Mike Barz

Mike Barz (born Michael Barszcz, April 9, 1970) is an American broadcaster who was weekday morning news anchor at WFOX-TV and WJAX-TV in Jacksonville, Florida. He was a morning news anchor at WFLD, the Fox affiliate in Chicago, Illinois from 2007-2009.[1][2]

Early life and education

Michael Barszcz was born in Los Angeles to a military family. He moved to the Midwest to attend Indiana University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1993.[3]

Professional career

Early in his career, Barz adjusted his surname and began working as a news anchor at WHBF-TV in Rock Island, Illinois and at WLUK-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he worked as a feature reporter and anchor.[4] Barz left WLUK in 1998 to come to Chicago to take a job at WGN-TV as its weekday morning sports anchor, joining a morning news team with a controversially comedic bent.[5]

In early May 2005, Barz received an early release from his contract at WGN-TV to become a full-time feature contributor at ABC News' Good Morning America (GMA).[6] Barz anchored the GMA's weather segment after Tony Perkins' departure from the show in 2005 until September 5, 2006 when he was succeeded by Sam Champion.

In March 2007, Barz returned to Chicago as a co-anchor of WFLD-TV's "Fox News in the Morning," working alongside co-anchors Tamron Hall and David Novarro.[7] Novarro subsequently was moved to a different WFLD newscast, and after Hall joined MSNBC in New York, Barz received a new co-anchor, Jan Jeffcoat, in June 2007.

In July 2010, Barz was hired as a weekday morning news anchor at two stations in Jacksonville, Florida.[8]

Barz was present at the 40th anniversary of Good Morning America on November 19, 2015.

Personal

Barz married former WFLD-TV reporter Tera Williams (a.k.a. Tera Barz), in 2010. She was his co-anchor at WFOX-TV, until June 2012. Barz and Williams divorced in October 2014. He now resides in Denver, Colorado.

References

  1. ↑ "Mike Barz out at WFLD". Chicago Tribune. July 22, 2009.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Feder, Robert (September 29, 1998). "WGCI-AM is switching from dusties to gospel". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 45.
  4. ↑ Feder, Robert (September 29, 1998). "WGCI-AM is switching from dusties to gospel". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 45.
  5. ↑ Feder, Robert (September 29, 1998). "WGCI-AM is switching from dusties to gospel". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 45.
  6. ↑ Feder, Robert (March 15, 2005). "WBEZ to spin off full-time music station". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 53.
  7. ↑ Feder, Robert (February 9, 2007). "CSO revises score for WFMT broadcasts". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 51.
  8. ↑ Barz lands at WAWS
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