Friday, August 05, 2022

Media Notebook--8-5-22













MEDIA NOTEBOOK

A curation of news items about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago…


RADIO/PODCASTS


*Bob Stroud Profile

=The latest issue of Illinois Entertainer is out and features my interview with the recently-semi-retired rock and roll jock Bob Stroud. (Read the full interview here) We discussed his entire career, including what led him into this business in the first place…

            “The DJ that sent me on the course to where I am is Dick Biondi,” he says. “It was so important in my life – sixth grade, living in Kalamazoo, a friend of mine said, ‘Have you heard this disc jockey named Dick Biondi on WLS in Chicago? He’s crazy.’ I went home that night and listened, and it changed my life. The other guy who I always mention because I thought he was so brilliant was Ron Britain from WCFL. When I met him the first time, it was like meeting a Beatle for me.”

=Coming up next month (September 1st), Garry Meier.

 

*Update on the WTMX lawsuits

=Inside Radio has the full story with the latest updates. You can read that here.   Bottom line, according to the article is that Melissa McGurren, former Eric Ferguson sidekick and current morning co-host at US-99, is appealing the dismissal of her lawsuit. The case brought by former producer Cynthia DiNicola is still in the midst of litigation in U.S. District Court in Chicago.


*Legendary broadcaster Vin Scully passes away

=How much of a part of the American broadcast world was Scully? 67 years behind the microphone calling games for the Dodgers. The youngest person to broadcast a World Series game (age 25). 3 perfect games. 18 no-hitters. Hank Aaron’s 715th home run. Inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A presidential medal of freedom from Barack Obama. The street leading to Dodger Stadium is named after him, and so is the press box. Vin Scully was simply the best there ever was. Read the AP obit of Scully here.

=To me, this is a great example of Scully’s greatness. It’s his radio play-by-play of the 9th inning of Sandy Koufax’s perfect game against the Cubs in 1965.

 

*WGN Radio News

=There was a big announcement this week about the WGN radio archives being donated to Northwestern. This includes everything from 1941-2011. 70 years of audio is now in the hands of Northwestern University Libraries in the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections and University Archives. Some truly historic material has been donated by WGN and their corporate bosses Nexstar. More details here.

=Editor & Publisher also reports that Nexstar CEO Perry Sook has been extended through 2026. 


*Maybe radio jobs aren’t extinct after all

=This announcement came from EP of WBEZ’s Reset…

 

*Audacy Stock Price

=Audacy owns quite a few radio stations in Chicago, including WBBM-AM, B-96, The Score, WXRT, US99 and 104.3 Jamz, but the company is facing a serious financial crisis. The stock price hasn’t been over $1.00 since the beginning of July (it closed at 70 cents a share yesterday), and now they are in danger of being de-listed by the New York Stock Exchange. (Details are here) How that will impact Chicago’s Audacy stations remains to be seen. Cumulus faced a similar financial emergency a few years ago and managed to recover.

 

*Podcast Roundup

=The film industry is jumping into the podcasting world. Lionsgate is the latest major player to announce they are joining the crowd. Podcast Business Journal has the details. 

= The New York Times recommends six new political scandal podcasts. They are about (pick your topic): Hurricane Katrina, Putin’s obsession about Ukraine, Chappaquiddick, British scandals, a BBC look at Bush & Blair, and a little-known Australian coup from the 1970s. Something for everybody here.

=Bloomberg has a story this week about some podcast guests paying a fortune to appear on popular shows. I’ve clearly been doing this all wrong.

 

*Chicago radio anniversary

=The late great WNUA signed on with their smooth jazz format exactly 35 years ago this week. If you’re feeling nostalgic, here are a few places to read or listen to some highlights.

=My interview with WNUA star RickO’Dell (2010) 

=Former Ramsey Lewis producer BobKessler reminisces (2012) 

=Charlie Meyerson’s WNUA interviews with Richard M. Daley and Jane Byrne 

 

*WXRT Hall of Fame

=This tweet by Johnny Mars has a photo from 25 years ago that features nearly every one of the all-time WXRT greats. See if you can identify all of them.

 

MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES

 

*Jerry G. Bishop

=The anniversary of Chicago broadcasting icon Jerry G. Bishop’s birth was this week. His protégé (as both Svengoolie and in radio) Rich Koz mentioned Bishop on his Facebook page this week: “An amazing talent, a good man, and a good friend- his generosity to me could never be paid back.” 

=When I interviewed Koz in 2009, he went into a little more detail about what Jerry G. meant to him…

“The job with Jerry actually came about when he was leaving WFLD after they cancelled his Svengoolie show he was in talks with NBC for both radio and TV, and he thought enough of me to try and get me involved as part of his team for the radio side. He did some fill in at WMAQ, with me filling the afore-mentioned sidekick/producer/goofball role- and, when they brought him in full time- first, in afternoon drive, then in morning drive- I went along for the ride.

It was a great gig, other than having to get up so early for the morning show- we’d ride in, going over the papers, and he’d read something about Dean Martin, and say-“let’s do a bit on this- you be Dean!” I’d write stuff and be about 85% of the characters and “celebrities” that called in- I’d write song parodies for him, invent new bits, and we’d do sponsored commercials as bits- for example, I played the president of a lumber/home improvement chain, playing him as a sort of dopey guy, in a running series of live read commercials, and they went over really well.

