Media Notebook--3-3-23

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

 

 

*Sky Daniels Interview

=The March issue of Illinois Entertainer is out and includes my interview with the legendary rock jock Sky Daniels. Some truly great stories in this one. My favorite Sky story has to be the one about his first day on the air in Chicago. It involves not just one gun, but two. Worth a read. 

 

 

*Kenzie K Leaves B-96

=After four years hosting middays at B-96 (WBBM-FM), Kenzie K Kramer has left the station. Regional Audacy president Rachel Williamson put out an internal memo with the news: “Kenzie K is no longer with Audacy. We thank her for the time she spent on our B96 team and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors and upcoming nuptials.”

 

 

*Kyle Santillian Joins “The Morning Hustle”

=For seven years Kyle Santillian was part of “The Chicago Morning Takeover” at WGCI, but this week he joined the nationally syndicated show “The Morning Hustle”. More details are here, courtesy of Inside Radio.

 

 

*Patrick Kane Leaves Chicago Too

=This was a bigger story on election night in Chicago than the Mayoral race. It’s the end of an era in Chicago. During the Stanley Cup years, Chris Duffy was the production guru at WGN, radio home of the Blackhawks. The day after Kaner was traded, Chris posted this audio clip of Patrick Kane’s greatest (WGN promo) hits. Fun trip down memory lane.

 

*Margaret Larkin Returns to WGN Radio

=Margaret had been at WBBM NewsRadio but returns to her former radio home. She announced the news via Twitter this week…

Glad to be back at @WGNRadio...got the tour today and chatted with friendly people I haven't seen in several years and met some really cool people as well. When I left in 2014 I was working in programming. Now I'm working in news. pic.twitter.com/wiaYPlvfrS

— 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕥 𝕃𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕚𝕟 (@metrolingua) March 1, 2023

 

*Billboard Women in Music 2023

=The Billboard Women in Music 2023 awards were on Wednesday night, and the media portion of this year’s honorees included several radio executives. Among them: Cumulus Media President/CEO Mary Berner. In Chicago, Cumulus owns WLS-AM, WLS-FM, and WKQX-FM.

*Podcast corner

=From the everybody-has-a-podcast-now department: Add Philadelphia Sixers star Tyrese Maxey.

=Oh, and how about fellow NBA star Paul George. He has one too. 

 

*Former Chicago Radio Corner

=Love this Facebook post from Catherine Johns on Tuesday after she voted in the election: Civic Duty, done. Also it appears that I’m still Catherine Johns. One of the judges told me about a Lujack remote at Ed Debevic’s. And another one broke into the WLS jingle.

 

 

*The Loop Files

=My weekly dip into my Loop interview archives is posted every Tuesday. This week I featured Cara Carriveau.

 

 

*Lin Brehmer Tributes Continue

=After Lin Brehmer passed, we heard wonderful tributes from some of Lin’s closest friends and colleagues. The radio station itself did a great job of remembering their long-time morning man, which resulted in the best ratings WXRT ever had (a 6.1 share). But Lin’s impact was also felt in ways beyond fandom and fondness. He also had a professional impact on fellow broadcasters he barely knew, like Mike Tomano. Tomano wrote about that on his blog.

=This one is from a fan. He didn't know Lin at all. John Bourjaily from the Hinsdalean. Farewell to my best friend in the world.

=Here’s another upcoming Lin tribute from two guys who knew Brehmer  well.Tony Fitzpatrick and Jon Langford are doing this April 21, 22, 23 at The Hideout.

 

 

MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES

 

*Missed a birthday last week. Happy belated to WGN-TV’s Sarah Jindra

=Thought this bit she did this week with Paul Konrad was pretty good.

 

*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

=Technically Chuck didn’t have a birthday this week. He was born on Leap Day, which we leapt over this year. 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

=He’s currently the morning co-anchor on CNN, but who could forget his time here in Chicago at NBC-5 (2003-2006)?

 

*March 1—Harry Caray birthday

=This will always be my favorite Harry Caray moment…

 

*March 3—Ian Punnett birthday

=Ian Punnett grew up in Chicagoland and has had a long and prosperous radio career. Only a brief portion of that was here in Chicago, in the early 90s when WGN decided it needed to go younger. It didn’t work out for Ian in his hometown (although he later appeared on WLS as well), but he had lots of success in Minneapolis. I got a chance to interview him in 2007 for Chicago Radio Spotlight.

