24994J 5327 Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 WGN lead anchor Mark Suppelsa stunned viewers and co-workers today with the news that he'll be entering a Minnesota alcohol recovery program. He will spend the next month there, with plans to return to his 5 and 9pm duties next month. This is the message left on wgntv.com... As we said on Friday night's newscast, Mark Suppelsa has the night off, and he wants everyone to know why. Mark is entering a month-long alcohol recovery program. He told us he’s felt the need to do this for some time. There was no single event that prompted this. In a message to WGN, Mark says he’s now crossed a bridge in his life where he wants and needs to do this, by his own choice. Mark plans to return to WGN next month, and we will be thinking of him daily and look forward to having him back. "We are supportive of Mark's efforts to deal with this issue and look forward to his return," said WGN-TV Vice President and General Manager Marty Wilke. "We, and he, appreciate the support from our viewers." Here is Mark's full message to WGN-TV's staff: To my colleagues: I want to share with you something I'm about to do. I'm going to be blunt here because that's my nature and because we're in a business where we seek the truth and it would be wrong of me not to be frank at this moment. I'm driving soon with my family to Hazelden in Minnesota where they'll drop me off for a month long alcohol recovery program. I have felt for some time that this would become necessary and I've now crossed a bridge in my life where I want and need to do this. It's my choice. No one is forcing me to do it. Simply put, I have been abusing alcohol at the end of my work day as my family slept. It was my secret and I became very accomplished at hiding it. I do my best to function at a high level and I know that it is my responsibility to correct anything that potentially interferes with my family or my work. With management's blessing, I plan to return next month once again ready for action to continue the valuable and important work that all of you are involved with. Thanks for absorbing this news which I'm sure will be a stunner for some or all. See you in June. Mark Suppelsa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Rubber 623 Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Somebody texted me about this; I was stunned. At least he did this quietly rather than some of the public alcohol-related crimes that we've seen from Chicago news personalities in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5327 Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share Posted May 5, 2012 But, at least he's being open and clear with the issue, unlike the whole Allison Payne "incident(s)". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago News Boy 33 Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Woww! Good for him that he came out and said that. It would take alot for me just to come out and admit that.. Best of luck to mark on your recovery! Your definetly one of "chicagos very own" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.L. Hughes 765 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Mark Suppelsa will return to WGN starting tonight (Thursday, June 7) with the 5 p.m. newscast; as part of his recovery (he finished his stint at a Minnesota rehab facility over the weekend), Suppelsa will be absent from the 5 p.m. newscast on Wednesday evenings for the next several months as he will be attending group counseling sessions each week. Here's a transcript from Robert Feder's TimeOut Chicago blog about Suppelsa's return and his decision to seek help for his alcohol addiction: Back after a month away for alcohol rehab, veteran Chicago anchorman Mark Suppelsa says he chose to go public with his private struggle because he felt viewers were entitled to know the truth. “Somebody who people expect to be there fairly regularly doesn’t go away for 35 days without their having a right to know what happened,” he told me Wednesday. “And on a selfish basis, it’s one of those things where I’d rather everybody have an idea of what I’m really doing than trying to guess and guess wrong.” For the first time since May 4, when he surprised friends and colleagues with the announcement that he was entering an alcohol recovery program, the 49-year old Suppelsa returns Thursday to the 5 and 9pm newscasts he anchors for Tribune Co.-owned WGN-Channel 9. “It’s the right time to get back,” he said, specifically citing his eagerness to resume his investigative reporting work with producer Marsha Bartel. Suppelsa admitted himself to the Hazelden Addiction Treatment Center in Minnesota early last month after declaring in an open letter: “Simply put, I have been abusing alcohol at the end of my work day as my family slept. It was my secret and I became very accomplished at hiding it. . . . I do my best to function at a high level and I know that it is my responsibility to correct anything that potentially interferes with my family or my work.” He returned over the weekend and reconnected with his family. “My wife came and picked me up at Hazelden on Sunday and we had a wonderful drive back,” he said. “It’s a long drive — about seven hours or so. It was a delightful time, reacquainting, so to speak, with the ‘new me,’ if you will. I also needed some time with my kids and family these first few days. Of course it’s never enough. But I am eager to get back to work now.” His ongoing recovery program will require him to attend weekly “after care” group counseling sessions in Chicago. For that he’ll be absent from his 5pm newscasts on Wednesdays for several months. “My bosses have been incredibly understanding and flexible with this,” he said. A Chicago television news star for two decades, Suppelsa spent 10 years at NBC 5 and five years at Fox Chicago before joining WGN in 2008. A graduate of Lincoln-Way Central High School in southwest suburban New Lenox and Marquette University, he previously worked at KSTP-TV in Minneapolis and WFRV-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Despite his openness with the public, Suppelsa said he feels no pressure to serve as a spokesman or role model for what he still considers a “strictly personal” matter. “Obviously it’s not totally private, because I didn’t make it private from the start. But no, there’s no educating anybody in the world that I’m in. I’m an alcoholic. And as I was taught, just keep your side of the street as clean as possible and take it a day at a time, and the rest will follow. Don’t try to clean anybody else’s street because you can’t control that. I’m not here to educate anybody. I’m here to get better,” he said. The outpouring of support Suppelsa has received — including thousands of letters, emails and messages on Facebook and Twitter — has proved an unexpected source of strength: “I was not prepared for it all, and I am humbly overwhelmed. There’s no way I can thank everybody individually, but it was all wonderful and extremely encouraging. I couldn’t be any more grateful.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Viewer 320 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Glad he is returning. He handled this the right way and I like how he says "he felt viewers were entitled to know the truth." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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