Posted by Bud on May 13, 2010 at 11:19:22:
In Reply to: Bill Kurtis, Walter Jacobson might return to CBS2, Bob Sirott to Fox posted by Bud on May 10, 2010 at 16:30:14:
Are Kurtis, Jacobson headed back to Ch. 2 news anchor roles?
May 6, 2010
BY LEWIS LAZARE | Sun-Times Columnist
Is the legendary local news anchor duo of Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson returning to their former roles at WBBM-Channel 2?
WBBM news director Jeff Kiernan does not comment on speculation, and that includes any talk of Jacobson and Kurtis reassuming anchor roles. But sources report WBBM has been in talks about such a scenario.
Kurtis and Jacobson were a hit when they reunited in November for a single, smartly executed 10 p.m. WBBM newscast. Both have re-established regular ties to the station's newscasts. Jacobson returned in February to do more of his trademark commentaries and is still doing them. Kurtis has contributed his "Cold Case Minutes" to the 10 p.m. news since last fall.
Kiernan came to WBBM in January 2009 to help the station move up in the ratings. And though there has been movement in the right direction, the ratings momentum appears to have stalled in recent months, suggesting the station might need to add more to the mix to spark more sampling and further boost the numbers.
WBBM has moved back down to third place among the three local stations that have 10 p.m. newscasts. WMAQ-Channel 5 rebounded from third place to second after the prime-time Jay Leno talk fest was yanked from the air in February, and Leno returned to "The Tonight Show" in March.
Of course, any return to news anchoring full-time would mean Kurtis would have to give up all of the TV commercial work -- most of it as a spokesman for AT&T -- that has enriched him financially and made him a familiar figure in millions of households nationwide.
But Kurtis has to be beginning to think about how he wants to bring down the curtain on a long and rich career. We suspect he would like to be remembered more for helping restore Channel 2 to its former news glory than for immortalizing the cherry lime rickey -- the drink he famously and quite humorously ordered in one of his best TV commercial efforts for AT&T.