Linda S. MacLennan (born May 25, 1956) is a former television news anchor and reporter who spent the majority of her career with

WBBM-TV WBBM-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. Owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, the station maintains studios on West Washington Stre ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Early life and education

Born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada, MacLennan is the daughter of a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

father and an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

mother. She earned a degree from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Professional career

MacLennan originally had planned to pursue a career in print journalism but switched to broadcasting after a college internship at

CJOH-TV CJOH-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside Pembroke-licensed CTV 2 outlet CHRO-TV (channel 5). Both stations share ...

. MacLennan co-anchored ''

Canada AM ''Canada AM'' was a Canadian morning television news show that aired on CTV from 1972 to 2016. Its final hosts were Beverly Thomson and Marci Ien, with Jeff Hutcheson presenting the weather forecast and sports. The program aired on weekdays, and ...

'' on CTV from 1985 to 1987. In 1986, MacLennan was struck by a policeman on a motorcycle in Toronto and developed a blood clot on the brain. After doctors failed in their efforts to dissolve the blood clot with drugs, they operated on her at substantial risk to her. She eventually made a full recovery. In March 1987, MacLennan left CTV to join

in Chicago as a reporter and late afternoon co-anchor. In April 1989, MacLennan became WBBM-TV's 10 p.m. co-anchor, replacing

Walter Jacobson Walter David Jacobson (born July 28, 1937) is a former Chicago television news personality and a current Chicago radio news personality. He currently provides opinion segments for WGN Radio AM 720. From 2010 until 2013, he was an anchor of the 6 p ...

in the anchor chair alongside

Bill Kurtis Bill Kurtis (born William Horton Kuretich; September 21, 1940), is an American television journalist, television producer, narrator, and news anchor. Kurtis was studying to become a lawyer in the 1960s, when he was asked to fill in on a tempora ...

. Jacobson had been the station's 10 p.m. co-anchor since 1973. In 1995, Kurtis stepped down as WBBM's 10 p.m. co-anchor, and

Lester Holt Lester Don Holt Jr. (born March 8, 1959) is an American journalist and news anchor for the weekday edition of ''NBC Nightly News'' and ''Dateline NBC''. On June 18, 2015, Holt was made the permanent anchor of ''NBC Nightly News'' following the ...

was promoted to replace Kurtis alongside MacLennan. In 1996, MacLennan appeared on the pilot episode of

Early Edition ''Early Edition'' is an American fantasy comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS from September 28, 1996, to May 27, 2000. Set in Chicago, Illinois, it follows the adventures of a man who mysteriously receives each ''Chicago Sun-Times'' ...

as a newscaster. In February 2000, MacLennan was demoted as WBBM's 10 p.m. co-anchor as both she and Holt were demoted in favor of a solo anchor experiment involving

Carol Marin Carol Marin (pronounced "''marine''") (born October 10, 1948) is a television and print journalist based in Chicago, Illinois. Career Marin began her journalism career in 1972 at WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee working as a reporter, anchor, and ...

. After station bosses pulled the plug on Marin as solo anchor in October 2000, WBBM then made MacLennan an interim 10 p.m. co-anchor, alongside

David Kerley Paul David Kerley III (born May 30, 1957), known professionally as David Kerley, is an American journalist who is a correspondent for ABC News in Washington, D.C. Early life and education A native of Southern California, Kerley earned a bachelor' ...

. However, in December 2000, WBBM hired Tracy Townsend as a 10 p.m. co-anchor alongside Kerley, and MacLennan shifted to being a solo 11 a.m. news anchor (replacing Jay Levine and

Mary Ann Childers Mary Ann Childers is an American media consultant and former newscaster. From 1980 to 1994, she worked as an anchor at WLS-TV in Chicago,Robert Feder. "Anchor With Jay? 'Not in the Cards". ''Chicago Sun-Times''. August 8, 1994. Section 2 Features, ...

) and a 4:30 p.m. co-anchor alongside Vince Gerasole. In 2001, MacLennan got a co-anchor for the 11 a.m. newscast, Michael Ayala. In April 2002, MacLennan again returned to co-anchoring the 10 p.m. news, this time supplanting Townsend alongside the newly hired

Antonio Mora Antonio Mora (born December 14, 1957, Havana, Cuba) is a multiple Emmy Award winning journalist and television news anchor. He is best known for his years at ABC News, including his four years as the news anchor and chief correspondent for '' ...

. With a new general manager, Joe Ahern, on board, MacLennan abruptly took a contract buyout from WBBM in February 2003. As of June 2017, MacLennan became a part-time anchor for WBBM-AM in Chicago.

Personal

In August 1992, MacLennan married Chicago attorney David Rammelt. They have three children: Taylor Albert, Carson Charles and Charlotte Grace Nelson Rammelt. The couple divorced in 2014. She lives in

Kenilworth, Illinois Kenilworth is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, north of downtown Chicago. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 2,514. It is the newest of the nine suburban North Shore communities bordering Lake Michigan, and is one of ...

. In October 2008, MacLennan was knocked to the ground after confronting a man suspected of breaking into cars in the parking lot of a

Skokie, Illinois Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, neighboring the City of Chicago's northern border. Its population, according to the 2020 census, was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's do ...

shopping mall, including her own vehicle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclennan, Linda Living people Television anchors from Chicago American television reporters and correspondents 1956 births Journalists from Toronto American people of Canadian descent Carleton University alumni Canadian television news anchors Canadian women journalists CTV Television Network people American women television journalists 21st-century American women