 

*March 4—Jesse Rogers birthday

=Rogers was part of that original crew at the Score as a producer and has gone on to become a respected reporter for ESPN.

 

*March 4—Laura Witek birthday

=Laura was a radio news anchor in Chicago, first at WMAQ, and later at AM 1000 and WCKG. Not an easy task, by the way, retaining news credibility while also trying to navigate the crazy worlds of Kevin Matthews and Steve and Garry. She’s living out west these days, but fondly remembers her time here in this Chicago Radio Spotlight interview from 2007.

 

*March 4—Tim Weigel birthday

=Weigel would have been 78 years old this week. I was lucky enough to work with Tim in his Channel 2 days, providing him clips for his Weigel Wieners segment. This photo is from a John Landecker mini-golf tournament in the 1990s. A few others from this picture are gone now too, including Larry Lujack and Minnie Minoso.

 

 

TV/STREAMING

 

 

*Election Coverage in Chicago

=I was worried that there wouldn’t be good coverage of the Mayoral election after the massive exodus of reporting talent the last few years, but I watched the live coverage of election night on WGN-TV, and also streamed it online, via NBC-5, ABC-7, The Sun Times/WBEZ and the Chicago Tribune. Gave me everything I needed.

 

*Channel 7 Says Farewell to Phil Schwarz

=His last day was Wednesday, and ABC-7 paid tribute to him before he left. 

 

 

*Geoffrey Baer is Back With Another Chicago TV Tour

=I live here, and I still can't get enough of Geoffrey's tours. "The Most Beautiful Places in Chicago" premieres on March 7th at 7pm on WTTW-Channel 11.  I also like Rick Kogan's opening line about this new special: This being a newspaper, here's some news. The city is still here. 

*Semafor Takes a Deep Dive on NewsNation

=Max Tani writes a media column for Semafor, and this is the headline to his latest analysis of NewsNation: This Giant TV Company Is Building A New Cable Network Starring Chris Cuomo And It Doesn’t Care What You Think About That. The tone of the article is pretty consistent with the headline.

 

 

*Savannah Guthrie tests positive for COVID

=It wouldn’t ordinarily be a big story, except for the way it happened. She tested positive DURING the show. 

 

 

*Warner Brothers Wants Out of the Regional Sports Network Business

=Not a good omen for Chicago, even though this doesn’t technically impact our regional sports networks yet. It does feel like a warning of things to come.

BREAKING: Warner Bros Discovery tells teams it wants out of the regional sports network business.

SBJ's story: https://t.co/K0tDFz6zoE

— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) February 24, 2023

*Cable News Corner

=Fox News is ignoring (on the air) the damning revelations about themselves laid bare in the Dominion lawsuit. The only time it’s been mentioned was on the MediaBuzz program hosted by Howard Kurtz, and he only mentioned it to say he wouldn’t be mentioning it. The exact quote was: “Some of you have been asking why I’m not covering the Dominion voting machines lawsuit against Fox involving the unproven claims of election fraud in 2020, and it’s absolutely a fair question. I believe I should be covering it. It’s a major media story, given my role here at Fox. But the company has decided that as part of the organization being sued, I can’t talk about it or write about it, at least for now.”

=Rupert Murdoch admitted under oath that his personalities endorsed election fraud they knew to be false, and he didn’t stop them for reasons that are baldly financial (“It wasn’t red or blue. It was green”). And yet, Fox News may still win the lawsuit, as the Washington Post’s Erik Wemple points out.

=Puck News did a profile piece this past weekend on CNN’s boss Chris Licht. He clearly has his hands full too. 

 

*SAG award winners

=The full list is here.

 

*Succession will end after this season

=One of the best shows on television, HBO’s Succession, is returning for its final season on March 26^th. Creator Jesse Armstrong announced this week that he is pulling the plug on the show to avoid “overstaying our welcome.” He did however hint there might be a spin-off show in the future. These characters are marvelously detestable. Any one of them could be an interesting main character for a spinoff. My vote is for Cousin Greg.

 

 

*LIV Golf Ratings

=Not an encouraging start for the Saudi-financed golf league…

For context another CW program, World’s Funniest Animals, outdrew LIV Golf https://t.co/txrkMNW1nq

— Joel Beall (@JoelMBeall) February 26, 2023

 

 

PRINT MEDIA

 

*Chicago Tribune drops Dilbert after Cartoonist’s Racist Remarks

=Along with just about everyone else. T-dog Media has a good recap of the story. 

=Of course Elon Musk defended Scott Adams. 

