Chicago TV wives climbing to spectacular heights

Chicago TV wives climbing to spectacular heights

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Teri Goudie
  • While Chuck Goudie and Rob Stafford compete for viewers on rival television stations in Chicago, their wives are collaborating on a perilous mission halfway around the world —  and nearly 20,000 feet above sea level. Teri Goudie is the wife of Chuck, chief investigative reporter at ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7. Lisa Stafford is the wife of Rob, principal news anchor at NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5. Both women are 53. Together with a third friend, they’ve begun climbing to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise funds and awareness for two groups that help women in Africa. Teri, a former Channel 7 news producer, is keeping a blog of their adventure. On Friday, she wrote:
“The visual conclusion of any challenge is often the key to finishing. During a marathon, I might visualize my friends and families at the finish line and that cold beer that race organizers like to have on hand. For Kilimanjaro, I am hoping for a Disney ending. One of my favorite scenes in film is the end of ‘The Lion King’ when the baby cub is held up for the animal kingdom to see. Cue the music.”
  • Well, that didn’t take long: Already scheduled to fill in for Rob Stafford alongside Allison Rosati on Channel 5’s 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts Wednesday, Thursday and Friday is Jeff Goldblatt. The former 9 p.m. news anchor at Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32 just signed on last week as a part-time reporter (and occasional substitute anchor) at the NBC-owned station. More to come?
  • Not so fast: When Channel 32 parted company last July with news anchor David Novarro, Fox Chicago bosses were quick to tell the media that he was headed for a morning anchor and reporting job at Fox-owned WNYW-TV in New York. Now we know — thanks to the New York Daily News — that never happened. No wonder Novarro warned fans on Facebook not to believe everything they read. (Has any local news organization ever issued more false or misleading statements than Fox Chicago?) Friends say Novarro is weighing a number of offers elsewhere.
  • Another Fox Chicago alum, former sports anchor Jill Carlson, turned up one day last week on Tribune Co.-owned news/talk WGN-AM (720). While continuing to field full-time television opportunities, she’ll be filling in for WGN sports director Dave Eanet every Thursday during football season. “Then we’ll see where things go from there,” Carlson said. New to Channel 32’s sports lineup is free-lancer Kerry Sayers of CBS Radio sports/talk WSCR-AM (670) and the Big Ten Network. She previously was a sports anchor and reporter for Comcast SportsNet.
  • A conservative Republican political commentator (who also happens to be African American) is about to join one of Chicago’s most liberal talk radio lineups. Starting this week, “Launching Chicago with Lenny McAllister” will air from 5 to 6 a.m. Tuesday through Friday on Midway Broadcasting urban news/talk WVON-AM (1590). The author of Diary of a Mad Black PYC (Proud Young Conservative) will bring his perspective to a station that features Cliff Kelley, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Santita Jackson, daughter of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, among other left-of-center voices. “I am honored to be able to work with the team at WVON and serve the people of Chicago,” McAllister said in a statement.
  • Tommy Edwards, the veteran Chicago radio personality and programmer, has joined AccuRadio.com to consult and oversee programming of its Chicago Radio Online streaming music channels. He previously recorded voice tracks for the lineup that also features Danae Alexander, Fred Winston, Mitch Michaels, Connie Szerszen, Doug Dahlgren, Clark Weber, Scotty Brink and Linda Marshall. “We understand the future of radio and are all excited to be a part of it,” Edwards said in a statement.
  • Dick Lobo, who served as president and general manager of Channel 5 here from 1985 to 1988, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to head the International Broadcasting Bureau, overseeing Voice of America and Radio/TV Marti in Cuba. Lobo, who was nominated for the post by the Obama Administration last February, most recently has been running WEDU-TV, the public television station in Tampa, Fla.