off the air on December 27, 2008. WFLD was the first of the original six Fox-owned stations (owned prior to the New World stations purchase) to drop Fox's Saturday children's programming, and one of the few non-New World Fox O&Os (the other is KMSP
in the Twin Cities
) that currently does not run Weekend Marketplace
, which WPWR now airs.
On September 11, 2006, WFLD, alongside with other Fox-owned stations, relaunched its website under the MyFox platform, now located at myfoxchicago.com.
number 22211) began broadcasting as "WFLD" on January 4, 1966. The station's Microwave transmission
link was WDF-28 The callsign was changed to "WFLD-TV" on August 29, 1979, and changed back to "WFLD" on May 7, 1986. Digital channel 31 used the "WFLD-DT" callsign from the inauguration of Digital television
broadcasting until the shutoff of analog channel 32 on June 26, 2009, when the "WFLD" callsign was then transferred over to the digital signal on channel 31.
, WFLD shut down its analog transmitter, on June 12, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. WFLD was the only station in Chicago which participated in the "Analog Nightlight
" program until its analog transmitter on top of the John Hancock Center
was turned off for good on June 26, 2009.
It continued to broadcast on its pre-transition digital channel 31, whose transmitter had been upgraded to operate at its full 1 megawatt legal maximum power in early 2009. Digital television receivers display WFLD's virtual channel
as 32 through the use of PSIP
.
After the shutdown of the channel 32 analog transmitter upon the conclusion of the Analog Nightlight
on June 26, 2009, the "WFLD" callsign was legally transferred from the now-defunct analog channel 32 to digital channel 31 and the "WFLD-DT" callsign was discontinued.
Sister station WPWR-TV also has two Mobile DTV feeds, one of of its subchannel 50.1, labelled "WPWR", and a feed of WFLD-TV labelled "WFLD", broadcasting at 3.67 Mbit/s. This is the highest bitrate of any Chicago television station mobile feed.
On May 7, 2006, WFLD adopted a new look for its newscasts, featuring a updated set, new music, and new graphics. Similar appearance packages are also being rolled out to other Fox-owned stations such as WNYW
. When the new look debuted, the main station logo wasn't changed much (only the new color scheme was added). For some time, WFLD's newscasts have had less of a tabloid
feel than those on its Fox sisters. However, they are somewhat flashier than the other newscasts in the Chicago market.
On April 9, 2007, WFLD launched a new 10 p.m. newscast called The TEN, anchored by David Novarro
and former WLS-TV
and WBBM-TV
anchor/reporter Lauren Cohn
which, according to the Chicago Sun-Times
Robert Feder
's April 18, 2007 column, beat CBS O&O WBBM-TV
's 10 p.m. news on its second day on the air. In September 2007, WFLD's morning newscast Fox News in the Morning was re-named Good Day Chicago for a second time.
On January 12, 2009 WFLD and NBC
O&O WMAQ-TV
began sharing a news helicopter and its news footage in Chicago, and the agreement paves the way for a larger pooling effort.
Currently, WFLD and WGN
are the only two major news stations in the Chicago market who are not broadcasting in a "street side studio." Before May 10, 2009, WFLD was the only major station in the market not airing its newscasts in high definition
. The news studio was upgraded for high definition newscasts by Blyth Design and the graphics are the new Fox O&O HD graphics. The station launched its first high definition news starting with the 9 p.m. news although most remote field footage remains in 16:9 widescreen standard definition. The HD feed is now letterboxed on the SD feed.
Effective September 21, 2009, WFLD cancelled its 10 p.m. newscast and replaced it with reruns of The Office. The move was made because that newscast, despite its early success against WBBM-TV, was never much of a factor in the ratings. Towards the end of its run, it fell to a distant fifth behind the newscasts on WBBM-TV, WLS-TV and WMAQ-TV and "Family Guy" reruns on WGN-TV. In a statement on the cancellation of the newscast, former station Vice President and general manager Pat Mullen, said that "We’re always going to look for expansion opportunities with our local news".
sweeps periods, WFLD has been mired in last place among the five major stations' late-night (9 or 10 p.m.) newscasts. As such, Chicago is one of the few markets in the country whose Fox station actually trails the same market's The CW
-affiliated station (WGN-TV) in the local viewership ratings, from sign-on to sign-off. This is primarily due to WGN-TV's relatively strong news department, local sports programming and higher-rated syndicated programming.
In March 2011, Fox added brand new studio laptops. This and many other changes in anchors and minor studio renovations allows Fox to revamp their news department.