 

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

*Twitter lays off another 10% of staffers

=Musk has now fired 73% of the workers he inherited.

 

*TikTok in Trouble

=I've said it before. When both political parties want you out, it doesn't bode well for your organization.

New: The House Foreign Affairs Cmte will mark up a bill tomorrow that would allow the president to ban TikTok in the United States. Bill is being offered by @RepMcCaul, HFAC chair

— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) February 27, 2023

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:  The George Harrison Catacombs

Minutia Men Celebrity Interview: Comedian Ismo Leikola

Minutia Men Celebrity Interview Classic: Mark Cuban

Free Kicks with Adam & Rick: Rough First Leg

Meet the Eckhartz Press Author: Keith Conrad

From the Eckhartz Book Shelf: Chasing the Lost City by Tom Weinberg

EveryCubEver: Monte Irvin

My latest novel: Back in the D.D.R

Podcast Interview about Back in the D.D.R: Military Family Museum Podcast

Media Notebook--2-24-23

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

 

*Chicago Radio Ratings

=These are the ratings for January for the top 15 rated stations in Chicago. These numbers are 12+, all day.

WLIT (7.3)

WXRT (6.1)

WDRV (5.9)

WBBM-AM (4.5)

WKSC (4.3)

WTMX (4.3)

WVAZ (4.2)

WBEZ (3.9)

WUSN (3.4)

WOJO (3.4)

WGN (3.4)

WLS-FM (2.8)

WPPN-FM (2.7)

WBMX (2.4)

WLEY-FM (2.3)

=A few notables in these ratings. First of all, these strong WLIT numbers are not Christmas music ratings anymore. That 7.3 is higher than WLIT got in any non-Christmas book last year. Also, WXRT surged mightily, most likely because of interest in their excellent tributes to fallen comrade Lin Brehmer. The other station that made a big move was Kiss-FM (WKSC). They were in fifteenth place last month and moved all the way up to 10^th.

=Full listings can be found here.

 

*NPR cutting 10% of workforce

=The CEO of the company, John Lansing, made the announcement this week via memo to his staff. About 100 people will be losing their jobs because of the anticipated slowdown in advertising revenue (which for NPR comes mainly in the form of underwriting). Here is his quote from the memo: "When we say we are eliminating filled positions, we are talking about our colleagues - people whose skills, spirit and talents help make NPR what it is today. This will be a major loss."  

*RIP Richard Belzer

=Sad news this week. Yes, he was a comedian and television star (Law & Order), but Belzer was also a feature player on the National Lampoon Radio Hour (1973-1975) with John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, and Harold Ramis in the days before Saturday Night Live. He followed his comrades there and served as the audience warm up during those iconic first five years. Belzer was very comfortable on the radio. He co-hosted his own show on WNBC in New York in the late 70s, was a regular guest on the Howard Stern show, and once guest-hosted the Steve & Garry show in Chicago in the late 80s. He even temporarily replaced Randi Rhodes on Air America Radio in the early 00s. He was one of the few comics or actors who could effortlessly sit behind the microphone and take calls from listeners. Belzer was 78 when he passed away on Sunday at his home in France. According to the Hollywood Reporter his last words were “F-you, motherf-er.”

*Podcast Corner

=Tom Brady’s media company is shutting down it’s podcast division. Yes, that Tom Brady. Yes, he owns a media company.

=From the Everybody-Has-A-Podcast-Now departmet, add this musician to the list: Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers.

 

*Lon Dyson Interview

=This is quite a blast from the past, a 1985 interview of Lon Dyson. Talk about incredible pipes. What a voice. Dyson riffs about people like the Chess Brothers, early “race” music, and more. Of course, he also talked about his radio career. The interview was conducted by the late Bill Schenold. Thanks to the Chicago Radio Archives and Memories Facebook page for posting it. (Dyson passed away in 2004)

 

*Sky Daniels Bonus Story

=My Sky Daniels interview will appear in the next Illinois Entertainer. I spoke to Sky for nearly an hour, so there were lots of stories that necessarily had to be omitted from the final 900 word column. Here’s one that didn’t quite make the final version. Sky had a unique experience on the night of Disco Demolition: “I was on the air back at the station watching Disco Demolition on a TV monitor because I was on the air. They showed the cops at Comiskey, the kids climbing up the sides of the walls. The highway patrol wasn’t letting anyone get off at the exit anymore because there were so many people there. After they canceled the second game, I was still on the air. And suddenly there’s this mob at the front door of the station. I mean, they literally had baseball bats and were pounding at the door. I was thinking ‘What the f***?’ Everyone else was basking in the excitement and I was thinking I’m going to get my ass kicked here.”

