Diann Burns’ ‘Next’ Move

Former WBBM Chicago star anchor
Diann Burns says on her blog that
she’s heading to WFLD Chicago to
host NextTV. She starts at the Fox-owned
duopoly on April 11.

“I am thrilled to partner with the Chicago
Urban League and with the amazing,
star-studded team at Next TV: Change You
Can See,” Burns writes. “I’ll be hosting the
second season of this Emmy award-winning
business and lifestyle program.”

Next TV focuses on stories of economic
empowerment in Chicago. It will air at
8 a.m. Sundays, with a rerun on WPWR
at 12:30. Burns will host all 13 episodes
this season.

When I wrote a cover story a year ago
on the passing of the high-priced-staranchor
era in local news (B&C, April 6,
2009), I mentioned that Burns and her $2
million salary had been cut from WBBM
amid CBS’ heavy layoffs in 2008. Prior to
her time at WBBM, she had a long career
at WLS.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.