In the February 2011 Nielsen ratings
sweeps period, WFLD's 9 p.m. newscast slid to a 2.3 rating, down more than a full rating point from a 3.4 during the February 2010 sweeps period. This is despite the pairing of co-anchor team Bob Sirott and Robin Robinson, suggesting that the pairing of the anchors has not been able to improve ratings. The station came in third place for its prime-time lead-in.
Fox Chicago Weather Watch Team
Sports team
Reporters
Contributors
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
32 (digital channel
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
31), is the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
owned-and-operated television station
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
, based in Chicago, Illinois; through its parent company News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
, the station is owned in a duopoly
Duopoly (broadcasting)
In United States broadcast television and radio, duopoly is a term used to describe a single company which owns two or more stations in the same city or community....
with area MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate WPWR-TV
WPWR-TV
WPWR-TV, channel 50, is a MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station licensed to Gary, Indiana, and serving the Chicago, Illinois area. WPWR-TV is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network outlet WFLD-TV...
(channel 50). Its studios and offices are located in Chicago's Loop
Chicago Loop
The Loop or Chicago Loop is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located in the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the historic commercial center of downtown Chicago...
neighborhood and its transmitter sits on top of Willis Tower.
WFLD broadcasts almost 40 hours of local newscasts every week, along with airing syndicated first-run talk, court and reality shows, off-network sitcoms, Fox's primetime network programming and sports.
History
The station signed on January 4, 1966 from its original studios within the Marina CityMarina City
Marina City is a mixed-use residential/commercial building complex occupying an entire city block on State Street in Chicago, Illinois. It lies on the north bank of the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, directly across from the Loop district...
complex on State Street
State Street (Chicago)
State Street is a large south-north street in Chicago, Illinois, USA and its south suburbs. It begins on the Near North Side at North Avenue. For much of its course, it lies between Wabash Avenue on the east and Dearborn Street/Lafayette Avenue on the west...
. Its founding owner was Field Enterprises
Field Communications
Field Communications was a division of Field Enterprises, which owned the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Daily News. The company owned independent television stations in the United States, with WFLD-TV in Chicago as its largest-market station....
, which also owned the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
and Chicago Daily News
Chicago Daily News
The Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The Daily News was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty in 1875 and began publishing early the next year...
and was owned by heirs of the Marshall Field's
Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company was a department store in Chicago, Illinois that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Macy's Inc...
department store chain. The station was christened the "Station of Tomorrow" by the Sun-Times in an April 1966 article because of its innovative technical developments in broadcasting its signal. It also broadcast news from the Sun-Times/Daily News newsroom.
Field Enterprises sold controlling interest in WFLD to Kaiser Broadcasting
Kaiser Broadcasting
Kaiser Broadcasting was the name of an entity that owned and operated broadcast television stations in the United States from 1958 to 1977.-History:...
in 1972, and the two companies' new partnership resulted in WFLD joining Kaiser's stable of UHF
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
independent stations in Los Angeles
KVEA
KVEA is a Spanish-language television station in the Los Angeles area owned and operated by NBC Universal and the West Coast flagship station of the Telemundo network. It was the first mainland U.S. station owned by Telemundo at the network's launch in the late 1980's...
, San Francisco, Boston
WLVI-TV
WLVI, digital channel 41, is a television station licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts which serves as the CW affiliate for the Boston, Massachusetts television market. WLVI is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is a sister station to WHDH, Boston's NBC affiliate. The two stations share studios at...
, Philadelphia
WKBS-TV (Philadelphia)
WKBS-TV was an independent television station licensed to Burlington, New Jersey, which served the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area from 1965 to 1983. WKBS-TV had studio facilities located in South Philadelphia, and transmitter at the Roxborough tower farm in Philadelphia.-History:WKBS-TV began...
, Cleveland
WQHS-TV
WQHS-DT is a Spanish-language television station owned and operated by Univision. It is licensed to serve the Cleveland, Ohio television market, and broadcasts on UHF channel 61 with studios and offices in Parma...
and Detroit. In 1977, Kaiser ended the partnership by selling its share of the stations back to Field Enterprises. From 1966 to 1986, WFLD carried a wide variety of off-network syndication shows primarily from the 1950s and 1960s, and first-run syndicated TV series such as Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman is an American soap opera parody that aired in daily syndication from January 1976 to May 1977. The series was produced by Norman Lear, directed by Joan Darling and starred Louise Lasser...
, 1975–1978, All That Glitters, 1977–1978, and Fernwood 2 Night/America 2-Night
America 2-Night
America 2-Night is the continuation of the talk-show parody series Fernwood 2 Night. It ran from April to July 1978. As in Fernwood, Barth Gimble was the host and Jerry Hubbard was his co-host...
