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
=The ratings for May came out this week (click here), and the top ten
stations in Chicago are (6+, M-Su, 6am-Mid)...
The Drive (7.1)
WLIT (6.3)
WVAZ (6.3)
WBBM-AM (5.2)
WUSN (5.1)
WXRT (4.9)
WOJO (4.2)
WLS-FM (3.8)
WBMX (3.5)
WRME (3.2)
The Score (3.2)
=These are record numbers for the Drive. They were #1 last
month and somehow increased their lead despite second place WLIT also having a
big month. US-99 (WUSN) had the biggest increase of all Chicago stations (4.1—5.1).
WVAZ also made a big jump (+0.8), WBMX went up 0.5, and Me-TV FM (WRME) is up
0.4 to make the top ten for the first time in a few years.
=On the other side of the ledger, WOJO had the biggest drop
(-1.0), followed by WLS-FM (-0.8) and WGN (-0.8). Former ratings powerhouse
WTMX is no longer in the top ten, and WBEZ has dropped all the way out of the
top 20.
*The River Changes Formats
=The folks at Alpha Media are at it again. Last week they switched two of their suburban stations to country. This week they are changing the format of WERV The River from Classic hits to Classic Alternative hits. They have a new content director (Todd "Nuke 'Em" Noker) and a new logo (below), but they will still be called "The River". More info is here.
WLS Fires Steve Cochran and Rehires Ray Stevens
=This news came out just a day after my last column, but I had to mention it. Steve Cochran is out after two years as the morning host, along with co-host Jane Clauss. Steve made a statement over the weekend via social media here, and did an extended interview with Barrett media yesterday.
=Ray Stevens, who had been doing talk radio in
Kansas City, returns to host mornings. Ray is no stranger to the WLS airwaves. He co-hosted the morning show
(with John Howell) from 2016-2018 and filled in at the station the past few years.
Ray had this to say after his hiring…
"I am beyond ecstatic to be back doing
mornings at WLS and 890 in my hometown…I can't wait to get to work and be on
the air at the legendary 890 WLS-AM talking NASCAR, politics, football, and
everything that makes us the greatest city in the world!"
=Also gone from the station is the live and local afternoon show, The Closing Bell and PM Chicago, anchored by Brett Gogoel. Other than mornings, WLS now only airs nationally syndicated conservative-talk programming. Gogoel is being replaced by syndicated conservative talkers Matt Walsh and Michael Knowles. They join the ranks of Ben Shapiro, Dan Bongino, and Mark Levin in the WLS lineup. Radio Ink has more information.
=In the May ratings released this week, the
station is ranked 27th overall in the market.
=I have previously interviewed Cochran and Stevens several times. Here are a few examples...
*Podcast Corner
=Julia Louis Dreyfus hosts one of the most popular podcasts in America (“Wiser than Me”) these days. That’s what led to this NY Times profile, the darker side of Julia Louis Dreyfus.
=The Curry father and son team debuted yesterday…
Unanimous Media will debut Heat Check, a new Audible podcast hosted by Stephen and Dell Curry, on 6/13. The podcast will “pull back the curtain on their family’s journey, told through the lens of a father and son, while talking about the biggest names throughout NBA history.” pic.twitter.com/jHIGlYcmO3
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) June 11, 2024
=AfroZones is a show
produced here in Chicago at WPWX (Power 92) and hosted by Sheila O.
Sheila spins an eclectic mix of tunes, that includes trending hits in urban music and Afrobeats, a fusion of
British House music, Hiplife, Dancehall, Soca, R&B and more. This week they
announced a national distribution deal. More information is here.
*Tim Richards Joins Alpha Media
=Programmer Tim Richards (formerly of WKQX-Chicago) has joined the new country stations owned by Alpha media (Free Country, WCCQ/Joliet & WXLC/Waukegan) as their content director. RAMP broke this story yesterday
*Ex-Chicago Radio
=Kevin Robinson was once the program director of WJMK in Chicago. He has gone on to program other stations in other markets. This week he signed on as a music radio columnist at Barrett Media. This is the official announcement
*Rest in Peace
Sad news. Paul was a broadcasting pro in Chicago,
probably best remembered for his time at WGN radio. He was 73. I got a chance to interview him in 2008.
