{"id":15192,"date":"2017-08-17T06:00:03","date_gmt":"2017-08-17T11:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=15192"},"modified":"2017-08-17T06:00:04","modified_gmt":"2017-08-17T11:00:04","slug":"robservations-nbc-5-cant-wait-rob-staffords-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2017\/08\/17\/robservations-nbc-5-cant-wait-rob-staffords-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Robservations: NBC 5 \u2018can\u2019t wait\u2019 for Rob Stafford\u2019s return"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

<\/a> Rob Stafford and Allison Rosati<\/p><\/div>\n

Robservations on the media beat:<\/p>\n

After six months away battling a rare blood disease,<\/a> veteran Chicago news anchor Rob Stafford<\/strong> is ready to return to WMAQ-Channel 5. <\/a>He\u2019ll be back on the 10 p.m. newscast August 28, according to the NBC-owned station, and will resume anchoring at 5 and 6 p.m. \u201cafter a couple of weeks.\u201d Stafford, 58, underwent a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy for amyloidosis, a blood disorder that affected his kidneys. On Wednesday, Stafford posted a photo on Facebook<\/a> reunited with anchor partner Allison Rosati.<\/strong> \u201cWe can\u2019t wait to get Rob back,\u201d said Frank Whittaker,<\/strong> station manager and vice president of news at NBC 5. \u201cWe\u2019ve missed him, and our viewers have missed him. We\u2019re so happy he\u2019s doing better, and are looking forward to his return.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Patrick Fazio<\/p><\/div>\n

With Rob Stafford\u2019s imminent homecoming, NBC 5 plans to reconfigure its daily anchor lineup. Patrick Fazio,<\/strong> the station\u2019s newest news anchor <\/a>and reporter, will co-anchor the 4 p.m. weekday newscast with Marion Brooks,<\/strong> starting August 28. Fazio and Dick Johnson<\/strong> will share anchoring duties with Allison Rosati at 5 and 6 p.m. until Rob Stafford returns to those newscasts. Once that happens, Johnson will go back to anchoring Saturdays and Sundays, as he did before Stafford went on medical leave.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Chicago Sun-Times (August 16, 2017)<\/p><\/div>\n

Wednesday\u2019s front page of the Chicago Sun-Times<\/a> \u2014 branding Donald Trump<\/strong> as \u201cFAKE PRESIDENT\u201d \u2014 drew widespread and extreme reaction<\/a> from fans and foes. \u201cWe\u2019ve never been strangers to putting columnists or editorial content on the front page of the Sun-Times. It\u2019s in our DNA,\u201d said managing editor Chris Fusco.<\/strong> \u201cTuesday was an extraordinary day in the news cycle, and both [columnist] Mary Mitchell\u2019s<\/strong> and Tom McNamee\u2019s<\/strong> editorial board words expressed strong opinions. We\u2019re not going to shy away from those opinions as a newspaper. Clearly it landed with a lot of discussion and commentary. That\u2019s what a good newspaper does.\u201d Fusco conceded the intensity of reaction across social media came as a bit of a surprise: \u201cIt\u2019s heartening to know that we can still draw that response. It shows how relevant we are in the media mix in Chicago and nationally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Matt Scarano<\/p><\/div>\n

The president of the Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana Chevy Dealers Association will sing the praises of radio advertising in a one-minute spot to air simultaneously on more than 40 Chicago area radio stations at 4:29 p.m. Tuesday. John Alfirevich,<\/strong> operator of Apple Chevrolet, will be spotlighted in the latest joint effort of Radio Broadcasters of Chicagoland. <\/a>\u201cThe RBC is committed to delivering tangible results to the Chevy dealers and all of our valuable advertisers,\u201d said Matt Scarano,<\/strong> chairman of RBC and president of iHeartMedia Chicago. In July, the RBC aired a similar interview with Ed Wehmer,<\/strong> CEO of Wintrust Financial Corp. Last November, it sponsored a 30-minute \u201cChicago Radio Town Hall Meeting\u201d with Mayor Rahm Emanuel<\/strong> that aired on 47 stations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Jamie Sotonoff Bartosch<\/p><\/div>\n

On second thought, Jamie Sotonoff Bartosch<\/strong> won\u2019t be leaving the Daily Herald<\/a> after all. Two weeks ago she announced on Facebook she was resigning to join United Airlines as a senior writer for digital engagement. But this week Bartosch confirmed that she\u2019s staying on at the paper as a metro staff writer, adding: \u201cI look forward to doing more great stories.\u201d Meanwhile, another Daily Herald reporter has left for real: Anna Marie Kukec<\/strong> resigned to take on a new job, which she declined to disclose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robservations on the media beat: After six months away battling a rare blood disease, veteran Chicago news anchor Rob Stafford is ready to return to WMAQ-Channel 5. He\u2019ll be back on the 10 p.m. newscast August 28, according to the NBC-owned station, and will resume anchoring at 5 and 6 p.m. \u201cafter a couple of... Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15192"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15192"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15201,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15192\/revisions\/15201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}