Steve Bartelstein resurfaces!

[TellyGenic 32]

According to News Blues, Bartelstein is about to be named morning anchor of WBBM's weekday broadcast in Chicago. He seems to have gotten the job because David Friend, who was the VP/News Director for WCBS has been promoted to Senior VP of News for all CBS O&Os, incl. WBBM, and had a big hand in "engineering" Bartelstein's hire.

 

Friend said: "It takes about 30 seconds to like Steve and a lifetime to figure him out."

 

Isn't this the broadcast Kate Sullivan will be co-anchoring?

 

Any bets on how long Bartelstein will hold this job?

[312newswannabe 7]

From Feder:

 

Another news anchor imported from New York is about to be foisted on WBBM-Channel 2. He’s Steve Bartelstein, who was once fired from WABC-TV for sleeping through a news update, and later quit WCBS-TV, saying he felt “tired of this place not appreciating me for what I do for them.”

That’s the word from NewsBlues.com, which reported Thursday that Bartelstein has been hired as morning news anchor at the CBS-owned station here. Presumably that means a role on “Monsters and Money in the Morning,” the low-rated, four-headed gabfest that’s been airing from 5 to 7 a.m. weekdays since February.

 

Bartelstein, who’s said to be in Chicago apartment hunting now, is the latest WCBS alum to land at Channel 2. Kate Sullivan, who’s been morning news anchor at the New York station, joins Rob Johnson here as 5 and 10 p.m. weekday co-anchor next month. Both moves were engineered by David Friend, the WCBS news director who this week was named senior vice president of news for CBS Television Stations.

 

Here’s more background on Bartelstein, as recounted by NewsBlues editor Mike James:

 

“Bartelstein joined WCBS-2 in November 2007, six months after WABC-7 axed him for sleeping through a news update. It was the last straw, following several second and third chances that involved on-air spats with his co-anchors, a sexual harassment lawsuit, gossip about late-night clubbing and drug use, and his repeated late arrivals to work. Soon after Bartelstein left WABC, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He had surgery and intensive chemotherapy and had recovered to the point where David Friend felt comfortable hiring him on the bounce. Then doctors told Bartelstein there was a chance the cancer had spread to his brain. A few weeks later, his cancer was miraculously gone. Despite the bizarre twists, Bartelstein became a key player at WCBS-2. He anchored weekends, and his work, by all accounts, was flawless. But he also felt mistreated and complained openly about not receiving raises and being denied vacation days. ‘I can’t put up with someone who doesn’t appreciate me,’ he said, after resigning because his paycheck was accidentally mailed to his home, instead of being at the station for him to pick up.”

 

Before joining WABC, Bartelstein worked at CNN.

[NewEnglandNewsInsider 0]

Steve's a good guy and I think the'll do ok in the morning. Thank god Monsters and Money in the Morning is getting the boot.

 

The big question who will co-anchor Roseanna or Susan. Both would be great. I think Steve wants to start fresh in Chicago.

[Geoffrey 779]

Very interesting.

 

(Kate Sullivan's doing the 5pm and 10pm at WBBM.)

[NYNews 54]

Kate will be co-anchoring 5pm and 10pm.

[lazynetjunkie 34]

Steve's a good guy and I think the'll do ok in the morning. Thank god Monsters and Money in the Morning is getting the boot.

 

The big question who will co-anchor Roseanna or Susan. Both would be great. I think Steve wants to start fresh in Chicago.

 

 

Roseanne is what I'm hearing and Susan will be back to being the traffic anchor.

 

As for Steve, at least he showed up to work, tired or not.. Unlike another Chicago morning anchor/reporter that decided just not to come to work because he was "tired".

 

 

Monsters was just losing WAY too many sponsors in the morning.. It had to go, unfortunately. It was a good concept, it just had to be worked better.

[lazynetjunkie 34]

Monsters and Money in the Morning is getting cancelled.. The regular 5-7AM (or 4:30-7AM, I should say) morning newscast is coming back. Monsters last day will be August 27th.

 

 

I'm hearing it's going to be Steve Bartelstein anchoring along with Roseanne Tellez. Like I said in another thread, at least Steve showed up to work.. He wasn't a no call / no show like another Chicago morning anchor/reporter because he was "tired".

[Geoffrey 779]

In his last few weeks at WCBS, Bartelstein was regularly doing the sports reports in addition to his anchoring duties.

