Ron Magers

Ron Magers
Magers (left) and Cheryl Burton (right) broadcasting the ABC 7 Chicago's 5 p.m. weekday news, circa 2011.
Born	(1944-08-27) August 27, 1944 (age 72) San Bernardino, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	News Anchor – ABC 7 Chicago (1998–2016) WMAQ-TV (1981–1998)
Years active	1965–2016
Relatives	Paul Magers

Ron Magers (born August 27, 1944) is an American former news anchor. Magers previously worked for WLS-TV, the ABC owned-and-operated station in Chicago, Illinois. Magers formerly co-anchored the top-rated 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. broadcasts with Cheryl Burton and Kathy Brock, respectively. Magers is the brother of Paul Magers, a television anchor and reporter for KCBS-TV, the CBS owned-and-operated station in Los Angeles.

Born in San Bernardino, California, Magers grew up in Cordova, Alaska and Ellensburg, Washington. Magers gained early broadcasting experience as a high school student in Toppenish, Washington, when he began to host radio shows as a part-time job. He began his professional career in television in 1965, when he joined KEZI-TV in Eugene, Oregon as a reporter and news contributor. He later produced and anchored the 11 p.m. newscast at KGW-TV in Portland, Ore. (1967–68). From 1968-74, Magers worked as a reporter and anchor at KPIX-TV in San Francisco, Calif.. He also hosted a Group W 30 minute weekly syndicated program in 1971 titled, "Ron Magers Electric Impressions".

After moving to Minnesota, Magers was hired as the principal anchor for KSTP-TV, the ABC (formerly NBC) affiliate in Minneapolis – Saint Paul from 1974 to 1981. He was later joined by co-anchor Cyndy Brucato. This popular anchor team led the top-rated Twin Cities newscasts at that time, an era which has been unparalleled at the station. From 1981 to 1997, Magers co-anchored the 5, 6, and 10 p.m. newscasts of WMAQ-TV. Magers and then co-anchor Carol Marin made national headlines in early May 1997 when they left Channel 5. The decision to leave was in protest of the station's hiring of Jerry Springer as commentator for the 10:00 p.m. newscasts. WMAQ management allowed both anchors an early release from their contracts. Both thought that the addition of Springer would have given the broadcast an unnecessary tabloid feel. Springer only made a few commentaries before he too left his position as contributor.