Sorry for all the blurry pictures – technically difficulties with my digital camera.  (I think Santa is bringing a new one!)

Also, thanks to my pal Mike Pirozzoli of Wing Stop on N. Milwaukee for providing all the yummy food.

Producers Beth Boylan & Roy Santoro: Jackets required.

I arrived at work this morning to find just about everyone in the Fox Chicago newsroom all bundled up – as if they just walked in from our colder-than-average weather and then plopped down at their computers.  Wait, that’s because they did.  After weeks of relatively comfortable newsroom temperatures, a cold front had moved back in.

Anchor David Novarro makes it clear “I’d like it to go on record.  I don’t like it. I’d prefer to be comfortable.”  Co-anchor Jan Jeffcoat adds, “My fingers are frozen.  I can barely type!”

Roy estimates the room temperature is in the low 60′s.  He tells me, “Even my soul is cold and that’s a dark place.”  Without missing a beat, audio tech George Sarantos walks by and says, “What do you mean?  You have no soul!”

David and Jan in the sauna-like studio.

I figured out one good source of warmth.  After printing out materials for my story assignment, I let everyone know “If you print things, they come out warm!”

Mark tracks the temperatures inside and out!

Soon after, David and Jan walked into another temperature extreme – the studio felt like a sauna.   Meterologist Mark Strehl has his jacket off.  But he keeps it nearby because he knows the newsroom cold front might move faster than anything on his weather radars.

David Novarro, ignoring the "funny face" cue from floor director Jacques Eady.

Among the many people you usually don’t see on the air during a newscast is the floor director. This person is like a field general in the studio – making sure we are in place, pointing us to the right cameras, letting us know about show changes, etc.

This morning for “Good Day Chicago”, David Novarro and I worked with Jacques Eady.  He’s a proud graduate of the University of Notre Dame and he loves floor directing because “everyday is different and exciting”. Jacques understands the importance of the job, noting “I am the conduit between the director, producer and the talent to make sure everyone knows what we’re doing.”

Mark Strehl signals for a particular weather graphic.

Since we are on the air while things change, many of our cues are hand gestures. You can imagine the fun we often have without saying a thing.  Some floor directors use cue cards that may say “:30″, “stretch” or “wrap”.  Others use fairly universal hand signals.  If we work with someone new, we may try to go over that person’s signals before the newscast.

Sondra Solarte makes a "T" sign for the "Traffic Times" graphic.

When meteorologist Mark Strehl and traffic reporter Sondra Solarte aren’t on camera, they are likely gesturing during their updates in order to cue their various video sources and graphics.  It’s always fun to watch them from over at the news set. They are pretty adept at changing things up quickly since their alloted time can fluctuate.

I think David Novarro wants me to steal second base!

Many people who come to visit the studio comment about the “show behind the show”. Viewers see a lot of fun on the air because we are having fun and truly enjoy working together.

How about a high five?

He thinks of everything!

My wardrobe didn’t clash with David Novarro‘s this morning on “Good Day Chicago” because he called me yesterday to ask what color I planned to wear.  I later texted “Purple, as in Purple Rain”.  What a great job he did in color coordination – lavender shirt, purplish tie, gray suit.  It may seem superficial and perhaps you may not even notice our efforts but the goal was to avoid clashing.   (For the record, we spend far more time working on the show than figuring out our wardrobe.)

Color coordination seems to make a difference.  I’ve worn the same purple top numerous times before but today it drew new attention.  I received a lot of viewer comments including “Love the purple!” and “LOOOOVE your purple top today”.   Similar efforts are made by many anchor teams all over the country.  I once heard about a team that would actually plan out what colors they’d wear for the entire week!

Kori Chambers: "Hey, I didn't get the purple memo!"

We’re not that organized.  Many of us keep extra clothing in our lockers to remedy any outrageous color combos. Although my locker currently contains just 2 tops, a parka, tennis shoes and an emergency stash of sour gummy worms.  Those are colorful and I think they match all of my outfits.