, 1977–1978. Thicke of the Night
Thicke of the Night
Thicke of the Night is an American late night talk show produced by MGM Television, distributed in syndication by Metromedia and broadcast in first-run syndication during the 1983-1984 TV season....
an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
late night talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
produced by MGM Television
MGM Television
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television is an American television production/distribution launched in 1955 and a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc....
that was carried by the station during the 1983-1984 TV season.
The station also aired movies, and local public affairs programming. To counter-program against its more established VHF
Very high frequency
Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency...
rivals, channel 32 offered documentaries, adult dramas, westerns, and live sports, though for much of the time it trailed 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...
(channel 9) in the ratings among Chicago's independent stations until the late 1970s. When it won bids to air shows in syndication such as M*A*S*H (which it continues to air to this day,) All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
, Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
, Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman (TV series)
Wonder Woman is an American television series based on the DC Comics comic book superhero of the same name. Starring Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor, the show originally aired from 1975 to 1979....
, Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
and others, the station finally beat WGN-TV in the ratings, and the two stations continued to go head-to-head throughout the 1980s.
In 1968, WFLD acquired broadcast rights to the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
baseball team from WGN-TV, carrying them initially until 1972, and again from 1982 to 1989. During the 1980s WFLD also aired games of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
's Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
, until WGN-TV acquired broadcast rights to both teams in 1990 (Chicago-area attorney and real estate investor Jerry Reinsdorf
Jerry Reinsdorf
Jerry M. Reinsdorf is a CPA, lawyer and an owner of the MLB's Chicago White Sox and the NBA's Chicago Bulls. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. He has been the head of the White Sox and Bulls for over 20 years.He made his initial fortune in real...
owns both franchises). WFLD was also noteworthy as the longtime home of the local B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
program Svengoolie
Svengoolie
Svengoolie is the name of a character from a long-running series of locally-produced television programs in the Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area...
. There were two versions of this show; the original began in 1971 as Screaming Yellow Theatre with local disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Jerry G. Bishop doing scary voices and later wearing a long blond wig. Bishop became such a hit with viewers that the show was popularly called "Svengoolie" after his character (although the name didn't change), and this version lasted until 1973. The second version began in 1979 with Rich Koz
Rich Koz
Rich Koz is a Chicago area actor and broadcaster best known as horror-movie host Svengoolie. Out of costume, he is also the knowledgeable host of the syndicated Three Stooges Stooge-a-Palooza program.- Beginnings :...
as "Son of Svengoolie", and it ran until 1986. The show currently airs on WCIU-TV
WCIU-TV
WCIU-TV is an independent television station located in Chicago, Illinois. It operates on UHF digital channel 27 and is Chicago's oldest UHF station, signing on the air in 1964. WCIU-TV is the flagship station of Weigel Broadcasting, a locally-based broadcaster which has owned the station since...
(channel 26).
In 1983, Field sold WFLD to Metromedia
Metromedia
Metromedia was a media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and owned Orion Pictures from 1986-1997.- Overview :...
as part of a company-wide liquidation. At that time programming changed slightly but graphics were abruptly changed to reflect the new ownership. Metromedia's television stations, including WFLD, were sold to the News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
in 1986, and they formed the core of the new Fox Broadcasting Company.
Following the 1986 sale to the new Fox ownership, the station continued to compete aggressively in the market. Now known on-air as "Fox 32", the station expanded its news presence as well. Fox's news presence began in 1987 with the premiere of the half-hour Fox 32 News at 7 (touted as "the news that doesn't get home before you do") along with a half-hour 11 p.m. newscast which lasted until both newscasts were consolidated to compete with then-independent WGN's 9 p.m. newscast. The newscast was moved back to 7 p.m. by the fall of 1988, and returned to 9 p.m. by the fall of 1989, in anticipation of Fox's expanding prime time schedule. Sometime in 1991, the newscast rebranded its news operation from "Fox 32 News" to "Fox News Chicago" (though most verbal references are to simply "Fox News"). The station started airing a morning newscast first called Good Day Chicago, which later became Fox Thing in the Morning in place of the morning cartoon block.
The afternoon cartoon block, which became Fox Kids
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
by 1992, continued on the station, as well as the top-rated off-network sitcoms in the evening. It also added more first-run talk shows and court shows. When Fox ended the weekday kids block in January 2002, WFLD added more first-run reality and talk shows to the lineup.
