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Posted by Larz Link: Feder: Will the real Bill Kurtis please stand up?
on 11/5/2009, 12:57 am
I wonder if Robert Feder took some sharpshooting lessons while he was away. In his sights today: local TV legend, Bill Kurtis. The following are a few excerpts from his latest media blog on the Vocalo website. Click on the link at the end to read the entire article.
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Will the real Bill Kurtis please stand up?
11 05 2009
by Robert Feder
If there were a Mount Rushmore of Chicago television news anchors, the first face I'd put up there is Bill Kurtis. OK, maybe he'd be the second -- after Floyd "The Big Tuna" Kalber.
But the point I'm making is that as an anchorman in this town, Bill Kurtis will always be among the all-time greatest in my book. What he accomplished at CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 -- most notably during his legendary run with Walter Jacobson from 1973 to 1982 -- can never be discounted or diminished.
All of which makes Kurtis' latest comeback to Channel 2 so utterly baffling to me.
I get that times are different. I get that Channel 2 is losing money, its ratings are in the toilet, and it has nothing to lose by trying anything to attract an audience. And I get that Kurtis, now 69, has moved way, way beyond the local news arena.
It's fascinating to see how his career and public image have evolved from news icon to documentary host and producer to star of the A&E Network to brilliantly deadpan commercial pitchman.
So which Bill Kurtis are we getting on Channel 2 now? The no-nonsense newsman who fronted the show in its glory days and wants to be taken seriously -- or the ironic, postmodern mercenary who's playing it all for laughs?
(Note: This is only a small portion of a much bigger piece. Read the entire blog, which includes links to other sites, at the link below.)
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