The Definitive ABC 7 Thread

[ns8401 995]

12 hours ago, 24994J said:

Dionne is in Milwaukee for the Illinois game on Friday, so she did the 6 from the arena, so Marshall was only on at 5 & 10.

 

Too bad they clip sports out of their on demand recordings. Is third fiddle at WLS a step up from Sports Director at WBBM?

[24994J 5888]

2 minutes ago, ns8401 said:

Too bad they clip sports out of their on demand recordings. Is third fiddle at WLS a step up from Sports Director at WBBM?

 

Middays on 670AM The Score is his main job, these days, so pinch-hitting at 7 is good exposure, but not an upgrade or downgrade, per se. It's just another in the notable history of sports radio hosts filling in on TV, and vice versa.

[ns8401 995]

4 hours ago, 24994J said:

 

Middays on 670AM The Score is his main job, these days, so pinch-hitting at 7 is good exposure, but not an upgrade or downgrade, per se. It's just another in the notable history of sports radio hosts filling in on TV, and vice versa.

Good for him getting out there like that then. 

[cpet228 2]

On 3/21/2025 at 2:17 PM, ns8401 said:

Too bad they clip sports out of their on demand recordings. Is third fiddle at WLS a step up from Sports Director at WBBM?

So, what happened to Mark Schanowski?  Did he leave?  I thought he was per.diem/#3 at ABC7  for sports?

[24994J 5888]

3 minutes ago, cpet228 said:

So, what happened to Mark Schanowski?  Did he leave?  I thought he was per.diem/#3 at ABC7  for sports?

 

Ryan was off most of last week, but was back on Friday night, Dionne was reporting from Milwaukee on Thu/Fri, and Mark must not have been available on Thursday, so that's where Marshall slotted in. Dionne was then off for the weekend, so Mark was sent to Milwaukee for the Illini's 2nd round game, and Marshall was in-studio again. They'll all co-exist, at least for now, with baseball starting, Bulls & Hawks winding down, pre-NFL draft coverage, and the usual Spring break time off.

[Chicago2008 39]

Some sad news, per Diane (Pathieu)'s facebook page, her husband passed away after a four to five year battle with brain cancer.

Edited May 28, 2025 by 24994J

[Chicago2008 39]

Article in People Magzinehttps://people.com/tv-anchor-husband-dead-at-age-42-brain-cancer-chicago-11745142 

[WeatherandTraffic 63]

At 11am today, Val and Terrell anchored from a temporary desk set up but Mark McGinnis still did weather from the studio. It's interesting as it is almost 10 years with this set and it doesn't look like an overhaul is likely soon.

[24994J 5888]

42 minutes ago, WeatherandTraffic said:

At 11am today, Val and Terrell anchored from a temporary desk set up but Mark McGinnis still did weather from the studio. It's interesting as it is almost 10 years with this set and it doesn't look like an overhaul is likely soon.

 

I got confirmation that they're switching out the monitor bank behind home base for a seamless wall, the last of the O&Os to do so. They're still playing with the lighting, but the new larger green screen space in the secondary studio looks quite nice. The average viewer likely wouldn't notice.

 

Edited July 28, 2025 by 24994J

[brb588 120]

5 hours ago, WeatherandTraffic said:

At 11am today, Val and Terrell anchored from a temporary desk set up but Mark McGinnis still did weather from the studio. It's interesting as it is almost 10 years with this set and it doesn't look like an overhaul is likely soon.

I don't think they need to change their set. I think it holds up pretty well.

[Jase 1164]

1 hour ago, brb588 said:

I don't think they need to change their set. I think it holds up pretty well.

 

True.

 

With ESPN 1000 leaving for the Board of Trade building (and WLS AM/FM having left in 2017); it wouldn't make much sense to spend a significant amount money on a new set, etc.. in a 100+ year old building when, odds are, they too will move to a new & modern facility down the line.

 

 

[Chicago2008 39]

Per Diane Pathieus social media pages, she is coming back tomorrow 

[Weeters 2173]

On 7/28/2025 at 9:11 PM, Jase said:

 

True.

 

With ESPN 1000 leaving for the Board of Trade building (and WLS AM/FM having left in 2017); it wouldn't make much sense to spend a significant amount money on a new set, etc.. in a 100+ year old building when, odds are, they too will move to a new & modern facility down the line.

 

 

I don't think it's a great idea to use the NY project as a guide for what will happen elsewhere. The circumstances are wildly different. ABC did not move to the new NY facility simply because some of the buildings were "old".

 

A properly-maintained 100-year-old building will last for another 100 years. 

[brb588 120]

1 hour ago, Weeters said:

I don't think it's a great idea to use the NY project as a guide for what will happen elsewhere. The circumstances are wildly different. ABC did not move to the new NY facility simply because some of the buildings were "old".

