Changes at WGN Radio

 It's weird when you personally know everyone involved in a story like this. There is some good news and some not-so-good news. Start with the good news. John Landecker is coming back and will get the 7-10pm shift on a regular basis. That's excellent. JRL belongs on the radio. He's a HOFer, for cryin out loud. Steve Bertrand is also getting a new show and it's going to be a magazine-style news program in the afternoon. That could be really interesting.

Unfortunately, Roe Conn was let go. His last show was yesterday. Nick DiGilio was let go too. He had been at WGN for 35 years.

Robert Feder has all the details.

Kirk Herbstreit

Here's a sentence I never thought I'd write: I'm with Kirk Herbstreit.

“You can’t relate to that if you’re white, but you can listen and you can try to help because this is not okay.”

Kirk Herbstreit with a powerful and emotional statement this morning on College Gamedaypic.twitter.com/QUmG0u7Ie7

— SI College Football (@si_ncaafb) September 5, 2020

1902

 I'm a sucker for these colorized versions of old films because it really makes the past come alive for me. Perhaps it works that way for you too...

Check-out this haunting 1902 film of the Wuppertal Suspended Railway in Germany — but now it’s been colorized and upscaled to 4K — and it’s amazing... pic.twitter.com/cwHtrNJcha

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) September 3, 2020

Fred Weintraub/Robert Feder

Thanks so much to Robert Feder for mentioning this in his column today...

Fred Weintraub, the globe-trotting Chicago broadcaster who splits his time between London, Singapore and home, gets the profile treatment from Rick Kaempfer in the September issue of Illinois Entertainer. (Here is the link.) When Weintraub hosts his weekly radio show with Hannah Stanley Sundays on Evanston Broadcasting talk station WCGO 1590-AM, it’s 11 a.m. in Chicago but midnight in Singapore. “If you want to do it, you find a way,” said Weintraub, who also works as executive producer of sports at Weigel Broadcasting. “I feel fortunate to do what I do, so it works for me.”

We Can Wait 100 Years

 I forgot all about this. Tom Latourette posted this on Facebook today. It's a song I wrote and he sang, and he did on Opening Day at Wrigley Field on Johnny B's show (on WGN Radio). This is a live recording of that day...

The Steve Bartman of 1936

September 3, 1936. A police officer may have cost the Cubs a victory. Henry Hanson was an ordinary Chicago cop. He was working security at a Cubs-Dodgers game. In the first inning of the game, young Cubs first baseman Phil Cavarretta hit a ball down the right field line, right were Hanson was standing guard. Hanson didn’t see the play clearly, but figured that because he was standing in foul territory, it must have been a foul ball. He picked it up and tossed it over to Dodgers right fielder Randy Moore who was charging toward the play. The umpires saw this little exchange and called timeout. After a long deliberation, they sent Cavarretta back to first base. If Hanson hadn’t touched it, Cavarretta certainly would have had a double or a triple on the play. Because the Cubs didn’t score the rest of the game, and they lost it 1-0 in the tenth inning, the Chicago newspapers blamed the loss on poor Henry Hanson…the Steve Bartman of 1936.

RIP Tom Seaver

RIP Tom Terrific. I’ll never forget your 300th win (as a White Sox) and the time Cubs backup OF Jimmy Qualls broke up your no hitter with 2 outs in the 9th (with the Mets). One of the greatest pitchers I ever saw.

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) September 3, 2020

Listen to the Jimmy Qualls audio here.

This is my favorite Tom Seaver baseball card from my collection...(1976 Topps)

Fred Weintraub

The September issue of Illinois Entertainer is out and features my interview with WCIU's and WCGO's, Fred Weintraub. 

 You can read it here.

Presented without comment

What if #FoxNews covered Trump the way it covered Obama?

It would look like this@nowthisnews pic.twitter.com/bRqag3uxhe

— Nguyen #fbpe #fbr (@haaohaoo) September 2, 2020

Minutia Men Celebrity Interview--Mark Farner

*Great* stories in this episode with the former leader of Grand Funk Railroad. We talked about his songs, his work with Todd Rundgren, touring with Ringo, and John Entwistle's loud monitor. We also talked about the Telecommunications Act of 1996. No kidding.

#MinutiaMenCelebrityInterview EP35: Rick and Dave sit down with Grand Funk Railroad's Mark Farner @REALMARKFARNER https://t.co/Q1kNibij2V

— Radio Misfits (@RadiosMisfits) September 2, 2020

RIP Bob Rohrman

 A local treasure...

Sad to hear that Bob Rohrman passed away last night. His commercials were legendary. We had many fun segments with him on @WGNMorningNews ... and also on our old show "metromix on CLTV." Condolences to the Rohrman family. pic.twitter.com/LSDQpP8OaP

— Marcus Leshock (@marcusleshock) September 2, 2020

Charlie Kirk

 Charlie Kirk is a rising star on the right because of his unrelenting devotion to the Fuhrer.

Robert Feder reports...

