{"id":6303,"date":"2015-01-12T10:00:48","date_gmt":"2015-01-12T16:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=6303"},"modified":"2015-01-12T10:09:11","modified_gmt":"2015-01-12T16:09:11","slug":"wttw-sells-naming-rights-to-phil-ponces-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2015\/01\/12\/wttw-sells-naming-rights-to-phil-ponces-job\/","title":{"rendered":"WTTW sells \u2018naming rights\u2019 to Ponce\u2019s job"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Phil<\/a>

<\/a> Phil Ponce<\/p><\/div>\n

Phil Ponce isn\u2019t just the host of WTTW-Channel 11\u2019s<\/a> \u201cChicago Tonight\u201d anymore. From now on, he\u2019s The Alexandra and John Nichols Chief Correspondent and Host<\/em> for the public television station\u2019s nightly news program.<\/p>\n

Marking a first in Channel 11\u2019s 60-year history, Window to the World Communications has named an on-air host\u2019s position in honor of a couple of major financial backers.<\/p>\n

Calling Alexandra and John Nichols \u201cpillars of this organization for more than 30 years,\u201d board chairman James Mabie said in a statement: \u201cDuring Alexandra\u2019s 20-year tenure as a valued WWCI trustee, she and John have been especially supportive of \u2018Chicago Tonight\u2019 and the independent news reporting and analysis the station provides to the community. We are so pleased to be able to offer them this unique and permanent recognition of their support.\u201d<\/p>\n

The announcement did not disclose the amount of the Nichols\u2019 donation, which will be earmarked for the station\u2019s endowment and support of its news and public affairs content. The change in Ponce\u2019s title, effective Monday, \u201cwill be reflected on air, online, in print, and at public events where the Chief Correspondent and Host\u2019s title is used,\u201d the station said.<\/p>\n

Ponce, 65, a veteran Chicago television newsman, succeeded the late John Callaway as host of \u201cChicago Tonight\u201d in 1999. After a four-year break while Bob Sirott hosted the show, Ponce returned to the top job in 2006.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am honored to be the first at WTTW to have my position associated with the names of these two wonderful philanthropists,\u201d Ponce said in a statement. \u201cAlong with our dedicated staff, I remain committed to maintaining the high journalistic standards that have been synonymous with \u2018Chicago Tonight\u2019 for the past three decades. We are incredibly grateful for, and honored by, this gift.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Phil Ponce isn\u2019t just the host of WTTW-Channel 11\u2019s \u201cChicago Tonight\u201d anymore. From now on, he\u2019s The Alexandra and John Nichols Chief Correspondent and Host for the public television station\u2019s nightly news program. Marking a first in Channel 11\u2019s 60-year history, Window to the World Communications has named an on-air host\u2019s position in honor 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\/6303"}],"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=6303"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6306,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6303\/revisions\/6306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}