Every weekday in 2014, I'll be keeping an eye on what's happening in the media. My focus will be on some of my favorite subjects...the moguls, the pundits, the broadcast news biz, and show business. (Read "$everance" if you want a crystallization of my positions on those subjects.) And, of course, I'll also keep tabs on Chicago's media.
Chicago media
~Walter Jacobsen joins WGN Radio
Starting next month he'll be on with Bob Sirott and Marianne Murciano. Robert Feder has all the details at the link above.
~What is the future of the Cubs radio & television deals?
ChicagoNow blogger Anno Catuli examines the ever increasing likelihood that WGN and the Cubs will soon be parting.
The Moguls
~Roger Ailes had Gawker editor tailed
Roger Ailes is sounding more and more like a cartoon villain. Here's a bit from the article linked above...
Cook told Capital that during a private converstion with a former Fox News executive last summer, Cook was asked if he takes his kids, then aged 2 and 4 (he's since added another to the family), to Prospect Park for picnic lunches. Cook replied that yes, he does in fact take his kids to Prospect Park during lunchtime on the weekends. But how would said Fox News insider have knowledge of this, Cook wanted to know? Cook said that his source, whose name he did not want to appear in this article, divulged that Ailes had commissioned someone (or some people) to tail Cook, and that they had reported back to Ailes on his whereabouts.
~Bob Pittman's new deal at Clear Channel
According to Inside Radio: A little more than two years after being named CEO, Pittman, 60, has now extended his contract keeping him in place through January 2019.
~John Hogan's parachute deal from Clear Channel
Radio Ink has the details. Keep in mind, these figures are strictly bonuses for going away...
Some of these numbers will seem mind boggling to the average radio employee. Clear Channel will pay the former CEO $900,000 for his performance in 2012, $77,250 for performance during 2013, and a prorated annual bonus for the days he was employed during 2014, the vesting of 93,076 restricted shares of Class A Common Stock granted to Hogan in 2012 will be accelerated and CCMH will repurchase 83,938 of those shares. But wait, there's more. Much more. Healthcare, a secretary, plus money for rent and legal fees.
Broadcast News
~Katie Couric starts on Yahoo!
Her first interview was with former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. That's a big "get", but I still don't quite understand how this Yahoo! thing is going to work. After reading the Politico article, it sounds like they don't quite know either. For the time being, I'm still classifying Katie under broadcast news.
Showbiz
~Golden Globes score big in the ratings
According to this Reuters piece, the Golden Globes had their best ratings in ten years.
