MEDIA NOTEBOOK
A curation of news items about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago.
RADIO/PODCASTS
*Moug & Karla in the
Morning
=There’s a new morning
show at B-96, WBBM-FM. John Moug arrives from Seattle, and is being
paired with former Morning Mess co-host Karla Hernandez. Jeana
Shepard moves to middays 9am-2pm. Dash remains in the afternoon slot
(2-7pm), and Bru will handle 7-11pm.
*Eric Ferguson Update
=He posted this on LinkedIn this week...
=Horowitz left WTMX before the lawsuits against Eric (about two years), but it's still a little surprising to see him go all in like this.
*WBEZ Cuts Locally
Produced Programming to 1-Hour a Day
=Reset with Sasha Simmons will now
only be an hour long show and will air from Noon-1pm weekdays. Axios broke the story this week. It’s hard to believe the NPR affiliate in the third biggest
market is down to one hour of daily local programming, but here we are.
=The spin by management in this piece reminds me of one of the characters from my satirical novel $everance, essentially "we're doing less so we can do more."
*Cumulus Enlists F.C.C’s
Help in Avoiding Hostile Takeover
=Inside Radio has the financial details.
*Irish Radio
=Is the whole town really talking about the Webb boys? What about the Hagerty siblings? They are keeping Dad’s Irish radio show alive.
*Hannah Brummer Adds New
Role
=Hannah B is the afternoon
co-host with Eddie Volkman at the three-station suburban cluster owned by Alpha
Media. This week she added another title. She is now also handling affiliate relations for the jingle company TM Studios.
*Rest in Peace
Former Chairman of the
F.C.C. He was 90.
*The Loop Files
=A week from tomorrow is
the next signing. Details below. Also have two more coming in May. Ela Library
in Lake Zurich (May 1) and Pollyanna Brewing in Roselle on May 11. More details
to come.
MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES
*February 27—Mister
Rogers Dies (2003)
=Hard to believe it was 20
years ago already. He was such a good, honest, decent man. My generation and
our kids owe him a debt of gratitude forever. What a great role model.
=On the other hand, if you
haven’t heard it, this
National Lampoon Radio Hour sendup of him from the early 70s is still hilarious. Featuring Christopher
Guest as Mr. Rogers.
*February 28—Ben Finfer birthday
=Finfer worked at all
three all-talk sports stations in Chicago, the Score, ESPN, and the Game. I interviewed him for Chicago Radio
Spotlight in 2010. Fellow Ilini.
*February 28—Leslie
Keiling birthday
=Leslie may be one of the
most famous traffic reporters in Chicago radio history. She was able to deliver
more than just the traffic; she always had a sharp wit and contributed
effortlessly to a variety of different shows. I interviewed her about her Chicago
radio experiences in 2007, and when she
joined Garry Meier’s podcast (where she still works) in
2016, I interviewed her again for Illinois Entertainer.
*February 28—Birthday
of Bob Collins.
=The late WGN morning man
would have been 81 years old this week.
*February 28, 1983—The
final episode of M*A*S*H airs
=How big was this final
episode of M*A*S*H? Joel Daly was on Channel 7
News, and the final episode of M*A*S*H was on Channel 2,
yet he
still filed this report on the competitor’s
big night.
*February 28—KC White birthday
=KC was part of the WGCI
morning show about twenty years ago. When he returned to town as an actor in
2008, I interviewed him for Chicago Radio
Spotlight. His real name, by the
way, is KC Lupp.
*February 29--Chuck Buell
=Chuck was born on Leap Day. I spoke to the former Big 89 jock back
in 2010 for Chicago Radio Spotlight. (I
finally met him in person last year when he came to town for the Rock Radio
event the Museum of Broadcasting put on at the Des Plaines Theater.)
*March 1—Don Lemon birthday
=Yes, he’s best known for
his time on CNN, but who could forget his time here in Chicago at NBC-5
(2003-2006)?
*March 1—Harry Caray birthday
=Good old Harry would have
been 110 years old today.
TV/STREAMING
*Tom
Skilling Interview
=On his way
out, he still did a promo for his station.
And now, Tom Skilling with a short message for us all. #CelebratingSkilling #Chicago pic.twitter.com/jD7YSdRbYJ
— WGNTV (@WGNTV) February 27, 2024
=I also found this photo of him after his going away party. You didn’t think they were just going to let him leave, did you?
*High
School Basketball on TV
=The IHSA Girls Finals are this
weekend. The U will air all the finals beginning with 1A at 11:00am. 2A will
air at 1pm. 3A follows at 5:30pm, and the 4A Finals will air at 7:30pm.
*Medhi
Hasan Starts Own Media Company
=The former MSNBC star is trying to follow in the entrepreneurial footsteps of right-wing
media stars like Bill O’Reilly and Megyn Kelly.
*Did CBS
Retain Fired Reporters Files?
=If true, this
is troubling.
*Mary
Poppins now a PG Movie in UK
=For what
reason? Because the word “Hottentot” is apparently a derogatory term for the indigenous people of South Africa. If you missed it, the crazy Admiral says it when he
sees the soot-faced chimneysweeps dancing. Okey doke.
*The Face
of Me-Too in France? Gerard Depardieu
=Another charge from another woman this week. His total is in the double digits.
*Cable News
Corner
=Steve
Bannon Threatens Fox News.
*A Moment
of Zen
=I must have
been chopping onions during this segment…
*Rest in
Peace
I knew Richard. This is the piece I wrote about him a few years ago.
Emmy-award winning writer for M*A*S*H and Sesame Street
Cast member on
Hee-Haw
Sad story. Gary’s
son McCanna was only 33 years old.
SOCIAL MEDIA
*Florida to
Ban Social Media for Kids
=Certainly a case can be made for the damage done to young people by social media, but…
=After hearing the Supreme Court Justices questioning other social media laws the other day, I’m not sure they will let this fly.
