The Buzz at ABC7 Chicago

KRISTIN McCLAMROCH PROMOTED TO VP/SALES MANAGER

     The head of ABC 7 Chicago's Sales Department, Vincent Sollecito, annouced a key promotion in his department. Kristin McClamroch was promoted to Vice President/Sales Manager, ABC 7 Chicago, effective immediately. 

    According to Sollecito, “Kristin has displayed all of the essential qualities necessary to be an effective manager at our television station, today and in the future.  Her success is inevitable and we are excited about having her join our management team.”

       Kristin will be co-managing ABC7’s local team in addition to handling National Sales in the Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia ABC National Television offices.

    McClamroch has worked as an account executive for ABC 7 since 1999.

    She got her start at Kelly, Scott & Madison in 1990 as an assistant and left the media buying agency as an Associate Broadcast Manager after nine years.

    McClamroch grew up in the North suburbs and graduated from Miami University (Ohio) in 1990.

ABC 7 NEWS TRUMPS COMPETITION IN RATINGS FOR BLAGOJEVICH VERDICT COVERAGE

 When there’s an important breaking news story, Chicago viewers turn to ABC 7 News, and the coverage of the Blagojevich verdict was no exception.   ABC 7 News beat the competition during the duration of coverage in the afternoon, during the height of the coverage from 2-2:30 pm and during the late news time period.

                                       Special Report Coverage

WLS:      4.6/13   (1:15-4:15 PM)

WGN:     3.4/9    (1:00-4:15 PM)

WBBM:    2.2/6    (12:30-4:30 PM)

WMAQ:   2.0/5    (1:15-4:30 PM)

WFLD:    0.8/2    (1:30-4:30 PM)

 ABC 7 Chicago continued to outperform its competitors during the height of the verdi ct coverage from 2-2:30 PM:

 WLS:      5.1/14

WGN:     4.4/12

WBBM:   2.7/7

WMAQ:   2.0/6

WFLD:    0.9/2

 And during the late news time period, ABC 7 continued to dominate.

 WLS:      9.6/16 @10PM

WGN:     5.5/9   @9PM

WMAQ:   5.2/9   @10PM

WBBM:   4.0/7    @10PM

WFLD:    1.9/3   @9pm

ABC 7 TO BROADCAST THE PRIDE PARADE

 
Join ABC 7's Janet Davies as she hosts “The 42nd Annual Pride Parade,” one of Chicago’s most popular parades. The Pride Parade will be broadcast on ABC 7 this Sunday, June 26 from 11:35 pm to 12:35 am. The parade kicks off at noon from Halsted and Belmont on Chicago's North Side, the parade ends a weekend of festivities and entertainment supporting the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities. Fernanda Rocha, best known for her role as the first lesbian cast member on the Bravo show, "The Real Housewives of Orange County," will be this year’s Grand Marshal.

Come and see ABC 7’s Cheryl Burton, Ryan Chiaverini, Jessica D’Onofrio, Leah Hope, Karen Jordan, Ron Magers, Karen Meyer, Hosea Sanders, Val Warner, Rafer Weigel, Linda Yu who will be riding on the ABC 7 float during the parade.

If you can't be at the parade you can always catch our broadcast later in the evening. 

The parade kicks off at noon.

CHECK OUT BEHIND THE SCENES TAPING OF N BEAT

Join ABC 7's Theresa Gutierrez at the Instituto Cervantes Language School and Cultural Center as she tapes a segment for an upcoming episode of "The N Beat." Along with the Instituto Cervantes, this week's episode will focus on the founder of a Spanish dance company, an image consultant and an artist/photographer, all men and women who maintain a strong connection to their Latino heritage while doing the things they love. Make sure to tune in Saturday, June 25 at 6pm or Sunday, June 27 at noon to catch the full episode. Click the link to see behind the scenes video of this week's show!

