WBBM-TV in Chicago presently broadcasts 30 and a half hours of locally produced newscasts each week. The news department started in 1946, when its call letters at the time was WBKB-TV on Channel 4, and B&K News was the first regularly scheduled newscast, then in 1947, the re-name of the newscast title called Today's World Picture. In the early 1950s, another newscast debut title Pix of the News. In the mid 1950s, when the station changed its call letters to WBBM-TV and move from channel 4 to channel 2, the news department continued to grow to changed its newscasts title to both Standard Oil News Round-Up/John Harrington News newscasts. In 1961, the station rebranded to Channel 2 News. In 1963, Walter Jacobson joined the station as news writer, and 5 years later (in 1968), he was promoted as a full-time reporter. In 1964, Harry Porterfield joined the station as news writer, and eventually he would become a news anchor. In late 1966, Bill Kurtis was hired and set the stage for a 30-year career at the station as anchor/reporter. In 1971, the station rebranded its newscasts to TV-2 News, and rebranded back to Channel 2 News in 1975. In the late 1970s & early 1980s, WBBM-TV dominated the Chicago television news ratings, led by anchors Bill Kurtis & Walter Jacobson, weather with John Coughlin, and Johnny Morris with sports. In 1978, Harry Porterfield became Chicago's first African-American television news anchor, by co-anchor the 6 p.m. weeknight newscast with Bill Kurtis. In September 1987, Steve Baskerville joined the team as weekend weathercaster. And in July 1988, Baskerville became the station's primary weeknight weather forecast. In 1994, the station rebranded its newscasts to 2 News. In 1997, the station rebranded its newscasts to News 2 Chicago. In February 2000, the station rebranded its newscasts to The News on CBS2 Chicago, and in October of that year, the station rebranded its newscasts as CBS 2 News. On September 22, 2008, WBBM-TV became the 4th station in the Chicago market to begin broadcasting local newscasts in high definition. On December 22, 2017, after 30 years of doing the weather at WBBM-TV, Steve Baskerville retired. On January 24, 2022, the station debut its hour-long 4 p.m. weekday newscast, anchored by Jim Williams and Marie Saavedra, along with Mary Kay Kleist with weather and Marshall Harris with sports. In February 2022, Dana Kozlov replaced Williams as weekend evening anchor. On July 8, 2024, WBBM-TV rebranded its newscasts to CBS News Chicago, by having a new set and a new backdrop, beginning with the 4 p.m. weekday newscast.