In the mid-1990s, after several years of being known on the air as "Fox 32" (or even "Fox Thirty-Two"), the station rebranded itself as "Fox Chicago" due to the perceived embarrassment of being on a UHF analog channel in the third-largest market in the US where The WB (now The CW) is on a VHF analog channel, 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...
on channel 9. WFLD is currently the only Fox O&O that does not use the usual Fox branding of "Fox (Channel Number)", even though most Chicagoans still refer to WFLD as "Fox 32" or "channel 32." (Its Philadelphia sister station did this same practice for some time when Fox bought it from Paramount in the mid-1990s.)
In 1995, WFLD became the unofficial "home" station of the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
when Fox acquired the television rights to the National Football Conference
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
of the NFL, of which the Bears are a member. It is now the official station of the Bears, airing preseason telecasts in addition to most regular season tilts, as well as Bears Gameday Live and Gamenight Live, which follows The Final Word on Sunday evenings during the season. Fox purchased WPWR-TV in 2002, and WPWR's operations were integrated into WFLD's facilities in downtown Chicago.
In January 2003, WFLD dropped the Fox Saturday morning cartoon block, by then outsourced by Fox to producer 4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment is an American film and television production company in bankruptcy since April 2011. It is known for English-dubbing Japanese anime and specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States...
and subsequently rebranded 4Kids TV
4Kids TV
4Kids TV was a Saturday morning television programming block on the Fox Broadcasting Company. The block was part of the Fox Network schedule...
, and the programs were moved to WPWR which aired them in the same four-hour time block until the block went off the air on December 27, 2008. WFLD was the first of the original six Fox-owned stations (owned prior to the New World stations purchase) to drop Fox's Saturday children's programming, and one of the few non-New World Fox O&Os (the other is KMSP
KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV, channel 9, is the Fox-owned-and-operated television station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota designated market area, owned in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC...
in the Twin Cities
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
) that currently does not run Weekend Marketplace
Weekend Marketplace
Weekend Marketplace is a two hour Saturday morning block of paid programming airing on Fox that began airing on January 3, 2009, replacing the 4Kids TV Saturday morning cartoon block that aired using time leased by 4Kids from Fox from 2002 until the last Saturday of 2008...
, which WPWR now airs.
On September 11, 2006, WFLD, alongside with other Fox-owned stations, relaunched its website under the MyFox platform, now located at myfoxchicago.com.
Callsign history
Channel 32 Chicago (Facility IDFacility ID
The facility ID number or FIN is a unique positive integer assigned by the United States Federal Communications Commission to each domestic and international broadcast station in its Common Database System . Licensees are required to provide the relevant station's FIN when filing reports and...
number 22211) began broadcasting as "WFLD" on January 4, 1966. The station's Microwave transmission
Microwave transmission
Microwave transmission refers to the technology of transmitting information or power by the use of radio waves whose wavelengths are conveniently measured in small numbers of centimeters; these are called microwaves. This part of the radio spectrum ranges across frequencies of roughly...
link was WDF-28 The callsign was changed to "WFLD-TV" on August 29, 1979, and changed back to "WFLD" on May 7, 1986. Digital channel 31 used the "WFLD-DT" callsign from the inauguration of Digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
broadcasting until the shutoff of analog channel 32 on June 26, 2009, when the "WFLD" callsign was then transferred over to the digital signal on channel 31.
Digital television
As part of the analog television shutdown and digital conversionDTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
, WFLD shut down its analog transmitter, on June 12, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. WFLD was the only station in Chicago which participated in the "Analog Nightlight
Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act
The Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act, or SAFER Act, is a U.S. law to require the Federal Communications Commission to allow the continuation of full-power analog TV transmissions in 2009 for 30 more days, for the purpose of broadcasting public service announcements regarding the...
" program until its analog transmitter on top of the John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville area of Chicago, Illinois, is a 100-story, 1,127-foot tall skyscraper, constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, with chief designer Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan...
was turned off for good on June 26, 2009.
It continued to broadcast on its pre-transition digital channel 31, whose transmitter had been upgraded to operate at its full 1 megawatt legal maximum power in early 2009. Digital television receivers display WFLD's virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
as 32 through the use of PSIP
Program and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
.
After the shutdown of the channel 32 analog transmitter upon the conclusion of the Analog Nightlight
Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act
The Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act, or SAFER Act, is a U.S. law to require the Federal Communications Commission to allow the continuation of full-power analog TV transmissions in 2009 for 30 more days, for the purpose of broadcasting public service announcements regarding the...
on June 26, 2009, the "WFLD" callsign was legally transferred from the now-defunct analog channel 32 to digital channel 31 and the "WFLD-DT" callsign was discontinued.
Sister station WPWR-TV also has two Mobile DTV feeds, one of of its subchannel 50.1, labelled "WPWR", and a feed of WFLD-TV labelled "WFLD", broadcasting at 3.67 Mbit/s. This is the highest bitrate of any Chicago television station mobile feed.
