Signing Off in Chi-Town

Derrick Blakley, spent 41 years in TV news, working for a network and two Chicago stations.

But now it is time for Blak;ey to go bye-bye.

The longtime newsman announced that he is retiring.

“After 41 years riding the roller coaster of daily television news deadlines, including the last 32 years in Chicago, I’ve concluded it’s time to turn the page,” he wrote on Facebook. “Just to ensure there are no misunderstandings, I wasn’t pushed. The decision was all mine.”

Blakley has been at WBBM since 2003, before that he spent 16 years as a news anchor and reporter at NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5, and seven years as a correspondent for CBS News, based in Chicago, London and Bonn, Germany.

“I now look forward to focusing more on my overall well-being,” he wrote Monday. “As many of you know, I’m a nine-year survivor of multiple myeloma. While I’m blessed that my health is good, a life with less stress can’t hurt.”

Amen to that.

H/T Robert Feder

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