[Weeters 1811]

Threads merged.

[C Block 1488]

An anchor falling asleep on air...that sounds too good to be true. Is there any video of that?

[NewsJunkie247 1]

An anchor falling asleep on air...that sounds too good to be true. Is there any video of that?

 

He wasn't actually sleeping live on air. From what I have read, he was at his desk sleeping and missed the news update during GMA.

 

As for Steve going to Chicago, I always liked him and I wish him the best! I hope he finds a lot of success in Chicago.

[Vlad 276]

No, he was not sleeping on live television, lol. Apparently sources say that he would party like crazy the night before and would arrive at WABC essentially with no sleep at all and was extremely sleep deprived. Apparently this situation happened three times where Steve would miss the news briefs and updates during GMA and WABC had finally fired him. He was suspended at one point, placed under a final warning, then he returned, did the same thing and was fired. Apparently Steve also had began to show signs of testicular cancer during those sleeping incidents too, and it was believed that it played a part in his sleep deprivation as well and added to the fatigue.

 

But anyway personal life aside, Steve is a great anchor and it will be great to see him elsewhere, of course us New Yorkers will probably never see the likes of Steve again, but we can always watch clips of him so its great to see him back on TV!

[TVNewsLover 727]

Monsters and Money in the Morning is getting cancelled.. The regular 5-7AM (or 4:30-7AM, I should say) morning newscast is coming back. Monsters last day will be August 27th.

 

 

I'm hearing it's going to be Steve Bartelstein anchoring along with Roseanne Tellez. Like I said in another thread, at least Steve showed up to work.. He wasn't a no call / no show like another Chicago morning anchor/reporter because he was "tired".

 

Sorry to break it to you, but there was at least one occassion where Steve was a no call/no show at WABC. Lori Stokes had to anchor the 5-6am hour solo until they brought someone in a reporter from the streets.

[lazynetjunkie 34]

He'd fit in perfectly at WBBM.. There are some on-air staffers there that love to party and go clubbin at night. lol

 

 

What a trade we made with NY in 2010.. We give NY Antwan Lewis (WGN to WNYW) and David Navarro (WFLD to WNYW). You guys give us Kate Sullivan and Steve Bartelstein. Sounds like Chicago is the winner of this deal. hahahaha..

 

 

As for the morning news, I'm sure the lineup will be Steve and Roseanne with Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist and Susan Carson on traffic. I'm also sure they're going to expand the news to start at 4:30AM since they are the only station in town that hasn't yet (other than WGN but they're airing promos about them starting to do so in September).

 

I hope they bring back some fun to the morning news.. I don't want it to be a bore-cast again like it's been the year and a half before Monsters and Money. I also hope they use the Enforcer NG1 morning theme cuts that they used prior to moving to the new building. I'm not very fond of the NG2 morning theme cuts. They're blah. I'm really curious to see what they have planned for the set. I hope the big anchor desk comes back into the set. I also wonder what they're going to replace the phony conference backdrop with. We'll just have to wait until August 30th to see what they do..

[lazynetjunkie 34]

Sorry to break it to you, but there was at least one occassion where Steve was a no call/no show at WABC. Lori Stokes had to anchor the 5-6am hour solo until they brought someone in a reporter from the streets.

 

One is better than at least 3. lol.. Same deal at WLS with former weekend morning anchor Kevin Roy. Less than 10 minutes until air time and no phone answer from Kevin, so they had to use a per diem reporter (the only reporter in the building at the time) to anchor an hour solo. They had to wake up reporter Ben Bradley at home to hurry in to fill-in anchor.

[Jase 818]

He's a Chicago native (a big plus) and WBBM's new weekday morning newscast will be from 4:30-7 AM.

 

More from the Sun-Times...

 

http://www.suntimes.com/business/lazare/2594388,CST-NWS-lew13.article

[lazynetjunkie 34]

He's a Chicago native (a big plus)

 

 

 

I thought so.. He really does have that Chicagoan look to him by the look in the photo used in the photo in Feder's blog and Lewis's column.

 

 

As for the Monster anchors, my guesses are they're most likely going to keep Dan Jiggetts as sports reporter/fill-in anchor. They're short in the sports department and go many days without a fill-in sports anchor when needed. On those nights, the main anchor has the additional duty of sports too. I also think it's a possibility they may keep Terry Savage as a financial reporter/contributor. It does fit their going back in time theme being that she was the station's financial contributor back during the first time around with Bill and Walter.

