Longtime Chicago news broadcaster Walter Jacobson has announced he’ll retire from WGN Radio later this week.
Since 2014, Jacobson has shared two-minute commentaries called Walter Jacobson’s Perspective, covering local politics and news. The final edition of the commentary will be heard on Thursday, March 27th.
“I ‘knew’ Walter Jacobson mostly for his TV news work virtually all my life,” said WGN Radio Vice President and General Manager Mary Sandberg Boyle. “He and Bill Kurtis revolutionized the look and feel of television news broadcasts in Chicago at CBS 2 and it’s still talked about by those who watched them in the 70s.
“Working with him at WGN Radio and getting to know him in person has been an honor,” Sandberg Boyle continued. “After seeing firsthand his uncompromising devotion to his craft, it’s easy to see why he is the media legend that he is. Walter’s personality, contributions and ever unique Perspective will be greatly missed.”
Walter Jacobson has spent more than six decades in Chicago media. He began working in television in 1963 as a news writer, reporter, and political editor. In 1973, he began hosting the 10 PM newscast alongside Bill Kurtis, where he stayed for nine years. He continued to work at WBBM-TV until 1993. He then moved to FOX Chicago, where he worked from 1993 to 2006.
His Perspective commentaries originally began at WLS-AM 890 in 2013 before moving to WGN.
According to WGN Radio, the 87-year-old Jacobson won 10 Chicago Emmy Awards in a row for his commentaries, as well as a Peabody Award and several Peter Lisagor Awards during his long tenure.
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