Val Press, 74, who started out as a secretary with WMAQ-TV Chicago and became
a newswriter and producer, died of lung cancer Wednesday at Northwestern
Memorial Hospital.
Press was with the station 52 years, first as secretary in the sales
department and most recently as producer for Sunday-morning public-affairs
show City Desk.
Frank Whittaker, vice president for news, called Press "the heart and soul of
this newsroom . a true Chicago treasure."
Political editor Dick Kay called her "an institution" and "the last of the
originals."
