Together again for the first time: Kurtis, Jacobson back on the air

WBBM-TV Channel 2 is going forward into the past.

The CBS affiliate announced Thursday that Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson will reunite as the regular weekday co-anchors of the station's 6 p.m. newscast Sept. 1.

The two were paired as co-anchors of the "Channel 2 Newsroom" from 1973 to 1982 and led the local news ratings for much of that era. Kurtis went on to network gigs and to form his own production company, while Jacobson eventually moved on to WFLD-TV Channel 32. They reunited one night last November and produced boffo ratings, although it was a bit of a nostalgia trip.

Jacobson recently brought his "Perspective" commentaries to Channel 2, spurring talk of a formal reunion of the pair at the station. Now they'll seek to recreate the news chemistry they had 30 years ago.

Channel 2 is also adding Kate Sullivan as co-anchor alongside Rob Johnson on its 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts, effective Sept. 13. The Notre Dame alumna comes to Chicago after working four years on the morning news at WCBS-TV in New York. Before that, she worked at KATV-TV in Little Rock, Ark., which was also a stop in Johnson's career.

"We are very much looking forward to adding Kate, Bill and Walter to our team and seeing our momentum and growth continue," said station President and General Manager Bruno Cohen.