News operation
WFLD broadcasts a total of 39.5 hours of local news a week (seven and 1/2 hours on weekdays and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays), second to WGN-TV (8.5 hours on weekdays and two hours each on Saturdays and Sundays) in the Chicago market. WFLD is the only remaining Fox owned-and-operated station without a weeknight early evening newscast, and is the second largest Fox-owned station (in terms of market size) without an early evening newscast.On May 7, 2006, WFLD adopted a new look for its newscasts, featuring a updated set, new music, and new graphics. Similar appearance packages are also being rolled out to other Fox-owned stations such as WNYW
WNYW
WNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan...
. When the new look debuted, the main station logo wasn't changed much (only the new color scheme was added). For some time, WFLD's newscasts have had less of a tabloid
Tabloid television
Tabloid television, also known as Teletabloid, is a form of tabloid journalism. Tabloid television newscasts usually incorporate flashy graphics and sensationalized stories.Often, there is a heavy emphasis on crime, stories with good video, and celebrity news...
feel than those on its Fox sisters. However, they are somewhat flashier than the other newscasts in the Chicago market.
On April 9, 2007, WFLD launched a new 10 p.m. newscast called The TEN, anchored by David Novarro
David Novarro
David Novarro is a television news journalist for WABC-TV in New York. He is currently the co-anchor of Eyewitness News 4pm Newscast alongside Liz Cho....
and former 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...
and 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...
anchor/reporter Lauren Cohn
Lauren Cohn
Lauren Cohn is an American news reporter at WTXF-TV in Philadelphia.Cohn previously worked as a morning anchor at WLS-TV in Chicago in 1993. She later moved to be a general assignment reporter at WBBM-TV in 1998. Then, she worked for WFLD-TV as a general assignment and health reporter...
which, according to the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
Robert Feder
Robert Feder
Robert Feder is a noted Chicago media blogger who was the TV and radio columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1980 until 2008 and a blogger for Vocalo.org from 2009 until 2010...
's April 18, 2007 column, beat CBS O&O 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...
's 10 p.m. news on its second day on the air. In September 2007, WFLD's morning newscast Fox News in the Morning was re-named Good Day Chicago for a second time.
On January 12, 2009 WFLD and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
O&O WMAQ-TV
WMAQ-TV
WMAQ-TV, channel 5, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Chicago, Illinois. WMAQ-TV's main studios and offices are located within the NBC Tower in the Streeterville neighborhood, with an auxiliary street-level studio on the Magnificent Mile at 401...
began sharing a news helicopter and its news footage in Chicago, and the agreement paves the way for a larger pooling effort.
Currently, WFLD and WGN
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...
are the only two major news stations in the Chicago market who are not broadcasting in a "street side studio." Before May 10, 2009, WFLD was the only major station in the market not airing its newscasts in high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
. The news studio was upgraded for high definition newscasts by Blyth Design and the graphics are the new Fox O&O HD graphics. The station launched its first high definition news starting with the 9 p.m. news although most remote field footage remains in 16:9 widescreen standard definition. The HD feed is now letterboxed on the SD feed.
Effective September 21, 2009, WFLD cancelled its 10 p.m. newscast and replaced it with reruns of The Office. The move was made because that newscast, despite its early success against WBBM-TV, was never much of a factor in the ratings. Towards the end of its run, it fell to a distant fifth behind the newscasts on WBBM-TV, WLS-TV and WMAQ-TV and "Family Guy" reruns on WGN-TV. In a statement on the cancellation of the newscast, former station Vice President and general manager Pat Mullen, said that "We’re always going to look for expansion opportunities with our local news".
Ratings
The station has been one of Fox's weakest owned-and-operated stations for a number of years. In recent Nielsen ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
sweeps periods, WFLD has been mired in last place among the five major stations' late-night (9 or 10 p.m.) newscasts. As such, Chicago is one of the few markets in the country whose Fox station actually trails the same market's The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
-affiliated station (WGN-TV) in the local viewership ratings, from sign-on to sign-off. This is primarily due to WGN-TV's relatively strong news department, local sports programming and higher-rated syndicated programming.
In March 2011, Fox added brand new studio laptops. This and many other changes in anchors and minor studio renovations allows Fox to revamp their news department.
In the February 2011 Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
sweeps period, WFLD's 9 p.m. newscast slid to a 2.3 rating, down more than a full rating point from a 3.4 during the February 2010 sweeps period. This is despite the pairing of co-anchor team Bob Sirott and Robin Robinson, suggesting that the pairing of the anchors has not been able to improve ratings. The station came in third place for its prime-time lead-in.
