Everybody Loves Ray: Indy anchor comes home to Chicago

Dolton native heads to WGN-TV to anchor evening newscasts

For the second time in two days, a local TV Chicago station has announced a new anchor taking on a key position.

Current WXIN Indianapolis anchor Ray Cortopassi will take over as anchor for WGN-TV’s signature weeknight newscasts beginning September 28 at 5, 6, 9, and 10 p.m. alongside Micha Materre. Cortopassi has ties to the Chicago area as he is a native of south suburban Dolton, a place where other Chicago media personalities have called home, including Richard Roeper and Susan Carlson, not to mention former Glee star Jane Lynch and Mt. Carmel standout and former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

A Columbia College graduate, Cortopassi began his career as at the City News Bureau as a reporter. From there, he transitioned into television broadcasting with anchor gigd in Traverse City, Mich. and in Las Vegas before shifting to WXIN a little over twenty years ago. Like many kids who grew up in the 1970s in Chicago, Cortopassi tuned in to WGN-TV’s Ray Rayner every morning and Bozo’s Circus for lunch (both traditions ended in 1980 as Rayner retired and Bozo moved to mornings.) 

On Wednesday, another Chicago native (Stephan Holt) announced he was returning to the Chicago area to anchor the 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts for NBC-owned WMAQ-TV. The son of NBC Nightly News Lester Holt, Stephan Holt grew up in Chicago’s Lincoln Park community.

Cortopassi fills the seat vacated by Joe Donlan, who moved down the hall to be one of the new anchors for the new NewsNation launching on WGN America Sept. 1 and produced at WGN’s Bradley Place studios. 

WGN-TV, WGN America, and WXIN are owned by Nexstar. The company owns two stations in Indianapolis: Fox affiliate WXIN and CBS affiliate WTTV, but both have separate news teams.