Someone to know: Catching up with a trusted newsman
While serving in various roles at WGNTV for more than 37 years, Steve Sanders probed newsmakers, politicians and celebrities with questions.
But one recent afternoon, Sanders found himself in an unusual position: responding to questions instead of asking them.
“It’s certainly different,” Sanders says with a laugh. “I’m not the guy holding the microphone.”
One of the most beloved and trusted newsmen in Chicago during his tenure at WGN, Sanders retired in late February, 2020. Just two weeks later, the state and the nation were in lockdown as the COVID-19 pandemic set in. So was Steve Sanders.
“In March, that was really when we realized we were in a very serious health crisis,” he says. “I had big plans to travel, but the pandemic got in the way of that.”
Now that Chicago and the state have eased up on indoor restrictions, as well as mask and vaccine mandates, Sanders is “now ready to figure out what retirement’s all about.”
Traveling is one activity that’s back on his itinerary.
“I’ve been house-bound for a couple of years, trying to avoid getting COVID —taking my vitamins, wearing a mask,” he says.
Career path
Sanders, who was born in southern Illinois but spent his formative years in Birmingham, Alabama, began his broadcasting career in 1970 as a stagehand/floor director at WBRC-TV (Birmingham’s ABC affiliate). From 1973 to 1979, he worked at WERC-AM in Birmingham as a news anchor and a helicopter traffic reporter. He then joined WVTM (the NBC affiliate) in 1979 as a weekend anchor and reporter.
Toward the end of 1982, however, Sanders moved north to Chicago after WGN-TV offered him a position as a reporter. Within 18 months, WGN made Sanders anchor of the Midday News while he continued to work as a reporter.
“That, for me, was a major career break,” he notes. “Originally, the Midday News was only a half-hour long, but it later expanded to a full hour. That newscast was successful for two reasons: It was the only midday newscast in Chicago since the network-owned and operated stations were required to run soap operas in the middle of the day. The second reason for its success was an energetic and authoritative young meteorologist named Tom Skilling.”
Sanders moved over to the WGN News at 9 in 1993 as co-anchor along with the late Allison Payne, while Skilling did the weather and Dan Roan sports. Skilling and Roan remain mainstays at WGN to this day. In 2008, Sanders returned to the Midday News and co-anchored middays almost exclusively with Dina Bair until his retirement. Bair currently is the Midday News anchor and is the medical reporter for WGN’s “Medical Watch” segments.
It was during the Midday News that viewers were treated to watching Sanders play the guitar. The program regularly featured musicians and bands, and Sanders was occasionally asked to join them on the set. Over the years, he’s sat in with big names such as the original Blues Brothers band and Tommy Emmanuel, considered to be the best acoustic guitar player in the world today.
“For me, being able to play with that guy (Emmanuel) was sort of like a marginally talented high school quarterback having a scrimmage with the Bears,” says Sanders, who adds he was asked by Buddy Guy to play alongside him while Sanders was doing a story on the legendary blues guitarist and singer.
“I don’t want to give you the impression that my guitar skills are anywhere near sufficient to be playing with those guys,” he says. “I’m luckier than good!”
“I’ve always said Steve is one of the smartest guys I know. You could drop him in a room anywhere in the world and he would figure out how to talk to people and find common ground and conversation. We’ve traveled and spent a lot of time together and never had a moment of silence; we always had something to talk about. It just makes working fun. I miss working with him so much.” Photographer/editor Mike D’Angelo
A future president
Although Sanders has many fond memories of stories he’s covered and interviews he’s done at WGN over the years, one story in particular comes to mind. In April, 1986, an estimated 30 million tuned into “The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults” — a two-hour special hosted by Geraldo Rivera. Sanders was there reporting on the story for WGN.
Americans collectively wondered, “What was in that underground room at the Lexington Hotel in Chicago once owned by the infamous gangster?” while riveted to their TV sets. Much to the surprise of everyone: nothing.
“There was this widely held belief that Capone had created a vault in the basement of the Lexington Hotel,” Sanders recalls. “Of course, it was a big disappointment. At the time, it was one of the most watched television shows in history.”
His favorite interview? That’s easy. A fledgling state senator named Barack Obama, whom Sanders first interviewed in the early 2000s.
“I’ve interviewed a lot of politicians in my day, but this guy was one of the most engaging, charming, forthright politicians I’ve ever interviewed,” Sanders says. “I came back to the station and I said, ‘Does anybody know anything about this guy Barack Obama?’ I said, ‘I just interviewed him, and I tell you what. We need to remember his name because we haven’t heard the last of him.’”
Sanders couldn’t have been
more prophetic. Obama, of course, served two terms as the nation’s 44th president.
Mutual admiration
Sanders says he keeps in touch with his former coworkers — among them Bair, his longtime producer Pam Grimes, and photographer/editor Mike D’Angelo, with whom he worked for nearly 15 years.
“He and I both play guitar, so we talk guitars and TV and family stuff,” D’Angelo says.
Describing D’Angelo’s talents, Sanders says, “I remember a time when we won an Emmy Award for something. I said
(at the awards presentation), ‘I could read the phone book out loud, record it on video tape and Mike could make magic out of it. That’s how good he is.”
The respect and admiration D’Angelo has for Sanders is mutual.
“I’ve always loved telling stories with Steve because he’s such a natural storyteller,” D’Angelo says. “I’ve learned way more from him than I would ever image I’d learn from a co-worker. He’s like working with a buddy that you’ve known all your life, working with your brother, but he’s been a mentor all these years.
“I’ve always said Steve is one of the smartest guys I know. You could drop him in a room anywhere in the world and he would figure out how to talk to people and find common ground and conversation. We’ve traveled and spent a lot of time together and never had a moment of silence; we always had something to talk about. It just makes working fun. I miss working with him so much.”
It’s safe to say many throughout the Chicago area who tune into the Midday News miss seeing Steve Sanders, truly one of Chicago’s very own.