The Definitive ABC 7 Thread

[Georgie56 3326]

Rob Hughes, formerly of WANF, has joined as a weekend anchor.

Edited July 27, 2023 by Georgie56

[cpet228 2]

Which weekend shift?

 

Is he taking the morning news spot & Mark is moving to evenings?  Or is he moving right into the evening spot?  It is not specific.

[24994J 5630]

1 hour ago, cpet228 said:

Which weekend shift?

 

Is he taking the morning news spot & Mark is moving to evenings?  Or is he moving right into the evening spot?  It is not specific.

 

Another site obtained the memo to staff, and Hughes will be on evenings with Karen.

[24994J 5630]

The hour-long 7pm show has apparently been dumped in favor of a 30-minute show at 6:30. It SEEMS like the Elgas-Burton-[rotating weather] team will continue in the streaming slot, but nothing has been declared. Ravi and Cheryl are off, so Rob anchored at 6 and stayed put, while Karen and Cheryl S. relieved Judy and Larry between shows. This means WLS joins WABC as one of the few O&O's to not air any streaming newscast between 7pm and the late news.

 

[WeatherandTraffic 54]

27 minutes ago, 24994J said:

The hour-long 7pm show has apparently been dumped in favor of a 30-minute show at 6:30. It SEEMS like the Elgas-Burton-[rotating weather] team will continue in the streaming slot, but nothing has been declared. Ravi and Cheryl are off, so Rob anchored at 6 and stayed put, while Karen and Cheryl S. relieved Judy and Larry between shows. This means WLS joins WABC as one of the few O&O's to not air any streaming newscast between 7pm and the late news.

 

I bet Cheryl Scott and Larry Mowry are happy with this move. But, what they should have done is a 9pm hour-long digital newscast with more news and less gossip to compete with WGN and Fox 32.  Also will the 7am stay the way it is or will it get cut to a half hour also? I feel the 7am should stay the way it is since it has more completion and the style is more appropriate in the morning.

[24994J 5630]

The 7am hour appears to be unchanged. There was a long-form interview in the middle of the 6:30, so it is still a little looser, but I think the looseness depends on the team. Karen and Cheryl S. aren't going to give you as lively of a show, among the various combos.

[cpet228 2]

Both of the station's top anchors doing solo evening shifts this weekend-- Rob Elgas yesterday & now Cheryl Burton this evening.

This is certainly a change for ABC7.  Lately, when Karen has been off, it has either been Mark or Liz.  Wonder what the rationale is for this.

Doesn't the new weekend anchor/weekday reporter start this coming week 

[R.R. 96]

25 minutes ago, cpet228 said:

Doesn't the new weekend anchor/weekday reporter start this coming week 

Rob Hughes is expected to start Tomorrow according to the release memo.

[24994J 5630]

Sure enough, Hughes debuted Saturday, and he, Karen & Greg are in for Ravi & Cheryls today at 5. Working on that team-building.

 

MEANWHILE, Jim Rose is the latest domino to fall, calling it a career. His last day is September 15th, which lines up with the end of his contract. Despite the steady stream of retirements, since 2016, I legitimately have no clue who's going to succeed him. Ryan had the announcement.

 

And, in case anyone was wondering, Jim's shifts were...

• Weekends - 1982-87
• 4PM - 1987-2021
• 5PM - 1992-94, 2021-23
• 6PM - 1994-2023
• 7PM - 2015-19
• 10PM - 2021-23

 

Edited August 28, 2023 by 24994J

[Georgie56 3326]

6 minutes ago, 24994J said:

Sure enough, Hughes debuted Saturday, and he, Karen & Greg are in for Ravi & Cheryls today at 5. Working on that team-building.

 

MEANWHILE, Jim Rose is the latest domino to fall, calling it a career. His last day is September 15th, which lines up with the end of his contract. Despite the steady stream of retirements, since 2016, I legitimately have no clue who's going to succeed him. Ryan had the announcement.

 

https://www.facebook.com/RyanChiaverini/posts/pfbid0zbHwKcQEXsRyhD2eYQnGcn3B9EP5Fo8KppyNJ1TxPuvym2ZKFFP8mZmirC4ZfCNdl

 

Well, this is a surprise. In all likelihood, it’ll probably be Dionne Miller.
 

[24994J 5630]

Ryan and Dionne are about the same age, he's been at the station longer, she's been doing sports longer. Their other commitments might play a factor, if all parties are interested in keeping those. Ryan still does Windy City Weekend, and she has a midday Saturday show on ESPN1000, plus will be co-hosting the 2 to 3-hour Bears pregame show, which is generally going to be Sunday mornings. I could see a platoon approach, where they split the 7 days in way that isn't the normal weekday/weekend split, but I don't know how they'd break that up. We'll see.