 

A properly-maintained 100-year-old building will last for another 100 years. 

Agreed. I just don't think WLS is aching for an overhaul. Maybe a mild refresh, which is what a video screen is. 

[Jase 1164]

4 hours ago, Weeters said:

I don't think it's a great idea to use the NY project as a guide for what will happen elsewhere. The circumstances are wildly different. ABC did not move to the new NY facility simply because some of the buildings were "old".

 

A properly-maintained 100-year-old building will last for another 100 years. 

 

Didn't have NY in mind. Just noting the lost of two tenants and that WLS will now have to shoulder the responsibility of maintaining a old building alone. Plus, with their competitors (WMAQ, WBBM and WFLD) having moved/or will move into newer, more modern spaces; it's not outside the realm of possibilities they 'may' feel the need to keep up....

 

 

Edited August 5, 2025 by Jase

[Weeters 2173]

They are hardly alone, Disney has a lot of non-WLS business operations in that building. I know Disney had other Chicago office locations pre-COVID/the normalization of working from home, so I would imagine they would have consolidated what they could into 190 N by now. They could also sublease the space the way they do in San Francisco (and I'm not just talking about KRON! There's a law firm, and TK Elevator's San Francisco office in the building too.) They are already doing this with the Potbelly.

 

 

[Georgie56 3661]

Liz Nagy is leaving to be the weekend anchor at KABC.

[24994J 5888]

I knew about this morning than a month ago, but this one hurts. Their fill-in bench is a little thin, with her exit. Unfortunately, KABC offered something Chicago couldn't match, and that's a vacant anchor chair.

[CraigViewer 107]

1 hour ago, 24994J said:

I knew about this morning than a month ago, but this one hurts. Their fill-in bench is a little thin, with her exit. Unfortunately, KABC offered something Chicago couldn't match, and that's a vacant anchor chair.

As someone who lives in the Los Angeles market, I remember seeing her as being one of the reporters KABC brought in from out of town to assist with their Southern California wildfire coverage earlier this year.  She struck me as being very solid.  I would imagine that upper management at ABC7 in L.A. was impressed by her pitching-in work in large part, as well.

 

[GraphicsMan 345]

2 hours ago, Georgie56 said:

Liz Nagy is leaving to be the weekend anchor at KABC.

Low-key thought they give that to Sophie Flay but that's okay.

[24994J 5888]

With Liz's exit, Mark Rivera is absorbing all of the non-consumer investigative duties, and leaving the weekend morning anchor desk. He'll shift to a Monday-Friday reporting role, plus filling in, much like Liz did.

[Jase 1164]

On 9/27/2025 at 12:21 PM, 24994J said:

With Liz's exit, Mark Rivera is absorbing all of the non-consumer investigative duties, and leaving the weekend morning anchor desk. He'll shift to a Monday-Friday reporting role, plus filling in, much like Liz did.

Surprised they didn’t pick one of their veteran reporters (Hope, Garcia, etc..) to absorb Liz’s duties. Do they have anyone available to co-anchor with Chatman? 

[24994J 5888]

32 minutes ago, Jase said:

Surprised they didn’t pick one of their veteran reporters (Hope, Garcia, etc..) to absorb Liz’s duties. Do they have anyone available to co-anchor with Chatman? 

 

Standard procedure is for them to post the job listing, and they might hire from outside, but I'd imagine they'll platoon Christian Piekos, Cate Cauguiran & Jasmine Minor, in the interim. Friendly reminder that the weekend morning chairs went unfilled for 5 months after Stacey retired, and like 14 months after Ben left.

[Jase 1164]

2 hours ago, 24994J said:

 

Standard procedure is for them to post the job listing, and they might hire from outside, but I'd imagine they'll platoon Christian Piekos, Cate Cauguiran & Jasmine Minor, in the interim. Friendly reminder that the weekend morning chairs went unfilled for 5 months after Stacey retired, and like 14 months after Ben left.

 

I agree they will likely hire someone from outside. Didn't care for Piekos (when he subbed for Brown) and I wouldn't mind seeing more of Wade in the anchor chair.

[24994J 5888]

I think Piekos wouldn't be a great fit with Sam, like a little too...shy? She'd dominate the pairing on personality. Still I would've moved Mark to evenings with Karen and gone with Christian, versus the Hughes hiring.

Aside of the new vacancy, I'd love to see Cate get some of the Liz fill-in slots. Maybe not often, but unless they plan on having solo 10s or male pairings, they'll need somebody for the Friday nights when Cheryl and Judy are off, and let's just say I don't want Minor anywhere near prime slots. Maybe give Babich a little sweetheart deal to do more evening fill-ins.

Edited September 29, 2025 by 24994J