Longtime Chicago broadcaster Bob Sirott will not be the new 10pm anchor of the WMAQ-TV Ch.5 newscast. The station had been grooming Sirott to replace Warner Saunders for several years, and his ascension to one of the most prominent jobs in Chicago broadcasting was considered by most to be a sure thing.

Sirott’s contract reportedly promised a substantial pay increase with his promotion— a stipulation clearly written in a different economic climate. The station simply could not afford the bump that Sirott would require to take the promotion, and Sirott was unwilling to come to terms with new economic realities facing television and radio stations.

In a memo to staffers, station manager and VP of news Frank Whittaker announced Sirott’s departure.

Rosenthal reports in the Trib here. Lazre has the story for the Sun-Times here.

Ch. 5 will use a rotating cast of anchors alongside Allison Rosati until a permanent replacement can be found. According to Rosenthal:

The station may also consider a solo-anchor format at 10 p.m., as CBS-owned WBBM-Ch. 2 has done recently with Rob Johnson.

There isn’t a worse idea than this one. While Rosati has been a durable fixture on the 10pm newscast, she doesn’t possess the type of gravitas that viewers expect from their 10pm anchors. She fit well with Saunders, but she would be completely out of her league as a solo anchor.

Meanwhile, Sirott’s future is uncertain. He is scheduled to take a vacation from his radio gig on WGN-AM until July 1. There had been some speculation that his noontime radio show would disappear once he took over the 10pm anchor duties on Ch. 5. With all of the shake-ups at WGN, it wouldn’t be a surprise to hear that Sirott would be the odd man out in that station’s ongoing re-shuffling.

Sirott’s long broadcasting pedigree in Chicago includes three stints at WMAQ-TV, starting as a page in 1966, while still a high school student. He’s also well-known for his time at WLS-AM during the 1970’s. He jumped to WBBM-TV and CBS’ West 57th before a second stint at Ch.5. He also hosted FOX Thing in the Morning on WFLD-TV in the 1990s. More recently, Sirott hosted Chicago Tonight on WTTW-TV before jumping back to Ch. 5.

It comes as something of a surprise that WMAQ execs weren’t better prepared for the inevitable transition once Saunders finally called it quits. Stations have been wrestling with declining revenue for months now, and no one should have expected Sirott to accept a haircut after being promised otherwise. His departure leaves a clear vacuum on the 10pm newscast that will likely persist for the short-term.