More Hires at Fox Chicago

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WFLD News Director Tom Doerr has been on a hiring spree at Fox Chicago. 

Robert Feder reports that the latest hires are Melody Mendez, host of “The Everyday Show” on KDVR-TV, the Fox affiliate in Denver, and Jake Hamilton, entertainment reporter at KRIV-TV, the Fox-owned station in Houston.

Nothing is official yet, but Mendez is expected to sign on as an anchor for the bottom-rated news show, which airs from 4:30 to 10 a.m. weekdays. Hamilton is expected to be featured as a reporter on the show, a role currently held by Patrick Elwood.

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It’s unclear how the hiring of Mendez will affect the show’s four current anchors — Anna Davlantes, Corey McPherrin, Dawn Hasbrouck and newcomer Natalie Bomke.Also expected to join the “Good Day Chicago” mix is Jon Kelley, the former sports anchor at NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5, who most recently has been hosting mornings at KNTV-TV, the NBC station in San Francisco.

Mendez signed off Friday after three years at KDVR, telling fans on Twitter: “I can’t say exactly where I’m going . . . yet! An announcement is coming soon!” The New England native and Boston University graduate previously worked for stations in Jackson, Tenn., Champaign, Ill., and Seattle.

Hamilton, a Seabrook, Texas, native who attended the University of Houston, began hosting the film review segment “Jake’s Takes” in 2008 for KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston. He shifted to KRIV in 2009. A note posted Friday on Hamilton’s Facebook page about his hiring at Fox 32 subsequently disappeared.