Linda Yu Biography – Linda Yu Wiki
Linda Yu is a Chinese-American former news anchor and author. She is best recognized as being a co-anchor on the Eyewitness newscast for WLS-TV in Chicago, Illinois beginning April 1984 to November 2016. She became the first Asian-American broadcast journalist in Chicago in her career in news setting off at WMAQ-TV in 1979. She is a recipient of five local Emmy Awards for her broadcasting work, including one for her report that examined the aftermath of 9/11 in 2001. She was honored with a National Gold Medal from the National Conference of Community and Justice in 1984 for her documentary, “The Scars of Belfast”.
Her news career started in 1970 as a writer and producer for KTLA-TV in Los Angeles and as a writer for ABC O&O KABC-TV also in Los Angeles. She then moved to Portland, Oregon in 1975, becoming a reporter for KATU-TV. After a while in Oregon, she moved back to California working as a general assignment reporter and backup anchor for ABC O&O KGO-TV in San Francisco, until 1979. In August 1977, she did a news report that propelled the introduction of state legislation to protect residents from uninsured motorists.
In early 1979 she went to Chicago and started working at NBC’s WMAQ-TV in June 1979. She was a general assignment reporter and weekend co-anchor. By February 1980, she started working as co-anchor on the 4:30 and 10PM newscasts alongside Ron Magers. In May 1981, she was awarded Emmy for a special newscast on the March 30, 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. Her second Emmy award came in 1982 for her report and coverage of a construction accident in Chicago’s downtown Loop. As of November 1983,she became disturbed with WMAQ-TV’s management, and ended her five-year career with the station in March 1984. In April 1984, she went to work with the WLS-TV (ABC 7 Chicago) station as co-anchor of the station’s 4PM newscast most of the time alongside news anchor Joel Daly until he retired in 2005.
She also served as co-anchor for the 30-minute 11:30 AM newscast alongside Sylvia Perez, from 1992 until the now hour-long 11 AM newscast was canceled in 2013. In 1987, she was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement within a Regularly Scheduled News Program, Spot Coverage. Together with Perez, they were the first women in the Chicago market to co-anchor a newscast. On September 6, 2016, she announced her retirement from WLS-TV and TV news after 46 years in news and 37 years in the Chicago market. Her last news broadcast was on November 23 at 4 PM. Earlier on that day, Windy City Live (an ABC 7 program) aired a tribute show to her where her friends, family, co-workers, and former co-workers reviewed and celebrated her career as well as her personal contributions to the city. She was a graduate from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism in 1968.
Linda Yu Age
She was born on December 1, 1946 in Xi’an, China.
Linda Yu Husband
She is divorced. Prior to her divorce, she was married to her ex-husband Dr. Richard Baer, a psychiatrist, on June 12, 1982 at St. James Cathedral in Chicago. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1996.
Linda Yu Children
She is a mother of two children. She has a son named Ricky Baer who was born in July 1985 and a daughter called Francesca Baer born in February 1989. Her daughter, Francesca is an actress.
Linda Yu Family/ Parents
Initially, her family came from Xi’an, China, before migrating to Hong Kong when she was three years. Later on, in 1951, they again moved to the United States. At that time, the only language she spoke was Mandarin. They were residents of Pennsylvania for four years before moving to Indiana in the following two years and finally stayed in California. By that time, she was twelve years old.
Linda Yu Nationality
She is of both Chinese and American nationality.
