As a news anchor you have the opportunity to reach hundreds of thousands of viewers each night, what has been your approach to connecting with your audience in Chicago compared to New York?
New York is the epicenter of finance, Los Angeles is all about the film industry, but Chicago still pays attention to local broadcasting. I jokingly call it the local news capital of the world! There is never a shortage of stories here, and people genuinely care about what is going on in their community. One thing that has always impressed me about TV viewers in Chicago is that they are incredibly loyal. Our viewers want us to be real. Chicagoans crave authenticity, so I try to balance being professional with staying warm and conversational. I will say it helps to have grown up here, and to know the back story of what we cover. On occasion, I’ve been
known to slip up and
call it the Sears Tower,
or Comiskey Park.
You present a clean cut yet elegant type of style, describe your sense of fashion on and off camera.
We’re required to keep it professional on the air. I’m 6’3” so finding suits and shirts in my size can be a challenge. Fortunately, I’ve found some bespoke options here in Chicago and online that have my size dialed in. Dressing for the camera can be tricky. Certain patterns can look distracting in high definition, so I tend to select materials that are solid or patterns that are less busy. It’s also important to ensure the colors don’t clash with our bright news set, or with my co-anchor’s wardrobe.
In my office, I keep
two racks full of
ties, and 2
backup shirts just
in case I spill
coffee or get a
makeup smudge.
I’ll admit many of my
ties are hand-me-
downs from my dad.
I’ve always been really impressed with his
style, and whenever
he updates his
wardrobe, he’ll
give me a call and
say, “I’ve got some
ties for you!”I’ll
never forget
when a style
consultant told
all the male
anchors to
stop wearing ties on the evening newscast. The audience reaction was overwhelmingly negative, and after a few weeks the ties came back! It didn’t bother me wearing an open collar, but I think our viewers have come
to expect us to look a
certain way. That
dramatic departure
from the norm,
ended up being a
major distraction
from the
journalism, so
I’m glad the
ties are
back.