MEDIA NOTEBOOK
A curation of news items about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago…
RADIO/PODCASTS
*Audacy “Cost” Savings
=The writing has been on the wall for some time that
Audacy is going to be making some cuts. Just to be very clear, that means
firing people. Their stock price is below a dollar, and they are projecting a
downturn in profits that will make the situation even worse. The promised 5%
cut in work force has begun. In Milwaukee and Las Vegas, they eliminated all of
the airstaff on the sports-talk stations. All of them. Going fully syndicated
now. In Seattle, they eliminated former Chicago jock John Fisher (WMET, WLUP,
WCKG) from the morning show. Cuts have been announced in several other markets
as well, including Austin, Denver, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, St.
Louis, and Washington DC. (Details here).
=In Chicago, Audacy owns WBBM-AM, WBBM-FM, WUSN-FM,
WXRT-FM, WSCR-AM, and WBMX-FM. Obviously tensions are running high at all of
those stations. No announcements yet.
=Here’s what John Fisher wrote on his Facebook page on
Tuesday…
Today was my last day on the air at 94.1 The Sound. When they asked me
at the beginning of 2018 to help launch their new station and play Lionel
Richie and Celine Dion songs, I thought they were kidding. But I learned so
much, I worked with so many bright, committed people who put The Sound on the
map, and I met a ton of fantastic listeners. It was a thrill and a pleasure. On
to the next thing!
=John was the first interviewee for my site Chicago Radio Spotlight 15 years ago. That mini-interview is here if you’re interested.
*Pat Foley to do Cubs
Play-by-Play
=It’s only for one day (this coming Tuesday/6 innings on the radio/3 on TV), but it helps fulfill a lifelong dream for Pat. Jeff Agrest has the details in the Chicago Sun Times.
=To get a better idea of how deep Pat Foley’s Cub Roots run, listen to this great interview of Pat done by George Ofman on a recent Tell Me A Story I Don’t Know podcast. He talks about his dad, and former Cubs announcer Jack Quinlan, and how that Cubs connection propelled his entire career.
*Joe Girardi to join Cubs booth
=Former Cub catcher (and Yankees/Marlins/Phillies manager) Joe Girardi has signed with the Marquee Network to join Boog & Jim in the booth for some upcoming games this season. ESPN has the story this morning.
*Congratulations to WBEZ
=The 2022 Edward R. Murrow awards were announced this week and WBEZ (NPR in Chicago) took home two of them. One for
Hard News and one for Investigative Reporting, both of them for their coverage
of the Chicago lifeguard sexual abuse story.
*Rock Radio Revisited
=A who’s who of Chicago Rock Radio
from the 60s and 70s turned out this past weekend at the Des Plaines Theater.
In case you missed it, here’s my review. Includes lots of photos.
*Top 50 Nationally in Cume
=For the uninitiated, Cume refers to
the total number of different persons who tune in to a radio station during the
course of a daypart for at least five minutes. Radio Insight published the top 50 in the country (for July) and not surprisingly, several Chicago stations are on that
list.
=All of these stations have a cume over a million, and
are ranked among the top 50 nationwide: WLIT-FM, WDRV-FM, WLS-FM, WTMX-FM,
WKSC-FM, WBBM-FM, WSHE-FM
=Just behind them, still in the top 50, but not quite
at the million mark…WUSN-FM, WKQX-FM
*A Podcast About the Podcasting Industry
=Talk about Meta. A new podcast about the podcasting industry debuted this week. It’s called Podcasting By the Numbers, and it’s hosted by Gary Spurgeon. Radio Ink has the details.
*Podcast Ratings
=Podcast Business Journal has the listings of the top 20 podcasts in America. Joe Rogan is in first place and is joined on the list by
NPR staples like This American Life, NPR News Now, Money First, Wait
Wait Don’t Tell Me, Up First and Fresh Air, along with the political
podcasts Ben Shapiro, Pod Save America, and Dan Bogino. One of my
personal faves, Smartless, is also on the list.
