http://www.suntimes.com/business/834605 ... 08.article

In a local television bombshell, Mark Suppelsa ended his five-year run Monday at WFLD-Channel 32, leaving the Fox-owned station scrambling to replace its main news anchor.

Suppelsa, 45, who has been anchoring Channel 32’s marquee 9 p.m. weekday newscast alongside Robin Robinson since he succeeded Walter Jacobson in September 2004, chose not to accept a four-year contract renewal offer from the station. His current agreement expires March 17, but he’s off the air effective immediately.

David Novarro, who co-anchors Channel 32’s 10 p.m. newscast, will take on additional duties as interim anchor at 9 p.m., starting tonight.

“I wish to thank Fox for their impressive and generous offer, which I have respectfully declined,” Suppelsa said.

“I have spent five productive and important years at WFLD, and I cannot say enough about the tremendous support and dedication so many people gave to me while I was there. While not an easy decision, I feel it is the appropriate one.”

I always felt he came from the Giangreco school of broadcasting....

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Maybe he's moving to the 10:00 shift at BBM - Rob Johnson sucks. And at MAQ, Warner Saunders has as much business being a 10:00 anchor as Darrin Jackson does performing "rocket surgery." I doubt Suppelsa would leave the market - but there might be a promotion in three months.

Here's two of the possibilities:

1. Channel 2 mornings to fill the slot vacated by Randy Salerno's death
2. Channel 2 evenings to fill for Robin Burns who may be brought back at a very reduced rate, but she is already being replaced a few evenings a week by a new person.

Channel 32 is like a black hole for newscasters. He may have made money over the last five years but I imagine there are a good number of people who thought he left the market. I do not know of a single person who watches the local Fox for a news source.

Diann Burns?

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She's a poor reporter so whatever name she is.

Isn't it at least slightly entertaining to stare at her chin-stubble in HD? I find that amusing...

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When I first read this thread title I thought "Wow and I thought Randy Salerno checked out at a young age."

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I never watch channel 2 close enough to see it. I guess I'll be watching tonight now.

Channel 32's 9PM news pulls better ratings than Channel 2's 10PM news though.

Maybe it's time for Warner Saunders to ride off into the sunset - he's lost his fastball.

Then again, Ron Magers isn't getting any younger - he's been in the TV news business since 1965.

Link: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/bio?section= ... id=3397294

He also was in the Dirty Harry movie THE ENFORCER portraying... a reporter.

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Disclaimer: Most of my posts are not suitable for work or home viewing.

The name's Rockmore. Beef Rockmore

Thanks for this tidbit. Now you've wrecked the next Sunday morning AMC/SpikeTV broadcast of this movie for me with this bit of minutia.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

I fixed it for you...

He's on WGN's morning show acting like an unemployed tourist.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Are you talking about Mike North?

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SideshowBob311: "Sadly enough, I think we're the "intelligent" portion of the sports radio fanbase".
"I make fun of whoever sucks, including me"- Harry 11/30/07

No offense intended, but I never know what the hell you're talking about anymore... maybe it's me.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

I thought that bit with Pat Tomasulo was pretty funny.

But then, I laugh at almost anything...

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Seriously?

HappyHour Jason + BigFan= Match?

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SideshowBob311: "Sadly enough, I think we're the "intelligent" portion of the sports radio fanbase".
"I make fun of whoever sucks, including me"- Harry 11/30/07

I thought it was funny, Jason

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Suppelsa signed a 6 year deal with WGN today - he'll replace Steve Sanders as the primary anchor at 9 PM and will be starting a new 5:30 local news show (30 minutes) starting in September.

I was surprised by that story when I read it in Feder. I didn't think 1) that 9 was looking to replace Steve Sanders 2) that they were looking to replace the critically acclaimed "According to Jim" with yet another newscast and 3) that they really felt the need to add a half hour to the soon to be former noon news, as if there is an hour and half of news to talk about at that time of the day.

When Mark Suppelsa decided not to re-sign with FOX 32, it raised many eyebrows among Chicago's TV news operations. Even though Mark is a well respected newsman, I didn't feel he was necessarily embraced by his FOX colleagues & viewers alike following the controversial decision to demote and then dump Walter Jacobson by the management team now calling the shots at WFLD. This is the same management team at WFLD that also fired sportscaster Bruce Wolf & meteorologist Rick DiMaio, plus allowed morning anchor Tamron Hall to leave Chicago for a similar job at MSNBC. As for Suppelsa, he appeared briefly as a tourist during a skit on "WGN Morning News" shortly after he left FOX. While he was pondering his TV future, he took a job as the newsman on the very popular "Eric & Kathy" morning show at 101.9 "The Mix" where he replaced Barry Keefe, who retired after 3 decades. Quite frankly, I wasn't sure where Suppelsa was going to relocate before WGN hired him. Rob Johnson re-signed at CBS 2, Bob Sirott has been widely rumored as Warner Saunders' heir apparent at NBC 5, and Ron Magers is there for the long haul at ABC 7. I also get the impression Steve Sanders is happy to have Mark as a teammate, let alone return to the newscast he started in the '80s during the lunch hour...

God I hope not. Sirott annoys me, especially with his random thoughts segment on the 4:30 news.

Sirrott and Murciano are quite annoying on the WGN Sunday evening radio hour. The interview with Roger Ebert's wife Chas was particularly painful, though most of their interviews blow. Sirrott has no business anchoring a nightly newscast, let alone hosting the noon hour on WGN. How he has all of these jobs is beyond me.

That rumor about Bob Sirott being groomed to succeed Warner Saunders at NBC 5 is based on what I have heard. I'm not sure what you think of Rob Stafford, who works the weekends with Anna Davlantes & meteorologist Ginger Zee at NBC 5. To me, he's the luckiest S.O.B. in Chicago TV working with 2 of the most beautiful women on the air. I'm not sure if Stafford would be better suited to succeed Saunders, who is NOT getting any younger. Just for the record, Stafford actually replaced the fired Amy Jacobson one year ago at WMAQ after NBC News laid him off in mandatory cutbacks. As for when we'll see Mark Suppelsa & Steve Sanders anchoring at WGN, it won't happen just yet. It's my understanding that WGN will soon expand its midday news to 11:30a, with Sanders behind the desk there. Suppelsa & Allison Payne will likely take over the 9p news, both likely in early September.

I thought I read that Suppelsa was going to take over the nine o'clock news sometime this month?

According to Sun-Times' columnist Rob Feder, the Mark Suppelsa/Allison Payne "Nine O'Clock News" on WGN's CW 9 & WGN America, the former WGN Superstation, plus Steve Sanders & Micah Materre take over the Noon newscast debut Monday and in HD to boot!