Newscast umbrella titles
- News Scope (1966–1970)
- Channel 32 News Capsule (1970–1979)
- NewsTalk/Newscene (1979–1983)
- WFLD Evening News (1979–1983)
- The Nine O'Clock News (1983–1986)
- Fox 32 News (1986–1991)
- Fox News Chicago (general title; 1991–2008)
- Fox Thing in the Morning (morning newscast; 1994–2001)
- Fox News in the Morning (morning newscast; 2001–2007)
- Fox Chicago News (2008–present)
- Good Day Chicago (weekday mornings from 4:30-10 a.m.; 1991-1994 and 2007-present)
- The TEN (10 p.m. newscast; 2007-2009)
Newscast titles
- Fox Chicago News - weekdays 12 p.m. and nightly at 9 p.m.
- Good Day Chicago - weekday mornings 4:30a-10 a.m.
- Fox Chicago Sunday - Sundays 8:30 a.m. (political affairs-centered program)
Station slogans
- Fox Chicago NOW (2002–2006)
- Local Coverage. First. (2005–2006)
- The Most Powerful Name in Local News (2006–2008)
- Fox Chicago: Asking THE Questions (2008–present)
News music packages
- FOX O&O News (1987–1991)
- Fox News Chicago (1991–1992)
- FOX News Chicago News Package (1992–1994)
- WFLD News (1992–1994)
- WFLD 1994 News (1994–1995)
- FOX '95 (1995-1995)
- First on FOX (1995–1997)
- WSVN News (1997–1999)
- WFLD 1999 News (1999–2001)
- Streaming News (2001–present) Used for Opening and some bumpers
- The Viper (2004–2006)
- FOX Affiliate News Theme (2006–Present)Used for bumpers
Current on-air staff
Anchors- Kori Chambers - weekday mornings "Good Day Chicago" (4:30-7 a.m.); also 7-10 a.m. newsreader and noon reporter
- Anna Davlantes - weekday mornings "Good Day Chicago" (7-10 a.m.)
- Patrick Elwood - weekdays at noon; also morning reporter
- Dawn Hasbrouck - weekday mornings "Good Day Chicago" (5-7 a.m.)
- Jan JeffcoatJan JeffcoatJan Jeffcoat is an afternoon news anchor at WFLD-TV in Chicago. Jeffcoat started anchoring in Chicago on June 2007. She previously hosted WFLD-TV's Good Day Chicago for 3 years which won an Illinois AP award for Best Newscast in 2008. She started anchoring afternoons in August 2010. Before...
- weekdays at noon - Corey McPherrinCorey McPherrinCorey B. McPherrin , known professionally as Corey McPherrin, is the morning news anchor for WFLD-TV in Chicago.- Early life and education :...
- weekday mornings "Good Day Chicago" (7-10 a.m.) - Robin RobinsonRobin RobinsonRobin Carolle Robinson , known professionally as Robin Robinson, is a longtime Chicago television news anchor who is currently one of the two principal news anchors at WFLD-TV in Chicago...
- weeknights at 9 p.m - Bob SirottBob SirottRobert Michael "Bob" Sirott , is a Chicago broadcaster who currently is one of the two principal news anchors at WFLD-TV in Chicago and is a radio host at WGN-AM.- Early life and education :...
- weeknights at 9 p.m. - Larry Yellen - weekends at 9 p.m.; also legal analyst
Fox Chicago Weather Watch Team
- Bill Bellis (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Certified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast Meteorologist is a rating for meteorologists given by the American Meteorological Society.The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding,...
and NWANational Weather AssociationThe National Weather Association is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities...
Seals of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 9 p.m. & Thursday-Friday at Noon - Tammie SouzaTammie SouzaTammara J. "Tammie" Souza is a multiple Chicago/Midwest Emmy winning meteorologist, working at WFLD in Chicago, Illinois.-Personal life:Souza was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and raised in San Diego, California. She received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from San Diego State University, and...
(AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWA Seals of Approval) - meteorologist; weekends at 9 p.m. and Monday-Wednesday at noon - Mark Strehl (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings "Good Day Chicago"
Sports team
- Lou Canellis - sports director/primary anchor; Sunday-Thursday at 9 p.m., & host of The Final Word, Bears GameDay Live and Bears GameNight Live
- Tom WaddleTom WaddleGregory Thomas Waddle is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL. Waddle is currently a co host of "Waddle and Silvy" on ESPN 1000, as well as co-hosting "The Final Word" on WFLD FOX Chicago. He also appears on Pro Football Weekly and NFL Network. He spent his entire six year career...
