Web Extra Video: See The TV Report At The Heart Of The Case
Raw Tape: Amy Jacobson At Stebic Home
CHICAGO (AP) -- Former Channel 5 TV reporter filed a lawsuit Monday against Channel 2, claiming it aired a videotape of her in a swimsuit at the home of Craig Stebic, whose estranged wife had vanished, to boost ratings.
CBS station WBBM-TV broadcast the "infamous videotape" of Amy Jacobson, who lost her job with NBC-affiliate WMAQ-TV last July, "with the sole motive of boosting its sagging ratings" and portrayed the veteran broadcaster "as an adulteress and disreputable reporter," according to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
Jacobson's husband, Jaime Anglada, and their minor children were also named as plaintiffs.
"By July 10th, 2007, Amy Jacobson's life was shattered. She had lost her job, would eventually lose her home, and experienced enormous public humiliation and disgrace," said the lawsuit, first obtained by CelebTV.com, which asks for a jury trial and more than $1 million in damages.
The video showed Jacobson wearing a halter bikini top and towel near the pool at Craig Stebic's suburban Plainfield home. Jacobson's two young children and a bare-chested Stebic also are shown.
Jacobson was assigned to cover the disappearance of Stebic's wife, Lisa, who lived with her husband while the two went through a divorce. Lisa Stebic is still missing and no one has been charged in the case.
"CBS employees wanted the public to believe that Plaintiff Jacobson had a sexual liaison with Craig Stebic," according to the lawsuit, which added that Jacobson has tried to get another job in markets including "Tampa, Fla., ... to Los Angeles, CA, and many places in between," but that one station executive told her she was "toxic" in the industry.
Jacobson has said she was on her way to go swimming with her kids on her day off when Stebic's sister, Jill, invited her to the house to discuss the case. Her attorney did not immediately return a telephone call Monday from The Associated Press.
She told the Chicago Sun-Times she "made a lapse in judgment," but "I'm a competitive person and I did it to advance the story."
The lawsuit names CBS Broadcasting Inc., WBBM President and General Manager Joe Ahern, News Director Carol Fowler, and reporters Mike Puccinelli and Rob Johnson. Station spokeswomen did not return messages Monday.
Also named as defendants are Northwestern University journalism professor Michele Weldon, who commented on air for a CBS story, and Tracy Reardon, Craig Stebic's next-door neighbor, who shot the videotape and "tipped off" CBS to her presence, according to the lawsuit.
Weldon did not return a message left after business hours at her Northwestern telephone number and Reardon was not listed.
E-Mail Story
Print Story
