MEDIA NOTEBOOK
A curation of news items about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago…
RADIO/PODCASTS
*Chicago Radio Ratings
=Radio Insight has the full listings of Chicago radio’s Nielson ratings. Just to give you a quick update, the Top Five
stations (6+) in this past month’s ratings are The Drive & The Lite (tied
for first), followed by WBEZ (NPR), WVAZ, and WBBM-AM (NewsRadio).
*Melissa McGurren drops her appeal
=It looks like this is the end of the line for Melissa’s appeal of her defamation lawsuit against her former employer WTMX. Her attorney filed a motion to withdraw the case, and on August 16th, it was officially dismissed. Cynthia DiNicola’s case against the company, however, continues.
*Audacy has lost a billion dollars since 2018
=When I worked at CBS Radio about 20 years ago, they were so cheap they kept a lid on who could use the good stationery. It inspired an amusing chapter in my novel $everance. Well, that was a company that was making money hand over fist. I can’t even imagine what is happening now. Those same stations that were once owned by CBS Radio are now owned by Audacy, and they are in the midst of an honest to goodness financial crisis. Over the last four years, they’ve lost a billion dollars. That’s billion with a B. The Philadelphia Inquirer did a deep dive on that story this week.
*Health Updates
Two Chicago treasures are battling pretty serious health issues.
In case you missed the updates posted via social media this week, here’s the
latest news about Lin Brehmer and Hub Arkush…
=Lin Brehmer posted this on Facebook: Hi there. Remember me? Just taking in a view of
the city I love. There are two issues I'm dealing with right now. I am
recovering from the surgery to put a rod in my femur after it fractured. Using
a walker and wheelchair to get around. By the way, never fracture your femur.
It is very painful. And then there's my ongoing treatment for prostate cancer.
Rolling with the punches. At least a couple more months of chemotherapy.
Putting on a brave face. Miss you all.
=Arthur
Arkush posted this on Twitter about Hub: Thank you
all for Hub's well wishes. I'm woefully behind in responding to many of them,
but please know your support means the world to all of us. It's NFL Week 1, but
Hub is in Week 3 of his battle — with incredible strides coming nearly every
day. Excited to share more asap.
*Award Winners/Nominees
=The
INBA Crystal Mic Award winners were announced this week. Congrats to WBBM NewsRadio
for winning Best Large Market Radio Station, and to Lisa Fielding for winning
Best Reporter, and Jeff Joniak for winning Best Sports Report. The full list of winners is here.
=The College Broadcaster Awards were also announced this week, and a few of our local universities were recognized. Glad to see that college radio is still alive and well. Congratulations to ISU’s radio station WZND. They brought home quite a few awards. Eastern Illinois’ station WEIU also snagged an award in the sports reporting category.
=Sam Alex is a local boy who has made a big name for himself
nationally. This week he was nominated for a Country Music Award for the Sam
Alex show. Sam grew up in the Chicago area, and still donates a lot of time in
the area but is now hosting a national show based out of Nashville.
*RIP Anne Garrels
=The NPR correspondent passed away this week at the age of 71. The New York Times has her obituary.
*Podcast Corner
=At one time Call Me Daddy was one of the highest rated podcasts in the world. Then the co-hosts had a feud. It’s a tale as old as time. You can read about here.
=One of the biggest news stories this week concerned the escape of the conman Fat Leonard. I’m sure you read about it, but did you know that he recently did a podcast?
=George Ofman’s podcast features interviews and conversations with Chicago sports media celebrities. This week’s episode is about native Chicagoan Greg Gumbel, from Hyde Park to broadcast fame. Listen to it here.
MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES
*Bobby Skafish goes to the Loop (September 1983)
*John Howell’s birthday/September 4
=I interviewed the WLS night talker in 2007 when he was
co-hosting a morning show with Cisco Cotto at WIND.
*Roy Leonard death anniversary/September 4, 2014
=I was lucky enough to have a lengthy chat with Roy back in 2010 and we covered his entire career. After
I posted the interview he e-mailed me and said: “Did you actually post every
word of our conversation? Nobody wants to hear that much about me.” I disagreed
then, and I’m even more glad I did it now. Here's a little taste...
Marcel Marceau was one of my first guests—and we really hit it off. Ironically, he wouldn’t shut up (laughs). We even had him out to the house. That’s one thing I never really talked about on the air—that I spent a lot of time with some of these people off the air—many of them came out to the house. I remember another time we had Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits over. He ended up in the bedroom upstairs playing guitar with my boys.
*Johnnie Putman birthday/September 5
=The better half of WGN’s long-time overnight team Steve & Johnnie (that’s Steve description) talked to me for Illinois Entertainer back in 2016
.
*WGN-TV Morning Show anniversary/September 6
=On September 6, 1994, the WGN-TV morning show as we
know it today debuted. I don’t think they could have possibly foreseen the
ratings juggernaut it would become. I’ve written about the show a few times,
including for Shore Magazine ten years ago. Here’s a short excerpt from that
article…
Of
course it’s one thing to have a guest do something crazy, or to have your evil
genius segment producer (Hoover) appear on camera and perform his dead-on Jerry
Lewis, Christopher Walken or Neil Diamond impersonations, or to have a regular
contributor like gifted comedian Mike Toomey do a wacky character on the show,
but it’s another thing altogether for the anchors to do something like that
themselves.
Is there anything they’ve ever refused to do?
