Career maneuvers work out for Chicago reporter, anchor

Stacey Baca

Stacey Baca ('91), Sunday morning anchor and weekday reporter at WLS-TV in Chicago, has some news to report to those who lament the tradeoffs facing ambitious TV reporters.

"I know it sounds sugary, but I am content, both professionally and personally," she says. "To me, life is very simple. The only things that truly matter are friends and family. And I happen to love my job. I am at a very comfortable place in my life right now."

Baca, 34, says that by no means has her career path been an easy one. But compared to other young professionals, her support system has been especially strong, she says.

She credits her success to "hard work, long hours and an incredible husband."

"Everyone in this business knows about the crazy hours, long days, canceled dinners – you name it. Thankfully, I'm married to a wonderful man who understands how much I love my job," Baca said. Her husband is Todd Gilchrist, who flies H-60 Nighthawk helicopters for the Navy. He's a CU electrical engineering graduate whom she met in college while working at Old Chicago on the Pearl Street Mall. She was a hostess, and he was the doorman.

"I hate to sound so upbeat, but I love my life. I spend a lot of time with my husband and my family.  I spend as much time as I can with my mom and dad. They are my best friends. My husband and parents have influenced my life like no one else. You can go to a great school, have a great job, but that really doesn't make up for being surrounded by great people," she said.

At CU, Baca studied both print and broadcast news. She says she particularly appreciated the help she received from Assistant Dean Steve Jones, former professor Sam Archibald and former associate dean Sue O'Brien, now editorial page editor at The Denver Post.

"My memories of all their classes are wonderful," Baca says, "in particular, Sam's reporting classes.

"I remember being so worried and stressed out about covering the Boulder City Council meetings and then writing stories on deadline.  I laugh now because that 'deadline' was the following day at noon. Deadlines for me now are like, 'Stacey, you're 15 seconds away!' "

Few reporters make a successful jump from a major newspaper to TV early in their careers, but Baca is one of them. She says Archibald predicted as much.

"When I was a student, I remember Sam telling me that I would work in newspapers and then jump into TV. That's exactly what happened, but I'm always confused about that one. That could be a slam or a compliment, depending on your viewpoint.

"I loved being a newspaper reporter because I had enough time to develop sources and break great stories. The deadline pressure is not intense like TV. But that is the reason I love being a TV reporter. You work on a story, and it's on the air immediately."

She started out reporting at the Standard-Blade in her hometown of Brighton, then moved to The Denver Post.

When she moved into broadcasting, she says she began as a reporter and anchor at WTKR-TV in Norfolk, Va. In 1999, she became a reporter and anchor at KNSD-TV in San Diego before moving to WLS, an ABC-owned station, last year.

At her first two stations, Baca was trying to find work near where her husband was stationed. When the opportunity arose in Chicago, the couple knew their relationship was in for some geographic challenges.

"Todd and I have lived around the country because of the Navy, but, thank goodness, it has worked for both of our careers. His orders take him all over the world, but he's currently based out of San Diego," she said. "We spend a lot of time both there and in Chicago."

Baca says she misses Boulder and the nearby mountain activities, but with all the traveling she and her husband do, she returns often to Colorado to visit her family.

StaceyBaca@aol.com
Stacey.e.Baca@abc.com