Posted by chicagomedia.org on March 28, 2009 at 12:23:20:
In Reply to: Re: Roe goes with Amy Jacobson on WLS ---not true???? posted by Just wondering on March 27, 2009 at 20:07:01:
Amy Jacobson completes comeback
RADIO | TV reporter fired over bikini joins Roe Conn: 'I thought I was going to be homeless'
March 28, 2009
Amy Jacobson, sounding tired, apologized for not returning a call sooner. "I've got kids to take care of," she said.
But there was relief in her voice, and optimism, too, about her new beginning. In May, Jacobson will join host Roe Conn as his full-time sidekick on WLS-AM's (890) afternoon-drive show.
Jacobson, then a WMAQ-Channel 5 reporter, gained notoriety in July 2007 when a WBBM-Channel 2 camera crew secretly filmed her, clad in a bikini with her two children in tow, at the home of Craig Stebic, whose wife Lisa had gone missing. Jacobson said she had been invited to Stebic's home unexpectedly and hoped to gather information about the ongoing story of Lisa Stebic's disappearance.
But WMAQ soon dumped Jacobson. After 18 years in TV news, it was devastating to Jacobson, who also had to grapple with a divorce after losing her job.
"If you think getting fired is bad, a divorce is much worse," she said. "There was a time when I thought I was going to be homeless."
But working one day a week serving meals at a homeless shelter in recent months has helped keep her perspective.
Jacobson has filled in recently with a number of the on-air people at WLS. She's obviously pleased to be working with Conn.
"He's incredibly witty and smart," she said.
She appreciates that Conn doesn't scream on-air to grab attention: "I like his approach."
Jacobson said she's been told she'll be able to go out into the field occasionally and report.
She's also told Citadel Broadcasting market manager Mike Fowler that she would be happy to fill in on other shows and even help write news reports.
"I've been around there enough that I know the system and how things work," said Jacobson.
(Chicago Sun-Times)