“I won’t dress like a woman,” Potash admits, drawing the
line.
“I won’t dance,” Konrad adds.
“Um,” Robin says, thinking about it. “Wow, well, let’s
see. I’m trying to think if I’ve ever said no to anything before. Maybe that’s
part of my problem.”
*Jonathan Hood birthday/September 7
=I interviewed the ESPN Radio morning co-host (with David Kaplan) in 2010.
*Steve Scott birthday/September 7
=The former WLS Newsman is now a radio star in the big Apple (WCBS), but he hasn’t forgotten his Chicago roots. At least he still hadn’t forgotten them when I chatted with him in 2008.
*Marc Silverman birthday/September 10
=2020 was a rough year for the ESPN radio afternoon
co-host (with Tom Waddle). I talked to Silvy in the midst of his medical difficulties. So happy to see he has
recovered since.
*Norman Lear is 100!
=The legendary television
producer/writer turned 100 over the summer, and the Hollywood Reporter talked to him about that milestone. Among
the topics discussed, his thoughts about the abortion debate, 50 years after
the controversial Maude episode.
*RIP Queen Elizabeth
=The Queen made it to 96 years old before passing away
yesterday. She famously visited Chicago in 1959. Found this video on YouTube…
TV/STREAMING
*Award Winners
=The INBA Crystal Mic Award winners
were announced this week, and a few Chicago TV stations brought home the
honors. WGN-TV won for Best Breaking News for covering the Oak Brook Mall
Shooting, and WLS-TV won for Best Digital Presence and for Best Weather Operation.
The full list of winners is here.
*YouTube vs. Traditional Television
Anyone with kids knows the power YouTube has over the
younger generation. It’s hard to overstate it. Here are a few pieces written
this week that further illustrate the current situation.
=8 numbers that show how big YouTube has become for younger viewers (Bloomberg).
=Why millions are watching YouTube recaps instead of the actual TV shows (Daily Beast)
*The
Grass is Not Always Greener
=Local and network television is clearly struggling, but would you believe that streaming services are already facing an existential crisis? According to the Washington Post, that’s what’s happening, and the viewers are noticing.
*RIP Bernard Shaw
=The former CNN Anchor passed away this week at the
age of 82. Shaw was the first chief-anchor at the network. The AP has his obituary. He was known for his stellar work at CNN, but
Shaw was a native Chicagoan. He attended University of Illinois Chicago, got
his broadcasting start here (at WNUS, which is now WGRB), and in 2002 was awarded
the Order of Lincoln (the state’s highest honor) by Governor George Ryan.
*Kyle Long Lands at CBS
=The former Chicago Bears offensive lineman is now a part of the CBS Sports Network. More details on his new gig are here.
*Cable News
=Is there a purge going on at CNN? The Washington Post tackled that issue this week.
=Is there a smoking gun e-mail at Fox News regarding the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit? NPR reported this week that there was.
*What
Real Censorship Looks Like
=Both sides of the political divide in this country at one time or another are claiming they are being censored. If you’d like to know what real censorship looks like, take a look at this analysis of what China does to the show The Big Bang Theory. It’s fascinating to see what they clip out of the show.
*New Streaming News Shows
=John Dickerson will be doing a nightly show M-Thursday for CBS News Streaming service.
*The Creative Arts Emmys
=The full list of winners is here,
and it’s a star-studded list, including the Beatles, Barack Obama, Adele,
RuPaul, and Chadwick Boseman.
OTHER MEDIA NEWS
*The Salt Shed is a Hit but Nearby Businesses are not
Happy
=The Salt Shed has become a very popular concert destination in Chicago, but for everything good it seems there is an unintended consequence. Two local recording studios are nearby, and they can no longer operate during the hours concerts are taking place because of the noise level. Block Club Chicago has the story.
*Politico’s New German Owner
=Sounds like a real peach. Read this recent profile and see if you agree.
*Social Media Corner
=Instagram is being punished for the way they handled teen users information in Ireland. The fine is a measely $400 million. Read more about that here.
=Truth Social is on the verge of collapse. The Washington Post headline describes the situation pretty well: Truth Social in Limbo as Merger Partner Grapples with Another Failed Vote.
*Photography Corner
=Paul Natkin is not only the go-to-photographer for every media person in Chicago, he’s also one of the greatest rock photographers of all time. Now he has a book out. Find out more about that here.
=Everyone is a photographer these days thanks to the phone in our pocket, but some people are better than others at creating memorable iPhone photographs. Take a look at these 20 photos that are winners of the 2022 iPhone photography awards.
*Printer’s Row Litfest
=Chicago’s premiere literary festival is taking place
this weekend in Printer’s Row. Hundreds of authors will be out there, including
me, and about a dozen authors from my company Eckhartz Press. It runs on
Saturday and Sunday from 10am-6pm. My co-publisher David Stern will be there with Randy Merkin (Behind the Glass) and Paul M. Banks (Transatlantic Passage) on Saturday. I’ll be there on Sunday along with fellow
authors John Owens (Chili Dog MVP), William Wagner (Talking Bout My
Generation), Margaret Larkin (Wicker Park Wishes), and Ken Korber (the Grace
book series). Come on out and say hello!
*MEDIA NOTEBOOK site
I have moved all of the previous Media Notebook columns to it's own site, and will continue to post each of them here. If you'd like to bookmark this page, you can find them all in one place.
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
