In broadcast journalism, "Roz" almost universally points to Roz Varon. Born in 1957, Varon holds a distinguished place in American television history as the country's first dedicated morning news TV traffic anchor.
Varon joined Chicago’s WLS-TV (ABC7) in April 1989. Over a career spanning 35 continuous broadcast years, she became a morning fixture for millions of commuters across the Chicago metropolitan area. Viewers watched her deliver real-time road assessments through blizzards, transit strikes, and highway overhauls while serving as an outspoken breast cancer advocate following her own diagnosis in 2006.
When Varon formally signed off on April 5, 2024, at age 66, her departure marked the conclusion of an era in regional broadcasting. Approaching 69 in 2026, her retirement closed an unbroken tenure that helped establish traffic reporting as a primary morning news anchor discipline rather than an ancillary desk segment.