The "Good Day Chicago" gang with broadcasting students.

We’re used to television cameras around Fox Chicago but today we worked with just as many still cameras.  Right after “Good Day Chicago”, we all posed for pictures with students from the Illinois Center for Broadcasting.  Instructor Dan Allen brings students in to visit every semester.

Meteorologist Chris Sowers clearly missed Patrick's cue to strike a pose!

Then web producer Mark Bieganski wanted new pictures of us for the station website.  The web team’s been working hard to keep the site fresh by updating content non-stop.  Unlike our newscasts, myfoxchicago.com is always “on”.  I enjoy contributing, especially with my regular “Cool Websites” feature.

It's my trying-not-to-pose pose!

Whenever we have photo shoots (actually, even if it’s an event or party), Patrick Elwood never fails to insist on a funny picture.  Funny – they never seem to get used.

Who's on first?

One morning show, 8 live segments, 1 taped report, 5 live interviews and over a HUNDRED guests!  That’s what I needed to juggle this morning for our “Good Day Chicago” food drive coverage at the Jewel-Osco store in Glendale Heights.  I hope I pulled it all off okay and didn’t look too frazzled.

What an amazing community!  Among the volunteers and donors;  the mayor, local police and fire departments, veterans, students from at least 4 schools and the incredibly enthusiastic staff from Jewel.  Among the grateful who’ll be distributing the food to the needy:  workers from the Northern Illinois Food Bank.

I am always assigned “hit” times when I’m out on location.  But since it’s a live show, those times are always rough estimates. So I spend a lot of time “standing by”. In between, it’s great to meet and greet people as I continue to monitor our show through my earpiece. Segments often get changed around during the show.  There may be breaking news or a live studio guest running late – that’s the way it goes.

Cameraman Ed Flynn explains how the live truck works to students from Glenbard North HS.

It’s all worth it.  By 10 o’clock this morning, Jewel-Osco reported over $100,000 in store donations – $3,000 from the Glendale Heights community alone.   But this is only Day 10 of Hunger Action Month. C’mon, Chicagoland!  There’s still time to donate at your local Jewel-Osco or join our next live drive.

Give a little.  Feed a lot.

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.