Collected and Edited by Rick Kaempfer
Highlights and links to the big stories in the news this week about the media. This column appears twice a week at MEDIA NOTEBOOK
Jay Mariotti quits the Chicago Sun Times
(Chicago Sports/Chicago Tribune) Jim Kirk writes: "The highly-paid Mariotti quits after just signing a three-year contract extension in June. At that time, Cooke said that Mariotti was a focal point of the Sun-Times sports section, praising his pull no punches approach. Commenting on his 17 years at the paper, Mariotti said he loved every minute of it. But he said that with the troubled times newspapers face, it was time to consider a new future. 'I'm a competitor and I get the sense this marketplace doesn't compete,' he said. 'Everyone is hanging on for dear life at both papers. I think probably the days of high stakes competition in Chicago are over. To see what's happened in this business...I don't want to go down with it.'"
Trib to start calling itself Trib
(Editor & Publisher) Joe Strupp writes: "The Chicago Tribune has long been nicknamed "The Trib." But if a redesign prototype being passed around the Web becomes the final choice, that nickname will be a formal part of the paper. A prototype obtained by E&P offers a radical change to the Tribune's legendary flag, with the older "Chicago Tribune" title placed in small letters at the top and a blown-up "trib" (in lower case type) set in white against a black background."
CLICK HEREBrawling anchors on MSNBC
(NY Post) Richard Johnson writes: "At a forum on Sunday, when Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell called MSNBC 'the official network of the Obama campaign,' Tom Brokaw said, 'I think Keith has gone too far. I think Chris has gone too far.' Insiders say Olbermann is pushing to have Brokaw banned from the network and is also refusing to have centrist Time magazine columnist Mike Murphy on his show. 'The idea of anyone trying to ban Tom Brokaw is ludicrous,' said one MSNBC-er. Brokaw was on MSNBC for an hour yesterday afternoon. Murphy, who was bumped from Olbermann's show on Monday night, told us, 'They told me technical problems and I have no reason not to believe them.'"
2008 Olympics: Most viewed TV event ever
(NY Times) Brian Stelter writes: "The Beijing Olympics will be remembered by media executives as the most-viewed event in United States television history. The Summer Games of 2008 were seen by a cumulative audience of 211 million Americans through Saturday, one day shy of Sunday’s closing ceremonies, according to Nielsen Media Research. That number surpassed the 209 million who watched part of the Summer Games in Atlanta 12 years ago, NBC said on Sunday. The cumulative figure counts any viewer who watched the Olympics on one of NBC’s networks for six minutes or more. It amounts to more than two-thirds of the total United States population."
CLICK HERE
Mini Interview: The Manno Brothers
(Chicago Radio Spotlight) Every week I'm featuring excerpts from my SHORE Magazine article about 14 local radio voices. This week: The Manno Brothers from Q-101.
Chicago Radio Spotlight interview with Mark Edwards(Chicago Radio Spotlight) Last weekend I spoke with former WLIT and current St. Louis program director Mark Edwards about his years in Chicago, his current gig, the future of radio, and his beloved Cubs.
