Val Warner and Ryan Chiaverini
Robert Feder 
Updated 7/22/2021 6:36 AM
In 2011 there was no more daunting task in all of television than replacing “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in its home market of Chicago.
That challenge fell to Emily Barr, then president and general manager of ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7.
Defying the odds, she launched “Windy City Live,” an ambitious locally produced talk show featuring a live studio audience each day.
Barr hired producers Marlaine Selip and Cindy Patrasso and tapped Val Warner and Ryan Chiaverini as co-hosts after months of auditions.
“Very proud of the talented staff, past and present, who kept this local show going for 10 years,” Barr wrote on Facebook Wednesday after news of the show’s cancellation broke here. “Every beginning has an ending. So glad I could play a small part in getting this launched. Be proud of what you accomplished!”
Barr left ABC 7 in 2012 to become president and CEO of Graham Media Group.
Get the full report, and more Chicago media news, at robertfeder.com.