- Co-host of Fox Kickoff Sunday & The Final Word; also fill-in sports anchor
Reporters
- Mike Flannery - political editor; also co-host of Fox Chicago Sunday
- Darlene Hill - general assignment reporter; also noon fill-in anchor & weekend fill-in anchor
- Tisha Lewis - general assignment reporter
- Joanie Lum - general assignment reporter
- Anita Padilla - general assignment reporter; also weekday fill-in anchor
- Dane Placko - investigative reporter; also co-host of Fox Chicago Sunday & weekend fill-in anchor
- Sondra Solarte - weekday morning traffic reporter
- Craig Wall - general assignment reporter; also "Chicago's Most Wanted" & fill-in anchor
Contributors
- Mona Khanna - medical contributor
- Bill Zwecker - entertainment contributor
Former on-air staff
- Mike BarzMike BarzMike Barz is an American broadcaster and weekday morning news anchor at WAWS-TV and WTEV-TV in Jacksonville, Florida. He was a morning news anchor at WFLD-TV, the Fox affiliate in Chicago, Illinois from 2007-2009....
- morning news anchor (2007–2009; now at WTEV-TVWTEV-TVWTEV-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Florida's First Coast licensed to Jacksonville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 19 from a transmitter on Hogan Road in the city's Southside section. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 6 and in high...
and WAWS-TV in Jacksonville) - Lauren CohnLauren CohnLauren Cohn is an American news reporter at WTXF-TV in Philadelphia.Cohn previously worked as a morning anchor at WLS-TV in Chicago in 1993. She later moved to be a general assignment reporter at WBBM-TV in 1998. Then, she worked for WFLD-TV as a general assignment and health reporter...
- reporter/medical reporter (2000–2004); anchor/reporter (2007–2010; now at WTXF-TVWTXF-TVWTXF-TV, virtual channel 29 , is an owned-and-operated station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
in Philadelphia) - Jack ConatyJack ConatyJack Conaty was the chief political correspondent for WFLD-TV in Chicago from 1987 to 2009.He holds a bachelor's degree in English from Providence College in Rhode Island...
- political editor/Fox Chicago Sunday co-host (1987–2009) - Maurice DuBoisMaurice DuBoisMaurice DuBois is an American television journalist.-Early life and education:He was born on Long Island, New York, the son of immigrants to the U.S...
- anchor/reporter (1994–1997; now at WCBS-TVWCBS-TVWCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
in New York) - Jon DuncansonJon DuncansonJon Duncanson is a former American broadcaster who worked for many years as a television News presenter and reporter in Chicago.- Early life and education :...
- morning anchor (1995–1998; later at WBBM-TVWBBM-TVWBBM-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...
; now President of Aviana Productions) - Amy FreezeAmy FreezeAmy Freeze is the weekend meteorologist at WABC-TV in New York. She was the chief meteorologist for Fox owned-and-operated station WFLD in Chicago from 2007–2011....
- chief meteorologist (2007–2011; now at WABC-TVWABC-TVWABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
in New York) - Michelle GielanMichelle GielanMichelle Gielan is an American broadcast journalist who is currently at CBS News and anchored the morning news programs CBS Morning News and Up to the Minute. Her last broadcast for CBS was Thursday, June 17, 2010. She is also a correspondent for CBS' The Early Show.-Career:Michelle joined CBS...
- reporter/substitute anchor (2005–2008; later at CBS NewsCBS NewsCBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
) - Tamron HallTamron HallTamron Hall is a day-side anchor for MSNBC and host of the program NewsNation with Tamron Hall.-Early career:...
- morning anchor/reporter (1997–2007; now at MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
) - Jonathan HoenigJonathan HoenigJonathan Hoenig is managing member at Capitalist Pig hedge fund and a regular contributor to Fox News Channel's Cashin' In, Your World with Neil Cavuto, Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld and WLS 890's morning show, Don Wade & Roma.-Background:Hoenig is from Glencoe, Illinois and attended New Trier High...
- morning financial analyst (2000–2002; now at Fox News ChannelFox News ChannelFox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
and Fox Business NetworkFox Business NetworkFox Business Network is an American cable news and satellite news television channel that began broadcasting on October 15, 2007. It is owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation...
) - Walter JacobsonWalter JacobsonWalter David Jacobson is a Chicago television news personality and current anchor of the 6 p.m. news on WBBM-TV. He had been working at WBBM-TV since February 2010 once again doing Walter Jacobson's Perspective twice a week on the 10 O'Clock News prior to being promoted to anchoring the 6 p.m...