Plus, on Monday mornings, when the show started an hour earlier than usual, for a while, Jerry had me do that first hour by myself! Jerry was the best--very generous, and, as I’ve always said, the guy who’s responsible for me getting into the broadcasting business…so blame him!”

 

*Former Loop/Drive jock (and current WGN fill-in) Phil Manicki celebrated a birthday August 4th. My 2019 Illinois Entertainer interview with Phil is here. 


*Former WIND/WCKG talker Geoff Pinkus celebrated a birthday on August 5th. My 2008 Chicago Radio Spotlight interview with Geoff is here. 


*Chicago sports broadcasting pioneer Chet Coppock released his final (and most critically acclaimed) book Your Dime, My Dance Floor this week in 2018. Less than a year after this book came out, Chet died tragically in a car crash. My final Q&A with Chet is here. 


*Former Chicago traffic reporter Joe Collins passed away five years ago this week. It would be difficult to find someone more universally loved than Joe. I had the chance to interview him for Illinois Entertainer just a few months before he passed away. 


*One of the biggest names in Chicago television news history, Fahey Flynn, was born this week in 1916. He also passed away this week in 1983. His Eyewitness News (Channel 7) co-anchor Joel Daly delivered the eulogy, which he published in his book The Daly News.  The following is a short excerpt from Joel’s speech…

            “Fahey had very strong feelings, deeply held political and philosophical convictions. But he never let them show on the air. During this time of great change and great debate, Fahey was steadfast…his eyebrows as straight as his familiar bow tie. Fahey was the original, quintessential anchorman. Unmoved, unemotional, a man whom people trusted to tell them the truth… without endorsement or embellishment. Fahey Flynn fought the odds of time in a very tough business in a very tough town. And his tenure, all that time as a broadcaster and newsman belie the unfortunate myths which cloud our profession: that it is cosmetic…that it is shallow… that it is ‘slick and superficial.’ For Fahey, the most successful of all, was none of these.

On the contrary, what you saw was what you got…what he was—a decent, caring human being, so obvious and so visible every night at 6:00 and 10:00. For many years, at the beginning and end of our news programs, the camera would show the two of us talking. You couldn’t tell what we were saying to each other. That, naturally, aroused a lot of curiosity. People would invariably ask me; “What do you and Fahey talk about every night?”

Usually, I’d just smile and remain noncommittal, as if it were some kind of secret. We were two men bound in time—victims of the unrelenting clock. And we talked about living and dying…of where we had been…and where we were going…if we only had time. And those conversations would often last long after the studio lights went out. We would sit there in the darkness, as if unwilling to let go. Those were the moments I will most remember.

That rich voice rolling out of the darkness, spinning a tale from the past…or posing a question of the future—often funny, sometimes sad—intimate words that could be said and shared without the presence of the clock…without the witness of the world. But now time has run out! No more deadlines, my dear friend…no more rush. No more stories to send…no more fuss. So rest in peace, dear friend…and be to heaven bound. We’ll follow, for time must end…Just pray the bridge is down”



 

TELEVISION/STREAMING

 

*Devil in White City to film in Chicago

=One of the most famous books ever written about Chicago, The Devil in White City, is about to become a television series. Some big-time names are attached. Keanu Reaves to star. Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese to produce. And most importantly, it will actually be filmed here in Chicago. Reel Chicago has the details. 

 

*I want my MTV

=It’s hard to believe it’s already 41 years, but one of the original VJs Martha Quinn tweeted about the anniversary this week. Do you remember where you were? I was in college at the University of Illinois, and it was a groundbreaking moment.

 

*Whoopsie-Doopsie moment for Alex Jones

=The InfoWars host/founder had a very bad week. He discovered live on the stand that his lawyer had accidentally given all of Jones’ phone records (all of them) to the lawyers representing the Sandy Hook families. He lost in court and was ordered to pay a $4 million settlement. The January 6th committee then asked for the files too, which may have further implications for him in future legal matters.

=NBCNews has the details on the whoopsie moment. 

=NPR has the story about the Jan 6 angle of this story. 

=US News & World Report has the story about the settlement. 

 

*Batgirl must be really, really, bad

The movie Batgirl is not coming out at all…anywhere. I get why they don’t want to spend money marketing it, or they don’t think it’s big enough for nationwide theater release, but I don’t get why they won’t just release it on HBO Max. Supposedly they are taking it as tax write off, but even that doesn’t quite smell right. They’ve already spent $90 million (see below). Rumors have been trickling out that it tested very badly, despite their initial quotes to Variety this week. Here’s a short excerpt…

            Studio insiders insist the decision to axe “Batgirl” was not driven by the quality of the film or the commitment of the filmmakers, but by the desire for the studio’s slate of DC features to be at a blockbuster scale. “Batgirl” was budgeted to screen in homes on HBO Max, and not for a major global release in theaters. The initial $75 million production budget for the project, which finished principal photography earlier this year and was in post-production, reached $90 million, due in part to COVID-related delays and protocols.

 

*RIP Nichelle Nicols

=The actress who brought Star Trek’s Lt. Uhura to life passed away this week. The Washington Post has a great obit of this amazing woman.  What a fascinating life. I didn’t realize that she was from Chicago, or that she was discovered by Duke Ellington, or that she dated Gene Rodenberry and Sammy Davis Jr. it’s worth a read. RIP Nichelle.

 

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

 
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