[R.R. 96]

5 minutes ago, 24994J said:

Ryan and Dionne are about the same age, he's been at the station longer, she's been doing sports longer. Their other commitments might play a factor, if all parties are interested in keeping those. Ryan still does Windy City Weekend, and she has a midday Saturday show on ESPN1000, plus will be co-hosting the 2 to 3-hour Bears pregame show, which is generally going to be Sunday mornings. I could see a platoon approach, where they split the 7 days in way that isn't the normal weekday/weekend split, but I don't know how they'd break that up. We'll see.

And isn't Mark Schnanowski still on Per-Diem? 

[24994J 5630]

3 minutes ago, R.R. said:

And isn't Mark Schnanowski still on Per-Diem? 

 

Correct.

[24994J 5630]

Longtime announcer Ron Rolland passed away, after a battle with lung cancer.

 

https://abc7chicago.com/ron-rolland-death-abc7-chicago/13780379/

Edited September 14, 2023 by 24994J

[24994J 5630]

All of the Jim Rose tributes from last night:

 

 

Edited September 16, 2023 by 24994J

[cbs2worksforyou 44]

So is Ryan Chevierini the new lead sports anchor now?

[24994J 5630]

We would've posted if anything was official. So far, Ryan's been anchoring M-W, Dionne Th-Su, though he was on last Friday, as well. There's a job listing on their website for a sports anchor/reporter, but doesn't clarify if that person could be 3rd-string, 2nd, or even lead. With the current staff, I'm sure they're in no rush.

 

Oh, and Schanowski has been doing more field reporting, in addition to his fill-in duties, but I'm sure that's until they can fill the vacancy.

Edited October 3, 2023 by 24994J

[24994J 5630]

After some subtle signals in the last week or 2, the news is official. Chiaverini will be sports director, effective immediately. 5, 6 & 10, Monday thru Friday. (Paywalled article, but you get the gist.)

 

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/marketing-media/ryan-chiaverini-named-abc7-lead-sports-anchor

[MorningNews 1506]

Is it widely known that Alan Krashesky did weather for at least at one point for WLS? Found it on a random clip from YouTube from Christmas Day 1983. 
 

 

Edited December 15, 2023 by 24994J

[24994J 5630]

2 hours ago, MorningNews said:

Is it widely known that Alan Krashesky did weather for at least at one point for WLS?

 

Fairly well-known. He was never quite "official" in the role, but served as weekend forecaster for the better part of a year, after Jim Ramsey's exit for DC, and before Andy Avalos was hired.

[24994J 5630]

Not even kidding, first all-male, co-anchored, weeknight evening newscast on 7 in...at least 35 years?

 

 

"The newsroom is calling the Bro Show."
"All you need is a glass of scotch, and you're right back to the good ol' days."

 

All that's missing is the circle 7 jackets.

[Georgie56 3326]

Roz Varon is hanging it up.

[R.R. 96]

29 minutes ago, Georgie56 said:

Roz Varon is hanging it up.

The last one standing from the 1989 morning news launch. 12 different people she's worked with over time. A true OG. The good thing is she is sticking around for the 35th-anniversary Morning newscast!

[cpet228 2]

I believe I had her speak at a class when I went to Columbia College years ago.  Always on top of things in the morning.

Any rumors/speculation on her replacement yet?  Will ABC7 hire from the outside?  Or will Diane Pathieu get it, since she seems to be the primary fill-in already?

[24994J 5630]

On 2/25/2024 at 1:04 PM, cpet228 said:

I believe I had her speak at a class when I went to Columbia College years ago.  Always on top of things in the morning.

Any rumors/speculation on her replacement yet?  Will ABC7 hire from the outside?  Or will Diane Pathieu get it, since she seems to be the primary fill-in already?

 

Diane is obviously the internal candidate, but as is standard procedure, there is still an open job listing online.

 

 

Meanwhile, the first half of the week has been a celebration of the morning newscast's 35 years, and there have been some special guests along the way. Earlier, media manager and apparent news nerd David Fell joined the show to talk about a lot of station history.

 

Wednesday (today) was the official anniversary, so some familiar faces made their return between 6 & 8am. The Gray Beards, as I called them to a friend, reminisced about the old days, and Judy Hsu pre-taped a retrospective segment.

 

Edited April 3, 2024 by 24994J