Feder: Former ABC 7 reporter Paul Meincke recovering from heart surgery

Paul Meincke, the legendary former Chicago television newsman, is on the mend in Los Angeles after undergoing emergency surgery for a torn aorta, Robert Feder writes.

"This was most certainly one of those unexpected bumps in the road," he told me Thursday. "And I've learned again that life is precious. Every day is a treat."

Meincke, 69, said he was visiting family in L.A. when he was stricken just before going to bed. "I suddenly felt the proverbial elephant on the chest," he recalled. "Tests the following day revealed a torn aorta - aortic dissection, I'm told - so the knives were administered and repairs made."

With his new bovine aortic valve, Meincke joked: "I now rejoice in being part cow."

After 30 years as a top reporter at ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7, Meincke retired in 2015. Calling him "the gold standard," veteran anchorman Ron Magers said at the time: "Every journalist who ever worked with him or near him could have learned valuable lessons just by watching him work. I know I did and I'm grateful for it."

Get the full report, and more Chicago media news, at robertfeder.com.