Lauren Magiera

Lauren Magiera, a native Chicago sports fan who most recently co-hosted the Green Bay Packers pre-game show, has been hired as a sports anchor and reporter at Tribune Media WGN-Channel 9.

Starting later this month, she will succeed Chicago sportscasting veteran Rich King, who last January announced plans to retire June 15.

Magiera is the first woman ever hired to report sports for “Chicago’s Very Own,” according to Jennifer Lyons, WGN news director.

Rich King

“Chicago sports fans are serious about their sports and Lauren will deliver,” Lyons said in announcing the appointment Monday. “Her knowledge is exceptional, her energy is infectious, and we are pleased to have her join our busy sports department.”

Before joining the Green Bay Packers in 2015, Magiera was sports director, producer and reporter at WAOW, the ABC affiliate in Wausau, Wisconsin.

Magiera, who grew up in the northwest suburbs and graduated from Barrington High School, attended the University of Alaska Anchorage on a gymnastics scholarship. After graduating with a degree in journalism and public communications, she worked in sports for several stations in Anchorage and for the Family Network.

“Coming home to work in my hometown is a dream come true,” she said. “Chicago is the greatest sports city in the country and I grew up watching all the coverage on WGN. Channel 9 is legendary here, which is why joining WGN News is an enormous personal and professional honor. It’s a privilege to work with a team of such great journalists.”