[cbs2worksforyou 35]

I thought so.. He really does have that Chicagoan look to him by the look in the photo used in the photo in Feder's blog and Lewis's column.

 

How does one 'look like a Chicagoan'? That is probably the weirdest thing I have read on here from you. You can sometimes tell where someone is from by their accent/dialect but I'm not sure I know I can point someone out on the street and say they're from Chicago or let alone New York.

[lazynetjunkie 34]

How does one 'look like a Chicagoan'? That is probably the weirdest thing I have read on here from you. You can sometimes tell where someone is from by their accent/dialect but I'm not sure I know I can point someone out on the street and say they're from Chicago or let alone New York.

 

 

It's hard to explain. When you travel around the country alot, you start to "pick up" on certain things that just tell you where someone is from.. People from certain areas have certain features that just connect them to that area. I usually can sometimes just tell if someone is from the midwest by just looking at them. You don't need to hear their accent/dialect to know where someone is from.

 

I'll admit, I've heard his voice on videos that kind of point towards the midwest. However, the midwest is a large area. What pointed him towards "Chicagoan" is white male with almost completely shaved head (leaving noticeable hair stubble remaining) and the "business wrinkles" (that's what they're called from what I've learned) on the forehead. This look is most common in Chicago among white males of his age. He also has more of that blue collar hard worker type look to him which I think the Chicagoan viewers will pick up more on which is why I think he'd be more accepted in this market.

 

 

Some colleges offer courses on this kind of stuff too. It might be an idea just to take one for the heck of it. Back when I was still in school, I thought about it but never did.. I should have though.

[TellyGenic 32]

But Steve only shaved his head when he was diagnosed with "cancer" - before that, he had a full (if thinning) head of hair.

[Jase 818]

Mary-Kay won't be doing the weather and it's not likely Roseanne and/or Susan will be apart of the new morning show either.

 

"Megan Glaros, a third WCBS expatriate and the station’s weekend morning meteorologist, has been conscripted to Channel 2 as meteorologist for the new morning show being developed for Bartelstein (and a co-anchor to be named later). She also may do some “entertainment reporting,” according to published reports." --Robert Feder

 

Also, Mike North and Dan Jiggets bios have been removed from the CBS2 web site.

[lazynetjunkie 34]

Mary-Kay won't be doing the weather and it's not likely Roseanne and/or Susan will be apart of the new morning show either.

 

"Megan Glaros, a third WCBS expatriate and the station’s weekend morning meteorologist, has been conscripted to Channel 2 as meteorologist for the new morning show being developed for Bartelstein (and a co-anchor to be named later). She also may do some “entertainment reporting,” according to published reports." --Robert Feder

 

Also, Mike North and Dan Jiggets bios have been removed from the CBS2 web site.

 

 

We knew Mary Kay wouldn't be doing the weather the day Friend got promoted.. It was "known" that it was going to happen but nothing could have been set in stone until the promotion was official..

 

 

I have a feeling Susan has the better chance of remaining a part of the new morning show because of her versatility and popularity. She'll either be GA reporter or back to traffic anchor and/or fill-in news anchor. I really don't think management would want to toy around with dumping Susan altogether because she's already proven to be one of the station's most popular personalities among the viewers.. She gets the most fan letters and autograph requests at the station. She's got that fun youthfulness and spunkiness to her that the viewers like.

 

 

It would just be a very bad idea for the station to get a completely new morning crew from out of market that nobody in Chicago knows.. I just hope whoever co-anchors with Steve isn't another WCBS transfer or from out of market.

 

 

As for Roseanne, the term "morning security" was actually a direct quote from management only a few weeks ago; however, alot has changed the past week or 2. I think Roseanne's new role will be more like Mary Ann Childers' previous role at the station. Roseanne anchoring the 11AM and being more of the station's medical reporter and fill-in evening anchor.

 

 

But I'm wondering which meteorologist is going to get axed from the station? Mary Kay or Don? I just can't see them keeping both..

 

 

It seems the station may just have some money again in their books. I gotta feeling that taking in the WCBS people may have been a trade-off for the "$$$ write-off" of the "Monsters & Money experiment" failure..

