Fox 32 promoted Cassie Carlson to lead sports anchor, making her the second woman to hold that title in Chicago TV history. Carlson officially replaces Lou Canellis three months after he left for NBC 5. She'll oversee the Fox 32 sports department and continue leading its Bears coverage and hosting “Chicago Sports Tonight.â€
Carlson, 30, joined Fox 32 in April 2022 as the station's Bears reporter. A Palatine native and University of Illinois graduate, she began as a sports reporter at KJTV in Lubbock, Texas, for two years, followed by two more at WMC in Memphis, Tennessee. She also has done play-by-play, analyst and sideline work.
“I came here four years ago as the Bears reporter, always wanted to cover the NFL, always wanted to work in my hometown market, and that was a dream come true,†Carlson told the Sun-Times. “To have this opportunity to lead the department, it's something that I never imagined in my wildest dreams.â€
Carlson grew up watching Chicago sports with her father, Pete Chaplinsky, who introduced her to the teams. He would take her out of school for a Cubs game and watch Bears games with her on the couch. But Carlson began considering TV as a career while watching the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup runs
“It was Sarah Kustok at the time who was their rinkside reporter,†Carlson said. “And this city was so abuzz when they were winning the Stanley Cup, and we would have these watch parties at my house. And I just felt like I wanted to be a part of something like that and help someone else learn stories about players and teams and make them feel like they were close to the game. That's the approach I take with everything that I do.â€
Carlson was competing to be the lead sports anchor while working as the lead anchor. The three months essentially served as an audition, though the station knew what it had from the previous four years.
“I just wanted to show I come in to work every day wanting to do a great job and bringing creativity and information to our viewers,†Carlson said, “that we were teaching the viewers something and bringing them something of value. So over the last three months, it was a lot of that, making sure that I came in sharp, ready to go and prove every day that I can do the job.â€
Her plans include emphasizing Fox 32's digital presence. She recently began the second season of “The Offseason,†a show she created focused on the Bears and the NFL that began digitally and moved to linear. Carlson also will emphasize long-form conversations and work to grow the station's relationship with the Bears.
Carlson will put to work what she learned from Canellis, who has spent 40-plus years in the industry and the last 16 at Fox 32.
“Cassie was the only person who deserved this job, and as a friend and former teammate, I celebrate with her,†Canellis said. “I tried often to share my experiences with Cassie, like an older brother with a younger sister, but hesitate to call myself a mentor. Makes me feel old.
“I so appreciated her work ethic, but even more, her desire to always bring it and be a dependable, committed teammate. In a business where often one tries to outdo the other, Cassie and I always respected each other's work for the end goal, which was producing great shows. Who knows, maybe we'll work together again one day.â€
“He's the best. I really owe him a lot,†Carlson said. “I was pretty young when I got hired, and I was hired as kind of a prove-it. And he took me under his wing, and he taught me so much just about how to survive in the Chicago market. It's kind of sink or swim.
“The way he showed so much passion toward his teams I think is something that's so important because people know and people care and they want you to care and pour as much into it, as well.â€
Carlson will continue working with Tina Nguyen, who joined the station in January 2024, affirming that two women will lead Fox 32's sports coverage.
“I think it's important to see women in these roles,†said Carlson, who follows former NBC 5 lead sports anchor Leila Rahimi as the second woman with the role. “Now, if you would have asked me when I got into the business if it was even a possibility, I don't know that I would have been able to tell you that it was. It used to be that you would never think there would even be two women in the same sports department.
“So to be at a point where a lot of it comes down to talent, preparation, the ability to do the job at a high level is why you're seeing women in these roles. I'm truly honored. I hope similarly what I told you about Sarah Kustok and making me fall in love with the idea of doing this job, I hope there is some girl in Chicago with her dad watching sports and pointing at the TV saying, That looks like a cool job, and I want to do that one day.â€
