MEDIA NOTEBOOK
A curation of news items about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago
(By Rick Kaempfer)
RADIO/PODCASTS
*Jim Johnson Update
=Jim Johnson had a legendary career at WLS
radio. The newsman was a big of part of shows starring Steve & Garry,
Roe & Garry, and Roe and Roeper, among others. Shortly after he retired
he was diagnosed with Alzheimers. His daughter Alexis Del Cid is a
journalist/anchor/Emmy winner herself, and she has been posting regular updates
about her dad and his health status. The one she posted this week really tugged
at my heart strings. I asked her if it was Ok to share it, and she said yes.
= Recently when my dad
was spending an afternoon at my house, I went through his phone with him. We do
this from time to time. I’ll read out the names of friends and relatives he has
programmed into it. When one catches his attention- I’ll help him make the
call. It gives him joy when he reaches someone who will chat with him. Also, I
know one day the people he is calling will yearn to hear his voice. He was on
the phone with my Aunt Rosie, his sister. They were on speakerphone. She is
always so good about guiding him through the conversation, bringing back
childhood memories, gently answering, and steering the ship when he gets off
course. She asked him what he was doing. “Well… I’m here at my… my….” He looked
at me quizzically. I held my breath. “Who are you to me?”
Since the moment we got the Alzheimer’s
diagnosis, this was a moment I had feared, had nightmares about, daymares
about, played over in my head, anticipated, rehearsed, dreaded. I always
envisioned that when this part happened I would collapse. I would simply fall
to my knees and die. I would disintegrate. I could not imagine living after The
Moment. But my heart kept beating. I said with a big smile, “Daddy, I’m your
daughter, silly!” I gave him a hug and he laughed. “Oh right right! I’m here
with my daughter!” The conversation went on. That night I made him baked
salmon. And after dinner, I gave him a bowl of ice cream. It was not sugar-free
which is all he usually eats. I told him it was a special treat and that when
he was at my house we could do whatever we want because dietary rules do not
apply. He laughed. I told him whenever he’s with his daughter, he can break all
the rules. He laughed every time I said it.
Later he looked at me with a very serious face,
“I was wondering… do you think I could have a second bowl?”
“Of course, Daddy. When you’re with me you can do whatever you
want!” I gave him another bowl. He was delighted, and as I placed it in front
of him he announced, “I love my life!” Later that evening before my mom came to
pick him up and I was getting his things together he walked over to me and
stood before me with his hand extended. I stood up and shook his hand. Curious.
He broke into a big smile and with a glimmer in his bright blue eyes he declared,
“You’re my daughter. And we can do whatever the fuck we want.” I burst out
laughing and wrapped my arms around him. Amen, Pops.
*Johnny B Returns!
=I had just posted my Buzz Kilman interview for
this week’s Loop Files on Tuesday when I got wind of a mystery guest appearing
on the WGN-TV Morning News. I knew about the show’s connection to Brandmeier (Robin
Baumgarten and Jeff Hoover both got their starts on Johnny’s show),
so I suspected it might be him. It was! Same boundless energy. He also updated everyone
on why we haven’t seen him around lately. Watch the interview here.
*Ramblin’ Ray’s New Gig
=Ray
Stevens is the new host of Drive Chicago on WLS, Saturday mornings at 8am.
For the next few weekends he’ll be out at the Chicago Auto Show, along with Jim OBrill, the Director of
Marketing Chicago Automobile Trade Association / Chicago Auto Show and Mark
Bilek, the Senior Director of Communications Technology, Chicago Automobile
Trade Association.
*Dobie Maxwell in
Milwaukee
=Dobie is a stand up
comedian, but he’s also been a radio guy for thirty years, including a stint at
WLUP in the early 00s. Lately he’s been turning up as a fill in doing sports
talk in Milwaukee for 97.3FM, The Game. He says: “This is THE most
fun I have ever had at a station anywhere - and technically I don't really work
there. The staff is fantastic, knowledgeable and fun to work with
and I grew up in Milwaukee so I have a lifetime history of sports there.”
*Dan McNeil Working on a Book
=I think I may know who the publisher will
be…
*On the Mend
=You may have noticed that Blackhawks
radio voice John Wiedeman wasn’t on the mic for a handful of recent
games. The Chicago Tribune interviewed him this week and he explained the
reason for his absence. “It just took a long time to get rid of the infection that had taken hold
of my body,” Wiedeman told the Tribune. “And I tried to fight through it (but)
some point you have to do what’s necessary in order to get rid of it. So that’s
what I did.” Joe Brand filled in for him while he was gone.
=Also at WGN, Rollye James hasn't been on the air lately either, but not because of her own health problems. Her husband John had a stroke. Her website has the full (pretty optimistic) update.
*Podcast
Corner
=If you haven’t heard
him yet, local Chicago treasure Duane Scott Cerny (co-owner of The Broadway
Antique Market) appears bi-monthly on Amber LeMay Live! with his
"Amber's Crazy in the Attic" segments. It's live on Sundays via
Facebook and YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and every platform that aren't shoes. (That’s
Duane’s joke. The man is a stitch.)
MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES
*February
6, 1964, WCIU-TV signed on the air.
=It
was Chicago’s first UHF station at the time.
