The video was in the possession of rival TV station WBBM-TV, but other news outlets, including Jacobson's employer WMAQ-TV, soon found out about the Jacobson footage. WBBM-TV discussed whether the footage was newsworthy until the evening of July 9, when the "Chicago Sun-Times" and "Chicago Tribune" both ran the story that Jacobson was on tape at a Stebic pool party. Seeing that the print media had already broken the story, WBBM-TV ran two minutes of clips from the video, with commentary from a WBBM-TV reporter, on the July 10 early-morning news. WBBM-TV also reported that, since the disappearance, Jacobson had not mentioned any social relationship with the Stebic family in her reporting, but had been seen at the house frequently and without a camera crew. Jacobson was apparently trying to cultivate sources: Jacobson said she was attempting to get closer access to Craig Stebic; other sources told the "Chicago Tribune" that Jacobson was attempting a rapport with Craig Stebic's sister. Jacobson's involvement in the case resulted in national coverage and the end of her employment at WMAQ-TV by the end of July 10. Jacobson said that she would not have been fired if she were a man and that she went instantly from a six-figure income to not being able to find work anywhere. Both Jacobson and WBBM-TV received negative criticism: WBBM-TV responded by releasing the videotape, unedited except for the children's faces, the day after the original broadcast; Jacobson responded by limiting her interviews to local news outlets rather than national news outlets.