=Joe Kelly
Joe was one of the most famous rock and roll voiceover guys of all time (you’ve heard him on countless concert ads). Kelly was the co-founder of SuperSpots. Nationally recognized. One time voice of the Loop in Chicago. He was 82.
MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES
*June 9—Mel Tovar birthday
=Mel was the sidekick to DreX on the
Kiss-FM morning show. I interviewed her in the midst of that
run, in 2010, for Chicago Radio Spotlight
*June 9—Rob Hart birthday
=Rob is the midday anchor at WBBM-NewsRadio these days, but
has previously worked in Chicago at WGN, Q-101, and the Loop. I interviewed him
a number of times over the years, including this one from 2009.
*June 9—JayBeau Jones birthday
=Jones was the PD of the Jammin’ Oldies station in Chicago
(103.5) in the early 00s.
*June 9, 1934--Donald Duck makes his debut
=His first film appearance and he wasn't wearing any pants.
90 years ago this week…
*June 10—Neil Steinberg birthday
=The Sun-Times columnist is one of the best writers in
Chicago. I’m a big fan of his writing, although when I
interviewed him for my podcast a few years ago, I discovered he’s not a big fan of mine…at least not of
my book covers.
=Kevin was the program director of WJMK in the 1990s,
guiding the ship with passengers like Dick Biondi, John Landecker, Fred
Winston, and more. The latest career news about Kevin is detailed above in
the radio/podcasts section of this column. I interviewed him in 2008 for Chicago
Radio Spotlight.
*June 10, 1928—Lee Phillip Bell birthday
=At one time she was one of the best-known television hosts in Chicago. The Lee Phillip Show ran from 1952-1986. Lee was also the creator of the soap operas The Young & the Restless and The Bold & the Beautiful.
*June 11—Carla Leonardo birthday
=The former WDRV/Q-101/Loop jock passed away in November of
2013. I was lucky enough to interview her for Chicago Radio Spotlight in2012.
*June 12—Cara Carriveau birthday
=I’ve interviewed Cara a half dozen times over the
years. She’s always a great interview. I think this is the most recent one from 2018. She currently works at WLS-FM.
*June 12—Ken Churilla birthday
=Ken is a former radio guy (the Score, WCKG) but has gone on to a
career in PR, songwriting and writing books. He was the co-author of Mitch
Michael’s book Doin the Cruise.
*June 12, 2013—Bill Bailey death
=The former WLS jock passed away this week eleven years ago.
John Landecker wrote about his time working with Bill in his book Records
Truly Is My Middle Name. That portion of his book is presented here as a free excerpt.
*June 12, 2018—Block Club Chicago founded
=This important Chicago news resource has found an audience
and provides a valuable service to the city. I interviewed their co-founder and
editor Shamus Toomey on my podcast a few years ago.
*June 13—Max Armstrong birthday
=Max was a longtime reporter at WGN Radio. In 2010 I got a chance to talk to him about his long and impressive
career.
*June 13, 1918—Frazier Thomas birthday
=The former host of Family Classics and Garfield Goose passed away in 1985. For people my age (and older) he was part of our childhood.
*June 13—Bill Turck birthday
=The former WGCO talk show host currently helms the Chicago
Writers Association podcast. I interviewed him in 2019 for Illinois Entertainer.
*June 14--Tom Hoyt birthday
=The former president of Heftel Broadcasting, former owner of the Loop. He will be the topic of my next column at Illinois Entertainer.
*June 14--Lauren LoGuidice birthday
=Podcast host of Reconcile the Aisle on the Radio Misfits Podcast Network. Author of Inside Melania.
*June 15—Steve Dale birthday
=Steve is a Pet expert, radio host (WGN), former radio
producer (WCFL), and former media writer who almost got me fired when he wrote
about me back in my Steve & Garry days. I interviewed him for Chicago Radio Spotlight in 2009.
TV/STREAMING
*Carol Marin
=Last weekend Carol Marin and her new husband (longtime producer Don Moseley) had a party to celebrate their recent nuptials at Cafe Brauer. A who’s who of Chicago media attended, including Ron Magers, the Ponces and more. Congratulations to the couple.
