Grief Counseling at WLS After Producer Murdered

Staffers at WLS-TV in Chicago were being offered grief management counseling on Tuesday and Wednesday to help them deal with the death of executive producer of online operations Anne Swaney, according to media columnist Rob Feder.

Swaney was murdered last week while vacationing in Belize.

“We have all been impacted greatly by Anne’s passing, and we all have different ways to mourn the loss of people we loved,” John Idler, president and general manager of ABC-owned WLS, told employees in a letter, parts of which were published on Feder’s site.

“During these sessions, grief management professionals will help provide guidance to help us all cope with the passing of such a wonderful and remarkable colleague,” Idler wrote. “In the coming days we will be discussing and communicating ways in which we can honor and pay tribute to Anne in a way befitting her life and legacy.”

Feder also said the station sent chief investigative reporter Chuck Goudie to Belize to follow up on the police investigation of the murder.

ABC posted a video about Swaney’s life and death, featuring memories of her from her father.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.