Signing Off in Chi-Town

Longtime WLS Reporter Theresa Gutierrez is signing off from the Chicago station after 43 years.  

“I’m not retiring,” she told viewers. “I’m just moving on to the next chapter of my life and do some things that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. . . . It’s been a great journey. I’ve had a ball. There’s never been a dull moment with you, the viewers, or my colleagues.”

Here is the internal memo sent to staffers from WLS News Director Jennifer Graves:

If you saw our 5pm news this afternoon, you saw today’s headline: Theresa Gutierrez has decided to retire from ABC 7.

Theresa’s career here is nothing short of legendary. She’s been at ABC 7 for almost 43 years. She’s held multiple positions in the newsroom and in our programming department:  program host, program producer, general assignment reporter, even production assistant!  Theresa was one of the first Hispanic women to break into television journalism. Theresa, along with Barbara Walters, Connie Chung, Christiane Amanpour and Jane Pauley were featured on the cover of an educational book, Women Who Broke Barriers: The New Face of TV News.

She’s a true trailblazer and one of the hardest working, most dedicated and most versatile journalists in the business. As you know, Theresa’s community roots are deep and she’s been honored with awards too numerous to list. Please take a look at the attached news release, and you’ll be reminded of Theresa’s many and varied contributions to ABC 7 and television journalism.

Theresa’s last day will be October 31. We’ll celebrate her amazing career as we get closer to that date. In the meantime, let’s all thank Theresa for her many contributions to ABC 7 and wish her the best as she prepares for this next chapter of her life with her wonderful husband Ambrose.

Thank you, Theresa!

H/T Robert Feder