NBeat Behind The Scenes 

ABC 7 CHICAGO WINS 3 ILLINOIS BROADCAST ASSOCIATION “SILVER DOME” AWARDS

ABC 7 Chicago came away from the Illinois Broadcasting Association (IBA) “Silver Dome” Awards this past weekend with three 1^st place awards. The station received first place honors in the categories of:

“Best Newscast” (ABC 7 News at 10)

“Best Public Affairs Program” (Faces of Inspiration)

“Best Local Program” (Chicago’s Top Guns)

ABC 7 News at 10 is anchored by Ron Magers, Kathy Brock, Cheryl Burton, Mark Giangreco, and Jerry Taft, along with ABC 7 reporters and is the #1 rated newscast in Chicago. Faces of Inspiration, hosted by ABC 7’s Roz Varon, focused on stories of survivors and those inspired by breast cancer survivors as they help others grappling with this difficult diagnosis. Chicago’s Top Guns gave viewers a close-up look at The Chicago Air & Water Show, spotlighting the thrills and chills of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, hosted by ABC 7’s Jerry Taft and Tracy Butler.

Congratulations to all of our winners!

ABC 7 BROADCASTS THE PUERTO RICAN DAY PARADE THIS WEEKEND

This is a big week for ABC 7 Chicago! Join us Saturday June 18^th for the 45^th annual “Puerto Rican Day Parade”. Theresa Gutierrez, host of ABC 7’s Ñ Beat, will be there to emcee the event starting at noon on Columbus and Balbo Dr.

Since 1965, The Puerto Rican Day Parade has served as a festive way to celebrate the culture and heritage of Chicago’s Puerto Rican population. Every year thousands of people come to watch the decorative float procession, listen to authentic Reggaeton musicians, and dance traditional folk and salsa with others from all over the city.

If you can’t make it to the day’s festivities then be sure to catch the broadcast of the event on ABC 7 the following day, Sunday the 19^th from 1130am-1230pm. ABC 7 is proud to be the sole broadcast home to the Puerto Rican Day Parade so make sure to tune in!

JOIN ABC 7 CHICAGO FOR THE "17TH ANNUAL JIM GIBBONS 5K TRAFFIC JAM"

Tomorrow, June 16th, is the 17^th Annual Jim Gibbons 5K Traffic Jam, a run/walk hosted by ABC 7’s own Janet Davies and Frank Mathie. Janet and Frank were both colleagues and friends of Jim Gibbons, who used to be a reporter here at ABC 7 before succumbing to Leukemia in 1994.

“Jim was one of the best reporters to come out of channel 7.” Janet Davies remembered, “He was a gentleman with Irish charm, and a professional who people trusted. He could break major news to the jealously of his rivals.”

In his memory, this run/walk event was created with the Leukemia Research Foundation to help benefit victims of leukemia, lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndromes, and others blood cancers through finding treatments and supporting patients and their families.

The Jim Gibbons 5K Traffic Jam will take place at 6:25 on June 16^th, starting at the south end of Lincoln Park, at 1800 Stockton Dr. ABC 7 Chicago looks forward to seeing you there to support a great cause!

ROAD TRIP! 190 NORTH HEADS TO BRANSON, MISSOURI

 

Get ready to take a trip with 190 North! Host Janet Davies and the gang heads to Branson, Missouri, to discover the new thrills and attractions it has to offer. This will be 190 North’s third trip to Branson.

Branson, located 40 miles south of Springfield and nestled in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, is home to a variety of stage shows, fine dining locations, and even a zip line! Branson has become an unlikely, yet enjoyably unique vacation spot.

Watch the piece on 190 North this Sunday at 1035pm. Who knows, maybe a trip to Branson will be in your future too!

 
Singer Andy Williams recently opened the new Moon River Grill next to his popular theare in Branson.

Welcome to THE BUZZ!

Welcome to ABC 7’s new blog, The Buzz at ABC 7 Chicago.  Check us out to get the latest on what’s going on at in front of the camera and behind the scenes at Chicago’s #1 station.