Tonight only: Kurtis, Jacobson reunite

CHANNEL 2 NEWS | Legendary team to co-anchor 10 p.m. show

WBBM-Channel 2 upped its efforts to get viewers to sample its revamped news product in a big way Thursday with the announcement it will reunite broadcasting legends Bill Kurtis, 69, and Walter Jacobson, 72, as co-anchors tonight, and only tonight, for the station's flagship 10 p.m. newscast.

WBBM management was quick to emphasize it has no plans to use Kurtis and Jacobson together beyond tonight, when the current 10 p.m. solo anchor Rob Johnson will be off.

Johnson said he doesn't feel threatened by the return of the two, at least for now. Johnson even had a hand in orchestrating the reunion. He suggested to WBBM News Director Jeff Kiernan that Kurtis sub for him. Kurtis has been joining the newscast occasionally to present "Cold Case Minute" segments based on his series on A&E. Kiernan, in turn, thought it might be interesting to pair Jacobson with Kurtis.

If the overnight ratings are strong -- perhaps through the roof -- the historic anchor reunion could prompt WBBM General Manager Bruno Cohen and Kiernan to at least consider pairing Jacobson and Kurtis on a more permanent basis.

Kurtis and Jacobson were a magical pairing for WBBM 30 years ago when they were the lead anchors in a news department that was well-respected and dominant in the ratings. But the station's image, its news product and the ratings began to fall apart in the mid-1980s.

When we talked to Jacobson Thursday, he sounded excited about his return to the WBBM 10 p.m. newscast, which -- for one night only -- will include one of his trademark commentaries. "I'm having fun with the idea of coming back, and I am looking forward to lending a helping hand to a station to which I have great loyalty," said Jacobson, who is finishing a book about his life in broadcasting that will be published next year.

Various efforts over the past decade to return WBBM to its glory days had failed. In recent months, with the help of strong lead-in ratings for its 10 p.m. news product and some clever use of Kurtis to promo the station, WBBM is now tied for second place with NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5 at 10 p.m.

Cohen's and Kiernan's latest ploy could provide another ratings boost, even as it reminds viewers, if only for one night, of the station's illustrious past as a news powerhouse.