Steve Bartelstein
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Steve Bartelstein (born February 19, 1963, Nauvoo, Illinois) is an American television news reporter. He co-anchors WCBS-TV's weekend morning and evening newscasts with Mary Calvi. Previously, Bartelstein co-anchored WABC-TV's #1 rated morning and noon newscasts alongside Lori Stokes. He parted ways with WABC-TV in March 2007. Ken Rosato is Stokes' new co-anchor.
WCBS-TV announced on November 7, 2007 that it had hired Bartelstein as a weekend anchor.[1] The station soon began airing promotional announcements featuring Bartelstein and making reference to an upcoming feature story about the anchor's battle with cancer. (In September 2007, Bartelstein told newspaper columnist Cindy Adams that he is battling testicular cancer.) [2]
Bartelstein began his broadcasting career as a weekend anchor at age 19 in Evansville. He also worked in Durham, North Carolina, Providence, Rhode Island, Indianapolis, Charleston, South Carolina and Portland, Oregon. Then he came to WABC-TV from CNN in Atlanta, where he had been dating Andrew McLaughlin for some time in 1998 who, ironically watched him as a child on TV sports news in Charleston SC.
He was originally hired by WABC-TV in 1999 as a weekend morning sports anchor. He was promoted to co-anchor WABC-TV's weekday morning newscasts in December 2000 and replaced Robb Hanrahan. Hanrahan and newly hired co-anchor Lori Stokes failed to lift the morning news ratings when they were paired together six months earlier, however, with Bartelstein and Stokes at the helm of the morning newscast, the pair was able to bring the broadcast to the number one position for the first time in years. Stokes and Bartelstein were so successful in the mornings that WABC-TV eventually had them also take over duties of anchoring the noon newscast.
Bartelstein was sidelined for two weeks after showing up late for work and for missing a newsbreak, reportedly so that he could meet Samuel L. Jackson, who was appearing on Live with Regis and Kelly. There was also a sexual-harassment suit against him that was withdrawn. Bartelstein's last day at WABC-TV was Monday, March 12, 2007. The anchor was fired after sleeping through a newsbreak he was to anchor on a Thursday morning house fire. He was in his Ch. 7 office at the time. His contract with WABC-TV barred Bartelstein from working at competing stations until late 2007.[3]
Ken Rosato officially replaced Bartelstein on July 9, 2007.[4]
As of November 2007, Steve Bartelstein co-anchors the morning news on WCBS Weekend Edition with Mary Calvi while undergoing chemotherapy for testicular cancer. He is scheduled to fill more slots at the station as he recovers.