 

 

*The Sounds Pays Tribute to Lin Brehmer

=The Sounds is a local newspaper from Lin’s old neighborhood. It’s not online, so I can’t link to the piece, but thanks to Mike Kessler for sending it to me. It’s a touching tribute from Lin’s neighbors. Download the photos to enlarge and read.

 

 *Ex-Chicago Radio Update

=Scott Miller (formerly of WGN/WDRV in Chicago) was part of the radio group in Bloomington, Illinois that just helped raise over $100,000 through the 15th Annual Radiothon for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

=Follow up on last week’s piece about ailing Portland Trailblazers radio announcer Brian Wheeler. Wheeler’s back story is truly inspirational. Just a few years ago he found his birth parents in Chicago. This video tells the story…

 

 

*The Loop Files

=This week’s featured ex-Looper is Byrd. I post this feature every Tuesday.

 

 

MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES

February 19—Lou Canellis birthday

=Lou broke through locally when he was tapped to be the sideline reporter during Bulls broadcasts in the midst of the team’s championship run. He probably interviewed Michael Jordan more than any other sportscaster in town. Of course, Lou now holds down the fort as the main sports anchor at Fox-32 Chicago. For the past few years he has been the host of the station’s extensive Bears coverage.

 

February 19—Rich Samuels birthday

=Rich was a TV reporter for Channel 5 for nearly two decades (1973-1990) and then worked at Channel 11 as a correspondent for Chicago Tonight. Rich is one of the foremost Chicago media historians. His site richsamuels.com is a goldmine of information about broadcasting in Chicago between the years 1921-1989. 

 

February 19—Jill Urchak-Levy birthday

=Jill is a traffic reporter for WIND (560 AM) and the Score (670 AM) and the host of the On a Quest Paranormal podcast.  In 2010, before she married fellow Chicago broadcaster Dan Levy and added the hyphenate last name, I interviewed Jill for Chicago Radio Spotlight. 

 

February 19—Neil Fiorito birthday

=Neil is the afternoon Traffic Anchor on WBBM Newsradio 780 AM and 105.9 FM.

 

February 20—Tom Skilling birthday

=Simply the greatest weatherman/meteorologist in Chicago history. Tom Skilling is still going strong every night on WGN-TV. 

February 20—Tom Waddle birthday

=The former Chicago Bear receiver has been a mainstay on the Chicago radio dial for decades now, first at WGN Radio with David Kaplan, and now at ESPN Radio (AM 1000) with Marc Silverman. Waddle & Silvy are on the air every weekday from 2-6pm.

 

February 22—Matt Piacente birthday

=Matt has been in the TV news business in Chicago since 1998, first with Channel 5 as an executive producer and manager, and since 2016 he’s been the VP/News Director at Channel 32.

 

February 22—Marty Zivin birthday

=It’s hard to believe that it’s been six years since he passed away. Robert Feder wrote a beautiful tribute to Marty when he passed away that begins with this memorable line: “Marty Zivin loved radio more than anyone I ever knew.”

 

February 22—Bob Zak birthday

=Bob was an air personality at virtually all the suburban radio stations in Chicago (most notably a 14-year run at the River), but also worked at Y107.9 (the 70s station) and WCKG in the 90s. He’s currently at 1620 The Bear in Winter Haven, Florida.

 

February 23—Monica Desantis birthday

=Desantis is a news and traffic reporter at WJOL in Will County, but has also worked at WLS and WBBM, and the short-lived Merlin Media all-news version of Q-101.

 

February 23—Jim Anthony birthday

=Anthony was a newsman for WGN Radio for years but has since found a home in the world of public relations.

 

February 24—Harvey Wells birthday

=Harvey was a long-time radio executive in town for the likes of WXRT, WSCR, WCKG, WUSN, WCPT, and Nine-FM, among others. In 2022 he founded the company LowerTechBills.

 

February 24—Ray Stevens birthday

=Ray has been part of the Chicago radio landscape for thirty years, most notably at WUSN (US-99) with John Howell and later Lisa Dent, and also at WLS-AM 890, where he can still be heard. I’ve interviewed Ray several times over the years. Here’s one for Chicago Radio Spotlight from 2010.

February 24—Paul Lepek birthday

=The former Carmel Catholic High School teacher has been doing a radio show at WRLR radio in Round Lake Beach since 2012.