*Garry Meier tease/bonus
=My next Illinois Entertainer column will be an
interview with Garry Meier. The September issue comes out on September 1st,
but here’s a bonus portion of the interview that didn’t make the final cut of
the article. Garry told me the story about how a monarch butterfly indirectly
led him to pursue the radio business…
“In 1969 Larry Lujack was
on WLS and I found his style to be akin to what my style would be if I ever did
radio. He often talked about reincarnation and that he wanted to come back as a
butterfly. One day, there was a dead monarch butterfly on the ground, and I
immediately thought about sending it to Larry along with a note that said, ‘I
think I killed your uncle.’ He had this feature called Clunk Letter of the Day,
and three days after I sent the letter, a friend rushed into the pharmacy where
I was working and said, ‘I think Lujack is going to read your letter. He just
teased that he got a butterfly from an idiot in Oak Forest.’ I immediately knew
that I was that idiot. I asked the pharmacist to turn off the beautiful music
station and turn on WLS. Sure enough, I was waiting on customers and I heard
Larry’s voice say, ‘This idiot in Oak Forest sent me a dead butterfly’ and then
he read my letter on the air. I got a chubby. Oh man, my material was on the
air, and it was being done by a guy I really admired. That was an important
moment for me. I always kept it in the back of my head. After American
Graffiti, Wolfman Jack became another idol. I went to broadcasting school after
that. Just to bookend the story, at the end of my time at the Loop, on my last
day there, you know what I saw on the ground outside the Hancock? A dead
butterfly. And I also worked at the same station as Lujack in the 80s, and he
hated me. He threatened to punch me in the face live on the air. So it really
does come full circle, doesn’t it?”
*RIP Chuck Benson
=Sorry I missed this news a few weeks ago. Legendary
Chicago broadcaster Chuck Benson passed away on July 26th. Chuck was
a pioneer in Top 40 radio in Chicago, working at WIND, WMAQ, and WFYR. His obituary tells the whole story of this impressive man’s career.
*Barry Butler and Tony Fitzpatrick
=Barry Butler has been a broadcasting executive in
Chicago for years (currently with Hubbard in Chicago), but he has another side
to him that is becoming quite famous. Barry’s photographs of Chicago are simply
the best I’ve ever seen. Block Club Chicago has the details about Barry’s
exhibit, currently on display at Navy Pier.
=Tony Fitzpatrick has been a well-known voice on
Chicago radio for decades and is a frequent contributor to Joan Esposito’s show
on WCPT, but his day job has always been artist. Here’s the poster for his
upcoming showing…
*Ken Levine proclaims terrestrial radio dead
=Ken is no ordinary media pundit. He’s one of the
all-time greatest television writers, a baseball announcer, and a
self-described radio geek. To find out what led him to this rather drastic
opinion, click on his blog.
*Former Chicago Radio alert
=Bart Shore, the former Chicago radio traffic
reporter, has retired to North Carolina. If you thought that also meant the end
of his radio career, you are wrong.
MEDIA BIRTHDAYS & MILESTONES
The following Chicago media pros are celebrating
birthdays this week. If you’d like to read my interviews with them, click on
their names. The year I interviewed each of them is listed in parenthesis.
*August 15, Axios Chicago’s Justin Kaufmann (2012)
*August 18, ESPN Radio’s John Jurkovic (2008)
*August 19, WXRT’s Lin Brehmer (2018)
=Here's the latest on Lin's health. From his Facebook page...
Quick update: 2 rounds of chemotherapy under my belt. The first coincided with a nasty lung infection that put me in the hospital for 5 days. Followed closely by a fracture of my femur and surgery to put a rod in my leg to stabilize my leg. Been at home last couple weeks dealing with post op pain in my leg. But overall I am maintaining. I should add the nurses at Northwestern are a rare breed of sensitivity, good humor, and professionalism. I will never forget how well I was treated during all this drama. I have a long way to go and I have been overwhelmed, truly, by your love and support. So thank you. GTBA-Lin
*August 19 Newsman/Blueman Buzz Kilman (2009)
*August 19, former WLUP/WCKG producer/writer BrendanSullivan (2012)
TV/STREAMING
*Edward R. Murrow Award
=The investigative reporting team at WBBM-TV (Channel
2) brought home an Edward Murrow award this week. Dave Savini announced the
news on his LinkedIn page…
My team just won
the National Edward R Murrow award for our investigative series on a
ten-year-old girl raped and trafficked out of a hotel in Chicago while DCFS and
CPD looked the other way. One rape kit had a match on a registered child
predator who was free but CPD sat on the results for five months until we
exposed it all!
