May 12, 2006 6:00 pm US/Central
WBBM 780 Says Goodbye To Historic Home
by Mike Parker
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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WBBM 780's old headquarters
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WBBM 780's new headquarters
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The radio frequency, the name and the voices will remain the same, but WBBM Newsradio 780 itself is on the move.
As CBS 2's Mike Parker reports, after sharing the aging Streeterville building at 630 N. McClurg Ct. with CBS 2 for the past half century, the radio giant is dialing up some new digs.
It is a bittersweet day Friday for the folks at Newsradio 780. Early Sunday morning, the operation moves lock, stock and barrel to the 11th floor of the Prudential Plaza.
Since 1956, the station has been operating out of the converted ice rink on McClurg Court, and the newsroom and studios show the wear of every one of those 50 years. The equipment is no longer state-of-the-art, and the furnishings are sort of late thrift shop-style. But the place has its charm and its history.
"This is like the old newspaper newsrooms where you heard the Teletype and you heard the typewriters," said WBBM 780 mid-day anchor Kris Kridel. "All of that was happening in this room for many years. It'll never be that way again."
Morning anchor Felicia Middlebrooks added that she has worked "24 years in this beat-up building. You know, I got kind of weepy when I was coming down the hall, because the same carpet was there."
Next week, everybody will be in fancy new digs, with a newsroom showing a lot of maple and mahogany, surrounded by "Star Trek"-style, all digital equipment.
"It's a lot of new things to learn and buttons to push, and I don't know – come Monday morning you may hear a boo-boo now and then," morning anchor Pat Cassidy said. "Hopefully not."
B96 Radio will be moving from the McClurg Court building the week after Newsradio 780. A new building is also under construction for CBS 2, but we will be in the building for a while longer.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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