*WGN Morning News Welcomes Kevin Costner
=As only they can…
*New Blackhawks Announcer
=The Blackhawks are moving to a new TV network in the fall, and as part of that move they are replacing their TV play-by-play man. Chris Vosters is out. The new guy is Rick Ball. For the past ten years he has been doing play-by-play for the Calgary Flames. His color analyst will be Darren Pang. More info here.
=Yes, the White Sox are really hard to watch these days.
But this pre- and post-game show with Ozzie and Chuck is often gold…
Chuck Garfien and Ozzie Guillen are going through it on Late Night with Chuck and Ozzie, AKA, White Sox postgame.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 11, 2024
Ozzie: "What's this?"
Chuck: "It's a cactus."
Ozzie: "OK. A cactus. I'm gonna sit on it. That might hurt a little less than what I just watched." pic.twitter.com/JgQd5ED9Rf
=This weekend (Sunday) the Cubs-Cardinals game will air for free on Roku. More details are here.
*REM
=For the first time in 30 years...
R.E.M. is being inducted into the @SongwritersHOF — an honor Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry say means a great deal: “We lived or died on the strength of our songs.”
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) June 13, 2024
They sat down with @AnthonyMasonCBS for their first joint interview in nearly 30 years. pic.twitter.com/XqlSoVMVxd
*Reality Show Lawsuits
=It’s happening more and more. “Love is
Blind”, “Vanderpump Rules”, “Real Housewives” and others face lawsuits over the
way contestants are treated. The New York Times has the story here.
=Dick Van Dyke set a record this week for being the oldest-ever winner of an Emmy Award. He is a spry 98. Dick got his Emmy for his role in “Days of our Lives”. (The full list of winners)
=This also happened…
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Surprised By 'Unexpected' Daytime Emmy Win After Skipping Event to See Their Daughter https://t.co/rTY8U2aLE6
— People (@people) June 10, 2024
=Just last week Paramount and Skydance announced a pending merger. What happened? This is how Puck media writer William Cohan described it: “with the finish line in sight, it appears that Shari Redstone is getting somewhat greedy.” Sure enough, she blew it up a few days later. The Guardian has more.
*Why a Cocaine-Fueled Chicken Dance Didn’t Burn My Career
to the Ground
=Part of the reason I’m sharing this article is my love of
the Hollywood Reporter headline. That’s one for the ages. The article is about
the co-star of “The Gentlemen” Daniel Ings, who actually did a
cocaine-fueled chicken dance in the series. Great series. Great scene. But then
again, I’ve always been a chicken-dance aficionado.
*Cable News Corner
=How Fox News Massaged the Trump Interview. (Via Semafor)
=Fox board members subpoenaed in Smartmatic case. (Via CNN.com)
=CNN has reconnected with the AP, which will once again provide news to the CNN website. (Via Puck)
=Salem broadcasting launches a TV news channel. Yes, this is the same Salem that just had to publicly apologize for distributing the bogus Dinesh D’Souza film. (Via Inside Radio)
*Rest in Peace
Journalist for Newsweek, and later for Huffington Post. He was also a frequent contributor to MSNBC. He was 75.
British TV presenter. His body was found in Greece. He was
67.
YouTube star (3 million followers) known as the “Comicstorian”.
Single-car crash. He was only 40 years old.
DIGITAL/PRINT
*Right Wing Media Reckoning
=Right wing outlets that intentionally pushed false election claims in 2020 (and blamed it on people or organizations that were innocent) are feeling the effects of that. Bankruptcies, huge payouts, and expensive lawsuits are beginning to cripple some of these outlets. More info here.
=Lack of interest is hurting others. The top ten conservative sites are down 40% since 2020. Daily Caller is down 57%. Drudge is down 81%. The Federalist is down 91%. Paul Fahri wrote this piece in the Atlantic.
*Gershkovich to Stand Trial for Espionage in Russia
=The Wall Street Journal reporter has been imprisoned for more than a year. The AP has the story about his new escalation
*Rest In Peace
Long-time Chicago sportswriter and columnist, transplanted to Los Angeles.
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.