 

 

I hope they at least gave Dan Jiggetts the large chair he's sat on the past few months. Maybe they actually did because it wasn't in the studio at all this morning. I still remember a few years back when he broke his chair on the set back when he was still weekend sports anchor on FOX Chicago.. He's literally a big guy and when he sat down, the chair broke. It was hilarious and he was even laughing..

[Spring Rubber 612]

Any clue what they have in store for the studio? After all, they are returning to all two-anchor newscasts over the next few weeks, so it would make sense to bring back the original big anchor desk. When they tear down the Monsters and Money set, they should seriously consider using that area as the main anchor backdrop; the only question is whether or not they have the budget to build a nice looking piece that would fit into the rest of the current set. It's a shame they didn't just keep the original 2008 design and replace the fake monitor backdrop with something better. That area of the set was so nice and elegant, but now it's all in the past. Hopefully whatever comes next looks somewhat decent, although you never know if they'll have to cheap out and just leave that area of the studio empty and continue doing the news from the desk they use now.

[lazynetjunkie 34]

Any clue what they have in store for the studio? After all' date=' they are returning to all two-anchor newscasts over the next few weeks, so it would make sense to bring back the original big anchor desk. When they tear down the Monsters and Money set, they should seriously consider using that area as the main anchor backdrop; the only question is whether or not they have the budget to build a nice looking piece that would fit into the rest of the current set. It's a shame they didn't just keep the original 2008 design and replace the fake monitor backdrop with something better. That area of the set was so nice and elegant, but now it's all in the past. Hopefully whatever comes next looks somewhat decent, although you never know if they'll have to cheap out and just leave that area of the studio empty and continue doing the news from the desk they use now.[/quote']

 

 

I heard they had plans for the set but nobody knows what exactly.. I think the best way to go is to get a replacement monitor for the one they "sold" (so both sides are matching again) and put a Chicago city skyline backdrop in the middle. It wouldn't cost so much since the prices of those very large plasmas have gone way down since they originally bought them for their new building. They don't even have to purchase a new backdrop. They brought over all their old backdrops/duratrans from their old studios to the new building when the moved. They have a few that would fit in there almost perfectly like the two (daytime and nighttime) duratrans used on the last set in their old building. They also still have the large blue Chicago monuments backdrop used on their 1991-1994 set which I think would look cool on their current set. They actually reused that backdrop on the 2003-2004/05 "Eye on Chicago" set. You can see that backdrop in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5GNPkunk6s That backdrop is very large and may have to be scaled down to fit the opening on their current set but it could be easily done. I too also hope the large anchor desk makes its way back into the studio. I believe they actually came close to selling/giving that thing to another station (I believe it was a CBS O&O) but they didn't.

 

 

 

As for the current Monsters & Money morning show, they've been saying the past couple days that "Mike North and Dan Jiggetts have the next couple weeks off". Their bios have been pulled from the site; however, they're still technically employed by the station at the moment from what I understand. I'm just guessing they're using up their vacation days because they were the ones that took the least time off among the 4 of them. Everyone knows they aren't coming back on-air on the morning show.

 

Update: Mike Hegedus just said on air that Mike North officially has a new job. He's going to have his own show on national FOX Sports Radio. However, Chicago doesn't have a FOX Sports Radio affiliate so it will be hard to listen to him here. Mike also made clear that Dan is still with the station but just on vacation right now.

[cbs2worksforyou 35]

Spring Rubber and Lazynetjunkie, you two both beat me to asking about the set. I agree with both of you, I hope they go back to using that area for the set with the regular 4-person desk. I hate seeing two or three people squeezed onto a rolling cart meant for stand up reporter shots. I miss the closing shots with all four anchors at the desk, or even during breaking news, like yesterday, they only had enough room for Jim Williams and Irv Miller and kept going back to the newsroom for legal analysts/guests, which was awkward.

 

I would like to see them put in a new backdrop, or even bring back the monitor wall, just for them to use that part of the set again...and I know I was very opposed to it when the set first debuted. (I just want them to use that area of the set again!) And bring back the large plasma screen that was removed, so that both sides match again. The skyline has changed over the years though, and I don't think I'd want to see anything from the past for that shiny new studio. The 1991-94 backdrop seems too bland/old for 22 W. Washington, but thats just my opinion.