Roseanne Tellez

Robservations on the media beat:

Rafer Weigel

Roseanne Tellez, who resigned last week from CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 after 15 years as a reporter and news anchor, has jumped to Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32. Starting March 4, she’ll co-anchor “Good Day Chicago” from 4 to 6 a.m. Monday through Friday with Rafer Weigel, who moves up from weekend anchor. Tellez spent 14 years at Tribune Broadcasting WGN-Channel 9 before joining CBS 2 in 2004. “Roseanne exemplifies our station’s brand of journalists that Chicagoans recognize, respect and trust,” said Matt Piacente, news director of Fox 32. Weigel, son of legendary Chicago sports anchor Tim Weigel, joined Fox 32 as a reporter and weekend anchor in 2017. Tellez and Weigel replace Anthony Ponce and Natalie Bomke on the early morning newscast. Ponce will move to weekend anchor and Bomke will take on evening reporting duties, according to the station.

Ben Joravsky

Ben Joravsky, the longtime Chicago Reader political writer who recently was cut as afternoon host on Newsweb Radio progressive talk WCPT 820-AM, is back behind a microphone. Starting Wednesday, he’ll host a two-hour talk show four days a week, presented by the Reader and the Sun-Times. From Sun-Times studios in the West Loop, “The Ben Joravsky Show” will stream live from 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday on the Reader and Sun-Times websites. It also will be uploaded on all major podcast platforms. Initial sponsors include the Chicago Federation of Labor and several unions. Dennis Schetter will return as Joravsky’s producer. “I’ll be back just in time for the mayoral runoff,” Joravsky said. “And then after that, what's that I see on the horizon? Oh, yes, the 2020 presidential race. Man, I can’t wait.”

Richard Roeper

Sun-Times film critic Richard Roeper will be recognized for his on-air partnership with the late Roger Ebert at this year’s Roger Ebert Film Festival. The 21st annual Ebertfest will run April 10 to 13 in Champaign, Illinois. “Richard will take to the stage where we will put him in the hot seat as the interviewee to share behind-the-scenes escapades about his partnership with Roger,” said Chaz Ebert, who sustains her husband’s legacy. “A montage of clips from their memorable reviews will also be featured. Roger would be thrilled that we are finally celebrating Richard at Ebertfest.” The two hosted the nationally syndicated movie-review show “Ebert & Roeper” from 2000 to 2008. Ebert died in 2013.

Larry Potash

“Backstory with Larry Potash,” the primetime showcase for the veteran "WGN Morning News" anchor, has been renewed for a second season on Tribune Broadcasting WGN-Channel 9. Starting March 3 it will air at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday nights throughout the month. Each show will be rebroadcast at 11:30 p.m. Sundays on WGN and 7 p.m. Mondays on CLTV. "Backstory" features Potash exploring “intriguing tales in history, culture, religion and science from Chicago and beyond.” The first season's episodes can still be seen at WGNTV.com/Backstory or heard in podcast form at iTunes and Google Podcasts.

Geoffrey Baer

Geoffrey Baer, resident historian and program host at WTTW-Channel 11, is hitting the road. "Chicago on Vacation with Geoffrey Baer," a 90-minute documentary celebrating family road trips throughout the Midwest, will premiere at 7:30 p.m. March 5 on the Window to the World public television station. Baer set out in a 1973 Chevrolet Impala station wagon (said to be the same car his family drove on their vacations) to explore a variety of popular destinations. “Our aim is to capture the nostalgic feeling of a classic road trip, and to showcase the many amazing places just a few hour’s drive from Chicago,” Baer said in a statement. “We logged more than 7,000 miles on the WTTW production van over eight months of filming. And everywhere we went, people were so excited to learn we would be featuring their beloved vacation spots."

Brigid Sweeney

Brigid Sweeney has resigned as a reporter for Crain's Chicago Business, where she covered food, retail and general consumer culture since 2010. Starting next week she'll join the public affairs team of Advocate Aurora Health. In 2015 Sweeney went public with an amazing first-person story about surviving a brain tumor. "It has been a remarkable privilege to work here for eight and a half years," Sweeney tweeted this week. "I will always be grateful to my wonderful colleagues and to the many sources and experts who have made my stories better." Crain's is expected to fill her position.

Wednesday’s comment of the day: Mark Quinn: First, it is not the least bit surprising that WBBM once again came out on top. When people who are good at their jobs concentrate on what they do best, the resulting excellence is utterly predictable, readily observable, and completely undeniable. Second, Len Walter is the best. In my many, though not as many as Len's, years of navigating the treacherous yet rewarding financial seas, I have come to rely on Len's timely, succinct, and insightful reporting. He is a great gift to all of us and a great asset to those of us who strive to understand the markets. Thanks, WBBM, and thanks, Len Walter.