Melody Mendez
It’s musical chairs time again at “Good Day Chicago,” the ever-changing morning show at Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32.
On Wednesday Melody Mendez announced she’s not renewing her contract as news anchor from 4:30 to 7 a.m. Monday through Friday. The move confirms a report here last fall following the departure of the show's former co-anchor, Jon Kelley.
Effective January 4, Mendez will be reassigned to weekend anchoring and weekday reporting duties three days a week. But that’s just until she leaves Fox 32 for her new job.
Mendez would not disclose her next destination, but teased Facebook fans Wednesday with this message: “Shhhhh.... it's a secret (for now)! I have some BIG NEWS to share with you all! I can't give details just yet but am so excited to spill, soon!”
The New England native and Boston University graduate joined Fox 32 in November 2013 after stops in Denver, Seattle, Champaign, Illinois, and Jackson, Tennessee.
Natalie Bomke
Bouncing back to mornings to replace Mendez alongside newcomer George Smith on “Good Day Chicago” is Natalie Bomke, who most recently has been anchoring at 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays with Larry Yellen. Bomke, who grew up in Springfield and graduated from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, joined Fox 32 in September 2013 from KRIV-TV in Houston. After about a year on “Good Day Chicago,” she was moved to weekends.
Meanwhile, Yellen has been reassigned to full-time reporting duties and soon will be replaced as weekend anchor by Scott Schneider, just hired from WXIX-TV, the Fox affiliate in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Still more changes to “Good Day Chicago” include the hiring of Sun-Times film critic Richard Roeper as co-host with Corey McPherrin and Darlene Hill, and the hiring of meteorologist Mike Caplan, formerly of ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7, to succeed Mark Strehl (whose next assignment remains unknown).
In the latest Nielsen sweep “Good Day Chicago” averaged a 0.9 rating (31,276 households) and 4 share. Among viewers between 25 and 54, it averaged a 0.5 rating and 4 share.