 

February 24—Jon Zaghloul birthday

=Jon hosts a YouTube sports talk show called SportsTalkChicago. I was so impressed with the youngster’s go-getter spirit, that I featured him in my column at Illinois Entertainer in 2021.

 

 

TV/STREAMING

 

 

*HBO-Max Cancels Chicago Show South Side

=This is a big blow to the Chicago TV community. South Side filmed live in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago. The Chicago Tribune has more about the decision to end production.

 

 

*Shuffling the Weather Deck

=This past weekend Channel 7 news announced on the air that Greg Dutra was moving to evening weekend weatherman, replacing Phil Schwarz (photo), who will be retiring in March.

 

*TV Journalist Killed in Orlando

=Very sad story in Orlando. A 24-year-old local TV reporter named Dylan Lyons was killed by a gunman returning to the scene of the crime. Another journalist, photographer Jesse Walden, was also seriously injured. It’s amazing this doesn’t happen more often. I know quite a few TV reporters and photographers who have had close calls in dangerous situations.

 

*Local News Trusted More Than National News

=A new study conducted by Gallup and the Knight Foundation found that more people trust their local news sources than national news sources. A more thorough breakdown of that study is here.

*A book about Sumner Redstone

=I read the autobiography of the former Viacom/CBS CEO when it first came out in 2000 or so, and was so appalled by it, it sparked me to write my first novel ($everance). I couldn’t believe that his editors and his publishing company (he owned Simon & Schuster) allowed him to publish it. He came off as petty, heartless, greedy, and mean. Well, there’s a new book out about him now, and if you believe the picture the authors (New York Times reporters James Stewart and Rachel Abrams) paint of Redstone in this book, his old editors actually did try to sanitize his autobiography. Turns out, he was even worse.

 

 

*Cable-TV Corner

=I think this Columbia Journalism Review of the Fox News Dominion Lawsuit scandal is the most even-handed and sober analysis of what the lawsuit has revealed about the behind-the-scenes discussions at the network.  These texts and e-mails prove that the network intentionally reported things they knew to be untrue. In addition to being the biggest possible sin in a "news" business, this could be the thing that loses them the case. Legal experts discuss that here.

=CNN morning anchor Don Lemon ran into trouble this week when he made comments about Nikki Haley’s age, saying she was no longer in her prime. He was taken off the air for a few days after that but returned to the show on Wednesday. It remains to be seen what this means for Lemon long-term. The ratings of the morning show are already shaky.

=MSNBC announced Tuesday that former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki will host a weekly talk show starting March 19. Inside With Jen Psaki will air Sundays at noon (and stream the next day on Peacock). Psaki will have to navigate the awkward transition from flack to journalist. Others have succeeded previously (most notably George Stephanopolous), but it’s a tricky maneuver.

 

PRINT MEDIA

 

*RIP Joe Goddard

=He passed away on Friday at the age of 85. Goddard was a sportswriter for the Chicago Sun-Times for 42 years, and a Cubs and Sox beat writer for 27 years. The Sun Times wrote a fitting tribute to the man they called “Young Joe”.

*Polk Award Winners Announced

=The full list is here 

 

*It’s Dangerous to be a Female Journalist

=A recent report by the International Center for Journalists doesn’t paint a very pretty picture about the abuse faced by female journalists these days. The Washington Post has a few examples of the hate, misogyny, and violence aimed at female journalists in this era of social media.

SOCIAL MEDIA/INTERNET

 

*Supreme Court hears case that could transform the internet

=The Supreme Court heard arguments this week in a case that could end legal protections from Section 230. The case is called Google vs. Gonzalez, and this article is a good primer on the possible implications ofthe case.

 

 

*Russian Propagandists Said to Buy Twitter Blue Check Verifications

=Not exactly a shocking development is it? Accounts pushing Russian propaganda are using Twitter Blue to further push their message. More information about that here. 

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:  Legendary Employee Screwups: Jenkins-A-Palooza

Minutia Men Celebrity Interview: Voice Over Artist Sainty Nelson

Minutia Men Celebrity Interview Classic: The Mind the Gap Lady

Free Kicks with Adam & Rick: VARrrrrrgh

Meet the Eckhartz Press Author: M.L. Collins

From the Eckhartz Book Shelf: Cameo

EveryCubEver: Billy Herman

My latest novel: Back in the D.D.R

Podcast Interview about Back in the D.D.R: Military Family Museum Podcast