- anchor/reporter/Perspectives host (1993–2006; now at WBBM-TVWBBM-TVWBBM-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...
) - Rick LeventhalRick LeventhalRichard Gary Leventhal , known professionally as Rick Leventhal, is an American reporter. He is a senior correspondent for Fox News Channel since June 1997. Before joining FNC he spent 10 years in local news, reporting and anchoring in markets including Columbia and Spartanburg, West Palm Beach and...
- fill-in anchor/reporter (1993-1994; now at Fox News ChannelFox News ChannelFox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
) - Kris LongKris LongKris Long was the primary news anchor, alongside Robin Robinson, at WFLD-TV in Chicago from 1987 to 1993. Currently, he is anchor/ managing editor at KPSP-TV Palm Springs, CA. He has also worked at stations in Phoenix , Philadelphia , Pittsburgh , Denver , and Dayton .-References:...
- anchor (1987–1993; now at KPSP-CD in Palm Springs) - Nancy LooNancy LooNancy Loo is an American television newscaster who is currently a reporter/fill-in anchor at WGN-TV in Chicago. The news anchor was born in Hong Kong. Loo worked for WABC-TV in 1994 as a health reporter. She was promoted to Eyewitness News morning and noon co-anchor in 1996 and anchored first with...
- afternoon anchor/reporter (2001–2010; now at WGN-TVWGN-TVWGN-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...
) - Brant MillerBrant MillerBrant Miller is a meteorologist for NBC owned and operated television station WMAQ-TV in Chicago. At WMAQ-TV he is the meteorologist on NBC 5 News at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m and now at 4:30 p.m....
- meteorologist (1989–1991; now at WMAQ-TVWMAQ-TVWMAQ-TV, channel 5, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Chicago, Illinois. WMAQ-TV's main studios and offices are located within the NBC Tower in the Streeterville neighborhood, with an auxiliary street-level studio on the Magnificent Mile at 401...
) - Johnny MorrisJohnny Morris (football player)Johnny Edward Morris is a former American football running back/wide receiver in the National Football League. He spent his entire ten year career with the Chicago Bears, and is the franchise's all-time leader in receiving yards with 5,059. He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara...
- sports anchor/commentator (1994–1998) - Marianne MurcianoMarianne MurcianoMarianne Murciano co-hosted a morning program called "Fox Thing in the Morning" on Chicago's Fox affiliate from 1993–97, with husband, Bob Sirott. In 2005 Murciano conducted some co-interviews with Sirott for Chicago Tonight.- External links :*...
- morning/noon anchor (1994–2000) evening anchor fill-in (2010) - David NovarroDavid NovarroDavid Novarro is a television news journalist for WABC-TV in New York. He is currently the co-anchor of Eyewitness News 4pm Newscast alongside Liz Cho....
- morning anchor (2000–2010; now at WABC-TVWABC-TVWABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
in New York) - Michael PomeranzMichael PomeranzMichael Pomeranz is a TV news anchor on KARE-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pomeranz has anchored the 5, 6, and 10pm newscasts on KARE since January 2006.Prior to KARE, he anchored at WCBS-TV New York...
- anchor/reporter (1997–2000; now at KARE-TV in Minneapolis) - Richard RoeperRichard RoeperRichard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
- lifestyle commentator and movie critic (1994–2001) - Mark SuppelsaMark SuppelsaMark Eugene Suppelsa is a journalist, who presently works as an anchor an reporter for WGN-TV in Chicago, Illinois. Suppelsa currently serves as the co-anchor of the "WGN Evening News" from 5-6 p.m. with Lourdes Duarte and the station's long-running primetime newscast "WGN News at Nine" with Micah...
- afternoon/evening anchor (2003–2008; now at WGN-TVWGN-TVWGN-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...
) - Harry VolkmanHarry VolkmanHarry Volkman is a popular former meteorologist from Oklahoma and later Chicago, Illinois. He is known for being the first weatherman to issue a tornado warning....
- weekend meteorologist (1996–2004) - Bruce WolfBruce WolfBruce Wolf is a veteran Chicago broadcaster and sports anchor who has been on both TV and radio for more than 20 years. He currently hosts a politics-themed talk show every weekday morning on WLS radio in Chicago and also fills in as a sportscaster on WMAQ-TV in Chicago...
- morning sports anchor (1987–2006; now at WMAQ-TVWMAQ-TVWMAQ-TV, channel 5, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Chicago, Illinois. WMAQ-TV's main studios and offices are located within the NBC Tower in the Streeterville neighborhood, with an auxiliary street-level studio on the Magnificent Mile at 401...
)