*Hollywood
Critics Association Awards for Television and Streaming
=Award
season is beginning in Hollywood, and the HCA announced their winners this
week. See the full list of winners here. Among them, Bill
Hader, Henry Winkler, Bob Odenkirk, Norm MacDonald, and of course, The Beatles.
*Streaming
now beating cable TV
=I’m not surprised by this news at all. Variety has the details. And these numbers don't even include people who stream on tablets or computers. The numbers are likely even higher.
*Big
Ten’s New TV Deal
=The Big Ten has already cashed in after adding USC and UCLA. This week they signed the richest TV deal in College Sports. It’s a multi-billion-dollar mega-deal. The Washington Post has the full story.
*John
Owens moves to Channel 7
=John
is the president for the Midwest/Chicago chapter of the National Academy of
Television Arts and Sciences, and an acclaimed published author (Chili Dog MVP).
He had also been working for Weigel broadcasting. As of this week he is now a
multi-platform program producer for ABC-7 in Chicago.
*Mark
Knutsen moves to Channel 5
=Knutsen has moved across town from Channel 7 to Channel 5 (WMAQ-TV) to become the VP of Multi-Platform Content. Adweek has the details about his new position.
*Weigel
Signs New Multi-Year Agreement with IHSA
=The
announcement came this week that the two entities would continue their
association.
“We are beyond excited to partner with Weigel
Broadcasting to continue the tradition of televising the IHSA Football, Girls
Basketball, and Boys Basketball State Finals,” said IHSA Executive Director
Craig Anderson. “Weigel has deep roots in covering IHSA sports and clearly
values the community aspects surrounding high school sports that make them so
special. I am confident that Weigel’s vision will serve our viewers well and we
are eager to kick off the partnership with the IHSA Football Playoff Pairing Show
in October.”
*Nexstar Buys the CW
=On Monday, Nexstar
(which owns WGN radio and television locally) agreed to purchase 75% of the CW.
Adweek has the details here.
*When
Politics/Comedy/Television collide
=It’s
not often that a politician hosts a late-night talk show. Of course, Al Franken
isn’t an ordinary politician. This is a pretty good effort filling in for Jimmy
Kimmel this week…
*Alex
Wagner’s show debuts on MSNBC
=Rachel Maddow has officially stepped down from hosting her nightly show on MSNBC. Ever since this past Tuesday, Alex Wagner fills that role every Tues-Friday (Maddow remains on Monday nights). The Washington Post has more on this new show.
*Brian
Stelter’s Show Reliable Sources canceled
=I’m really starting to see why nobody else appears to be jumping into this media-beat frying pan. The only show on cable television that was about the media, Reliable Sources, has been canceled. Host Brian Stelter is leaving CNN.
NPR.org has the story.This is a terrible move by CNN. @brianstelter was the symbol of a media establishment willing to question itself. He was a flawed but essential voice in the national media. His firing is a win for all the wrong people. https://t.co/TOMHgZktU3
— Dan Froomkin/PressWatchers.org (@froomkin) August 18, 2022
OTHER
MEDIA NEWS
*Comic
Book Awards
=I’m not into the comic book world, but I’m told that winning a Will Eisner Comic Industry Award is a big deal. It turns out that we have such a winner living right here in our city. Block Club Chicago has the story about Chicago’s very own Iron Circus.
*Media
Job Board
=Just
in case you didn’t know this was out there, your future media employer might be
looking for you here. https://jobs.mediajobboard.com/ It’s being run
by Poynter, Editor & Publisher, and America’s Newspapers.
If you have any media stories (Chicago or national) that you think I might like to share in future columns, feel free to drop me a line at rick@eckhartzpress.com or amishrick@yahoo.com
