One of Chicago’s biggest staples is our news stations. To tune into live news reports and carefree lifestyle shows, the World’s Greatest Newspaper (WGN) has you covered! WGN takes pride in being Chicago’s very own, but what does an employee’s day to day look like?
Students at Taft Today had the honor to visit WGN Studios, and were able to talk to people that work behind the scenes and on set. After being given a tour of the studio and sitting in on one of their programs, “Daytime Chicago,” employees of WGN spoke to us about their roles at the workplace.
Bob Vorwald has been working with WGN for over 60 years. He started off covering sporting events such as the Chicago Cubs, back when sports were only featured by news stations. He found his passion for journalism when he attended Northwestern. From there, a friend of his found him a position at WGN.
Vorwald currently works as a Director of Production and Executive Producer. He explained what his job entails. He helps assemble the behind the scenes and makes contributions to what is put on air.
He spoke about his passion for reporting with us at Taft Today. He led the tour, answered questions interested journalists had about reporting, and worked for different news stations such as WGN. Vorwald’s story is a great example that there is more to journalism than being a reporter, since there is so much that goes on behind the scenes.
A Director of Production isn’t just the only person working behind the scenes, however. Live news stations are a complete team effort, and tend to decide on in-the-moment changes. For driving out to a location, for example, the team needs to decide if they can cover the story or leave it to a different station.
An Executive Producer of WGN, Samantha Julien, took time to speak to us about her job. Julien loves how her job keeps her on her feet, and described how she enjoys news being constant, even in cases of breaking news. She continued to talk about how it had been her childhood dream to work for a news station.
As an Executive Producer, Julien and her team have to make real time changes to their set schedule and with the help of national news sources. With this, they are able to provide the best quality news to those at home that support WGN. Julien’s story shows that dreams can come true with hard work and passion.
Most of the work being done for new stations takes place behind the scenes, but what really ties the live shows together are the hosts and anchors. It was with the unexpected help of Vorwald that co-host for “Spotlight Chicago,” Ji Suk Yi, was given the opportunity to do a job she loves.
Aspiring to be a lawyer, Yi had no idea that she’d end up co-hosting for Spotlight Chicago. Previously, Yi has worked closely with WGN. She was a host for “Windy City LIVE,” “The Grid,” and recently as a fill-in host for WGN’s “Daytime Chicago.” She was also a digital anchor not only on WGN Radio, but also with NewsNation.
Yi has found a lot of success at WGN, and is more than happy to present and host to viewers at home. Yi’s story shows that a turn of events can change one’s life and can be able to accomplish a lot wherever that path leads them.
The art of news inspires the love of journalism through those who never thought they would be interested in that field such as Yi, or instances where they grow up wanting to be a reporter like Julien. From old internship opportunities to recent job offers, workers at WGN bring countless people together with the same kind of passion.
WGN is able to inform people on news while also highlighting the joys of Chicago such as small businesses and local restaurants. Taft Today and other journalism students were grateful for this opportunity to get to see the behind the scenes and hear from Chicago’s very own employees, who continue to help evolve the way people consume news.