*February
6—Ed Tyll birthday
=You
might not like what he says, but he’ll say it anyway, Ed Tyll. The nighttime
talker worked at AM 1000 for a few years in the early 90s. I interviewed him for Chicago Radio Spotlight in 2010.
*February
8, 2000—Bob Collins passed away.
=The
legendary WGN morning man's death was dramatic and shocking. He died in a plane
crash. Chicago Radio Archives and Memories posted the audio of WMAQ’s coverage of that day. Photo of Bob Collins courtesy of Spike O’Dell.
*February
8—Bob Shomper birthday
=The
former program director of WGN (2006-2009) is now retired.
*February
8, 2018—John Landecker gets a diploma
=
Landecker had dropped out of college in the late 60s to take a radio job in
Philadelphia. He was just a few hours short of a degree at the time. When he
was asked to speak at his old school (Grand Valley State University), unbeknownst
to him, the University had a big surprise for him. It’s a great story. I wrote about it for Illinois Entertainer.
*February
10—Alex Burkholder birthday
=Alex
was an investigative reporter/producer for WGN-TV (21 years) and WLS-TV (24
years) working alongside the great John Drury. Burkholder is the author Death of the Angels, about the fire that claimed so many lives at Our Lady of the Angels
school in 1958.
*February
11—Jim Moran birthday
=I interviewed the former WLS man in 2011 for Chicago Radio Spotlight.
*February
11—Rob Creighton birthday
=Creighton
worked at Next Media in the Chicago suburbs as a programmer and air talent.
TV/STREAMING
*RIP
Jack Taylor
=Anyone who grew up in Chicagoland in the 60s and 70s remembers the legendary anchorman Jack Taylor wearing that mustard yellow blazer on the WGN-TV news. He was 94 years old when he passed away this week. WGN paid tribute to him.
*Network
Corner
=Disney’s first earnings report since CEO Bob Iger returned exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. So naturally, Disney announced they would be cutting over 7000 jobs. The New York Times has the full story. Lots of big changes coming, including the spinning off of ESPN (probably to sell it), and a focus on the streaming service.
=James Corden’s replacement was named this week. Remember the Comedy Central show @Midnight? It’s getting a reboot.
=Speaking
of reboots. Not sure how I feel about this one. Fawlty Towers, starring John
Cleese, was one of my all-time favorite shows. This week Cleese announced
that he is bringing the show back. Read this piece about it in the New York
Times.
*Tom
Brady Not Quite Ready for the Broadcast Booth
=Don’t
worry. He’ll be there soon. Just not this upcoming NFL season. He made that announcement this week.
=Jeff Agrest has a great piece in the Sun-Times about the man Brady will probably share the booth with when he finally starts broadcasting: Kevin Burkhardt.
*US
House Decides to Restrict C-SPAN cameras
=
Despite considering giving C-SPAN a little more leeway, the U.S. House of
Representatives opted not to. Vanity Fair has the story.
*The
Grammy Awards
=Believe
it or not, this year’s Grammy Awards show was a ratings hit. If you missed the show,
the full list of winners is here.
PRINT MEDIA
*The
Chicago Tribune hires Lizzie Kane as business reporter.
=Before coming to the Tribune in January, she worked at Bloomberg, the Indianapolis Star
and the Baltimore Brew.
*Block
Club Chicago’s new West Side reporter is Trey Arline.
=Arline
was previously with the Daily Herald and the cannabis newsletter Grown
In.
*David
Jackson leaves the BGA
=Jackson
is one of the best investigative reporters around. He previously worked for the
Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, and the Chicago Reader. He won a Pulitzer,
and was a four time Pulitzer finalist. Jackson joined the BGA in 2020. The BGA has
lost some other big names the past few years including another Pulitzer winner, Madison
Hopkins.
Today was my last day @BetterGov:
— david jackson (@poolcar4) January 30, 2023
After 29 months of flat-out reporting with the best in our profession,
I'm grateful for every one of the great friends I made - and all the good we got to do together!
*News Corp to Lay off 1000
=Another media company laying off a lot of people (this time in the print world mostly). The Hollywood Reporter has the news.
*Springsteen Fanzine To Shut Down In Protest Over Ticket Prices
=When the face value of a concert ticket has four digits, it no
longer fits the working man’s budget. That caused the longtime Springsteen fanzine
Backstreets to end their publication. The Guardian has more on this
story.
SOCIAL MEDIA
*Elon Musk’s Work/Sleep Balance
=After reading this piece in the Wall Street Journal, I’m
relatively sure that Elon Musk is miserable. He does two things: works
and sleeps. And the sleep is an afterthought at best.
As always, if you have any media story you’d like to share or think that I might be interested in sharing, drop me a line at rick@eckhartzpress.com or amishrick@yahoo.com. If you're in Chicago media and wondering why I didn't mention your birthday, it's probably because I don't know it. Drop me a line and let me know and I'll put you on my calendar.
If you're interested in some of my other projects from this week...
Minutia Men: Circumstantial Evidence
Minutia Men Celebrity Interview: Friday Night Light's Louanne Stephens
Minutia Men Celebrity Interivew: The Mad Drummer Steve Moore
Free Kicks with Adam & Rick: Breaking the Law
From the Eckhartz Book Shelf: Best Seat in the House, Diary of a Wrigley Field Usher
EveryCubEver: Bill Faul
My latest novel: Back in the D.D.R
