Posted by chicagomedia.org on September 18, 2008 at 07:19:25:
CBS 2 rolls out the welcome mat
Maybe my invitation to the ribbon cutting for WBBM-Channel 2's new studios Monday got lost in the mail.
Then again, I might be the only columnist in town who hasn't been given a sneak preview of the CBS-owned station's fancy new digs.
If getting snubbed by Joe Ahern, president and general manager of Channel 2, is the price of writing the truth about him -- and the mess he's made after six years at the station -- I'm more than happy to forgo any grand tour.
Still, I had to laugh when a press release showed up Wednesday to promote a Channel 2 special that will provide viewers a "behind-the scenes tour" of the facility at 22 W. Washington in the Loop.
Hosted by news anchors Rob Johnson and Anne State, "Heart of Chicago" will air three times on Sunday -- at 6 a.m., 1 p.m. and 10:35 p.m. -- on Channel 2.
" 'Heart of Chicago' is more than a location," Ahern said in the press release. "It's a mission statement for how we serve the people of Chicago as we begin to write our next chapter."
It was less than three years ago that Channel 2 hosted a lavish groundbreaking ceremony for the broadcast center at Block 37.
Standing front and center with Ahern that morning were station manager Fran Preston and news anchors Diann Burns, Antonio Mora and Mary Ann Childers, among dozens of other colleagues.
But don't look for any of them at Monday's kickoff either. Joe "Heart of Chicago" Ahern fired them all.
(FEDER/st)