Men of the Month
Meet the men of the Ponce media empire
Mention the name “Ponce” in Chicago, and it’s understandable that your audience may need you to clarify.
The family holds the distinction of being the only family in Chicago television news history to have two siblings and a father report for competing stations at the same time: Father Phil is the well-known reporter currently at the helm of WTTW-11’s Chicago Tonight; sons Anthony and Dan landed reporting jobs at NBC-5 and ABC-7, respectively. Then, in 2007, a 10-year-old video of Dan’s college a cappella group, Straight No Chaser, garnered 7 million views on YouTube (watch it here!) and inspired him to leave the news to record and tour full-time in 2009.
We gathered the Ponce men together to be photographed by sister Maria (who follows in the creative footsteps of her mother, well-known portrait artist Ann Ponce) for our first-ever Men of the Month.
What’s the most important lesson Phil passed along?
Anthony Ah, his lessons range from old-school favorites like ‘Check out the mother before you marry the daughter’ to modern classics like ‘It’s all about shelf life.’ (The second one he states with robot-like regularity every time he sees Dan and I having spent too much time in the sun.) On the professional side: ‘Above anything else, get the facts right.’ I always think of that lesson prior to each report I give.
Phil It’s important to strive to be excellent in your chosen field...and that it’s equally important to be someone your colleagues admire and respect. My definition of success includes both components.
Dan ‘Check out the mother before you marry the daughter. Dad pounded this line into my head. I just got engaged and I feel good knowing my fiance’s mother is smart, funny and beautiful – so I know I have a keeper!
Did Phil encourage Dan and Anthony to follow in his footsteps?
Dan It happened naturally. Not once did he push us to become reporters. But we looked up to our father a lot, and seeing him on TV while we were growing up definitely made a big impression. It was only after Anthony and I decided to pursue journalism that he offered plenty of encouragement and advice on good reporting…I was definitely in awe of his talent and wanted to do the same thing. I also liked how he never brought work home with him. He has always been much more passionate about his family than his distinguished career.
Anthony He never encouraged me, but when I expressed interest on my own, he was supportive and helped hook me up with an internship at his alma mater, CBS-2. What some people may not realize is that Dan – even though he’s older – followed in my footsteps in broadcasting. I was a reporter in Fort Wayne, Idianapolis before he got his first gig in Lansing, Michigan. (So for TCW readers familiar with pro football: if my dad’s Archie…I’m actually Peyton, not Eli!)…Over the years, I’ve seen him on the air so much that, as a medium to deliver journalism, TV was never something I was intimidated by. Some people shy away from it because of the performance aspect of the job, but having seen my dad’s career unfold, it never occurred to me that I couldn’t do it, too.
Phil I didn’t actively encourage either Dan or Anthony to go into broadcast journalism. But parents can indelibly imprint on children by our actions. And once Dan and Anthony decided to become television journalists they had my full support. I fantasized about their both working in Chicago, but I tried not to get my hopes up that it would actually happen. When it did, I was over the moon. Likewise, Maria has our complete and enthusiastic support as she and her mother take parallel tracks as visual artists. And when Maria decided to make Chicago her home base, too, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. If pride is a crime, then Ann and I plead guilty.
is managing editor and electronic media editor of Today's Chicago Woman. She is active in various local and national women’s groups, including Step Up Women's Network, Rape Victim Advocates and the TCW Foundation, and is a member of The Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Young Professionals. She writes and speaks about local, national and international women's issues, including in her blog, “Twice As Well."