Charlie Kirk, the grassroots conservative activist who grew up in Prospect Heights, is joining the lineup of WIND 560-AM, the Salem Media news/talk station. Starting October 5, one hour of his new syndicated talk show will air at 11 a.m. weekdays on WIND. (To accommodate the addition, Dennis Prager will lose an hour, airing from noon to 2 p.m.) Kirk, a 26-year-old author, podcaster and founder of Turning Point USA, signed with Salem Radio Network to host a national talk show Tuesday. “I grew up listening to conservative talk radio, so I’m excited to bring a new generation’s voice to the medium and I’m thrilled to work with SRN to do that,” Kirk said. “It’s time to work. The country is in trouble and we have to save it.”

My boys were in scouts with Kirk and helped him on his Eagle Scout project. Despite repeated phone calls, Kirk never returned our bar clamp or our cooler that we brought that day to help out.

If you manage to talk to him on his radio show, please ask him to return them. The cooler is red. I'm guessing both of them are in his parents garage.

If he gets snippy remind him that a scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. 

Not the president of the whole country

 I watched Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on one of the Sunday shows this weekend, and he was talking about what was happening in blue states as opposed to Trump's America. Um, I'm pretty sure that he is the pesident of all the states, not just the ones that voted for him. This president literally doesn't give a crap about more than half of the country. He's actively, intentionally fomenting a civil war, and will not say the first word to calm the situation. The Washingotn Post put it this way in their editorial this morning...

His acolytes at last week’s Republican convention argued that Joe Biden’s America would descend into anarchy. In fact, the unrest now engulfing cities is in Donald Trump’s America. For voters wondering what a second Trump term would hold in store, here it is: a country steeped in hatred.

He would have voters believe the anger arises from an enemy within. “Most of Donald Trump’s America is peaceful,” White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Sunday, on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” The violence, he contended, is confined to cities led by Democrats, like Portland. Could any expression of a nation at war with itself be more explicit?

Chicago Radio Ratings

 From Robert Feder's column last night. If you'd like to see the daypart breakdowns, click here.

1. WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM all news, 7.3 (7.0)
2. WVAZ 102.7-FM R&B, 6.0 (5.7)
3. WLIT 93.9-FM adult contemporary, 5.7 (5.0)
4. WTMX 101.9-FM hot adult contemporary, 5.5 (5.2)
5. WXRT 93.1-FM adult album alternative, 4.9 (4.5)
6. WDRV 97.1-FM classic rock, 4.7 (6.0)
7. WLS 94.7-FM classic hits, 4.4 (4.6)
8. WOJO 105.1-FM Mexican regional, 3.7 (3.1)
9. WGN 720-AM news talk, 3.6 (3.3)
10. WKSC 103.5-FM Top 40, 3.5 (3.7)
11. WBEZ 91.5-FM public radio news talk, 3.4 (3.2)
12. WRME 87.7-FM soft rock oldies, 2.8 (2.7)
13. (tie) WBBM 96.3-FM Top 40, 2.7 (2.7); WPPN 106.7-FM Spanish adult contemporary, 2.7 (2.4); WSHE 100.3-FM adult contemporary, 2.7 (2.3)
16. WBMX 104.3-FM classic hip hop, 2.6 (2.6)
17. (tie) WSCR 670-AM sports talk, 2.5 (1.5); WKQX 101.1-FM alternative rock, 2.5 (2.9)
19. WGCI 107.5-FM hip-hop, 2.4 (2.9)
20. WUSN 99.5-FM country, 2.3 (2.7)
21. WEBG 95.5-FM country, 2.1 (2.1)
22. (tie) WLEY 107.9-FM Mexican regional, 1.9 (2.0); WLS 890-AM news talk, 1.9 (2.0)
24. WPWX 92.3-FM hip-hop, 1.5 (1.4)
25. WVIV 93.5-FM Spanish contemporary, 1.2 (1.2)
26. WMVP 1000-AM sports talk, 1.0 (1.0)
27. WFMT 98.7-FM classical 0.9 (0.8)
28. WCKL 97.9-FM contemporary Christian music, 0.8 (1.1)
29. WSRB 106.3-FM R&B, 0.7 (0.8)
30. (tie) WERV 95.9-FM classic hits, 0.5 (0.6); WGRB 1390-AM gospel, 0.5 (0.4)

He has lost the military

Trump favorability underwater per @MilitaryTimes poll.https://t.co/9W347vPHe0 pic.twitter.com/edEZ8AbTv0

— Mieke "5 U.S.C. §§ 7321-7326" Eoyang (@MiekeEoyang) August 31, 2020

Happy 75th Birthday Van Morrison

Most Liked Tweet in Twitter History

This final tweet on Chadwick Boseman's twitter page is officially the most liked tweet in history. As of this morning, nearly 7 1/2 million people have liked it...

pic.twitter.com/aZ2JzDf5ai

— Chadwick Boseman (@chadwickboseman) August 29, 2020

Minutia Men--Noodles, Nukes & Nudes

This week's episode includes my late grandfather's story about how to "pass" the drivers test in Chicago.

.@MinutiaMen EP193 - Noodles, Nukes, And Nudes! https://t.co/F4MKkQNwOE

— Radio Misfits (@RadiosMisfits) August 29, 2020

Barry Butler

 Great picture, Barry.

The final sunrise of August 2020, Chicago pic.twitter.com/qqGhCOCnCc

— Barry Butler (@barrybutler9) August 31, 2020