Jase

Tina Nguyen has decided to leave WFLD/Fox 32 in search for her next 'role, city and adventure'. Nguyen is just the latest high profile departure at WFLD following the retirement of Sylvia Perez (less than two weeks ago), the loss of Paris Schutz and Lou Canellis to WMAQ and the firings of Roseanne Tellez and Scott Schneider.

https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/fmc-v3kmck5k2i59gtlz

After 40+ years in the business, Sylvia Perez has decided to step down as a anchor/reporter at Fox 32.

Honestly, there's no reason Premus, Scafidi, Buganski and Moreno should be anchoring outside of filling in on occasion. Jackson should have been cut long ago. They could have easily divided things up between the core anchor group and been fine. They're going younger (and cheaper) with these new hires; so vets like Perez aren't 'the future' of Fox 32 News. She's closing in on 10 yrs at Fox 32 this October (I believe); so I wouldn't be surprised if she leaves in the near future. Hopefully she gets a proper sendoff whenever the time comes. Now that the Noon show has been cut, the only newscast(s) I watch regularly are the 4P (and some of the 5P). Too bad they couldn't paired Lee with someone else at 11A.

Toolis would actually be the 5th reporter(/anchor) they have hired recently. I’m glad they have finally decided to beef up their roster of reporters. Also, Dane has shifted back to primary focusing on investigative reporting it seems (in addition to anchoring Saturday nights). He rarely makes an appearance during the week. The new hires have been a mixed bag, imo. Kwon and Moreno are solid, but Buganski and Scafidi are meh.

Yeah... I'm not sure what they're trying to accomplish here with all these changes. Having better structured blocks (i.e... Chicago's Morning News: 4:30-9A, Good Day Chicago: 9-11A, The Loop: 11A-1P) is a plus (I guess). But, they can't keep blowing things up every couple of months without alienating the few viewers they have.

They will likely stick with reruns of 'Sherri' until the Fall (September) and move either the Jason Show or TMZ/Extra to 1P (or 2P if they move JHud up to 1P). Can't see them airing only one hr of 'Chicago Live'.

Cassie Carlson has been named Lead Sports Anchor as her bio has been updated to reflect this change (and the Lead/Primary Sports Anchor job link is no longer active/has been removed). Which means, unless they replace Scott’s role; Fox 32’s 5P & 9P newscasts will be led by an all female team {Hasbrouck as Lead News Anchor, Wahls as Chief Met and now Carlson as Lead Sports Anchor}. They have added a new job listing for a Sports Anchor/Reporter.

I guess my crazy hunch was correct…. John Schippman, Canellis and now Schutz have all moved from Fox 32 to NBC 5 in a short period of time. I wonder who else from WFLD ‘could’ be on WMAQ’s radar??

Meteorologist JD Rudd will be filling in for Emily for the next couple of months while she's on maternity leave. He made his on-air debut today, but has been at the station since yesterday (I believe) working behind the scenes, making appearances on Isobar/Fox Local Chicago, etc.. JD and Terrance both worked together 10+ years ago in Cleveland. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if they decide to keep him on a freelance/part-time basis. He's pretty good from what I saw.

There isn't a political/investigative reporter job for WMAQ/NBC 5 currently listed on NBCUnicareers. Maybe it was posted in error (or a 'ghost' job posting)? WFLD currently has a job listing for a political reporter as well. Maybe Paris is taking a page from Lou and jumping to WMAQ? While he still does reports (and serves as a fill-in anchor from time to time), Paris hasn't hosted 'The Chicago Report' since late last month (I believe). He started at WFLD in April 2024; so he could be bailing out, if you will, at the end of this month.

Sure.. anyone (regardless of age) can decide to leave the business at anytime (and for any reason) and nothing is truly guaranteed. But again, there doesn't appear to be any indication that Chuck, Lou, or any of the older folk at WMAQ are going to pack it in in the next 3 years (or so). Things can change for sure... Regardless; as a viewer, I'm happy they're still around and I am sure NBC 5 leadership is too (for however long that may be).

He could have retired when WLS decided not to renew his contract, but didn’t. He appears in good health, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he continues to work. Plus, Brant is like 76, Mary Ann is 72, etc.. so he isn’t the oldest person there.

The previous mic flags were just too small, so a new one was needed.

WFLD has posted a job description for a Political Reporter. Unclear if Paris Schutz is leaving, taking on a new role at Fox 32 (he previously worked as an investigative reporter at WTTW) or will share the political beat with this new reporter (thus possibly assuming the title as Political Editor). He has gotten a lot of scoops lately and would be a big loss for Fox 32.

Chuck and Lou are likely there for the long term (7-10 years, if not longer). Both appear to enjoy what they do. I can’t see Roeper lasting as long as them (3-4 yrs. max). Hiring veteran (older) talent isn’t something we see a lot these days given they often are pushed aside for someone younger.

Terrance has (likely) picked up Noon too (in addition to his normal 4-6P duties). He has been on with Sylvia (and Se) for the past couple of weeks. Natalie anchored with Sylvia at Noon prior to her going on maternity leave. Seems like they're trying out different pairs, etc...

Nothing against Richard, but Dean Richards would have been perfect for this role.

Mystery Reporter #4 (Lauren Scafidi) started today @ 4P.

Glad they decided to think outside the box when it came to election night and I wouldn't be against them taking this approach moving forward. The days of being on for hours and hours on election night are long over.... They really should think about utilizing the newsroom like this more (breaking news, special reports, etc...).

It makes sense given they refer to WPWR as 'FOX Chicago +'. But they better not get rid of the '32' again...

WABC is the best in the ABC O&O group, imo. If we were to compare the 3 main areas (home base, weather center and interview area), there's no way I would put KABC ahead of them. While KABC has more space...bigger isn't better. Plus, I don't like how the logo looks against the white background, the blue floor, etc.. There's nothing really anything KABC did that's unique or revolutionary, imo.

Maybe LA, but not the ABC O&O, imo. Stairs to nowhere, non-functional computer monitors, etc..That alone should disqualify them.

I knew this was going to happen to Tellez when they essentially demoted her to morning reporter and moved Premus to an anchor role. The fact that Roseanne gets the ax, but Jackson; the weakest link on GDC (and at WFLD/Fox 32 overall) survived these cuts is shocking.

Wow... Scott and Dawn were a solid team. Wonder who they find to replace him? Also, the ST article mentioned 4 new reporters, but I only count 3 (Kwon, Moreno and Buganski). Unless the 4th reporter hasn't started yet??