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
*WBBM Newsradio Wins Murrow Award
=WBBM won a prestigious Edward R. Murrow award this week for their breaking news coverage of the Highland Park shooting last year. Congrats to the team. The full list of Murrow winners is here.
*WBBM Newsradio Alumni Lunch
=Recognize any of the pros in this photo? They had lunch
at Greek Islands recently. Among them, Sherman Kaplan, Jim Benes, Bernie
Tafoya, Jennifer Keiper, Leon Colvin, Andrea Wiley, Marilyn Idelman Soglin,
Mary Novak, Julie Mann, Natalie Olinger Bolin and more. (Photo via Facebook)
*Lin’s Tribute
=The concert at the Metro is sold out, but as you can see
on this WGN post, there are other ways you can contribute.
*Sound Exchange Sues Sirius/XM for $150 million
=This lawsuit is all about the way music royalties are
calculated, and Sound Exchange is saying that Sirius/XM isn’t doing it correctly.
Details are here.
*Podcast Corner
=42% of Podcasters Already Using AI. That’s according to
this survey, published this week in Inside Audio Marketing
=The Legacy of Michael Jackson
*Rest in Peace
=Jerry Moss
He was the M in A&M Records. A giant in the music
business. Moss was 88.
MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES
*August
13—Danny Bonaduce birthday
=He was a
star in the 1970s on TV, and in the 1990s on the radio in Chicago (The Loop).
Danny currently hosts a morning show in Seattle. I interviewed him several
times, most recently in 2021 for Illinois Entertainer.
*August
14—Rick Hall birthday
=Rick is
the music director and afternoon personality at SHE-FM (100.3) in Chicago.
*August
14, 2004—Infamous Dave Matthews Band Poop Incident
=This
week in 2004, hundreds of pounds of human waste were dumped out of their tour
bus, and splattered all over people on a Chicago River tour. Bobby Skafish
was the first one to interview Matthews about that day, and a partial
transcript appears in his book We Have Company: Four Decades of Rock and
Roll Encounters
*August
15—Justin Kaufmann birthday
=Justin
is now with Axios Chicago, but he previously worked at WBEZ and WGN
Radio. I interviewed him for Chicago Radio Spotlight in 2012.
*August
16—Scott Mackay birthday
=Mackay
is the morning man at The River in Aurora. He has been working there now for 15
years.
*August
16, 1954—Sports Illustrated debuts
=Next
year the magazine will be 70 years old. The first issue featured Eddie
Matthews of the Milwaukee Braves slugging in County Stadium.
*August
16, 1977—Elvis Presley Dies
=Do you
remember where you were when you heard the news?
*August
18—John Jurkovic birthday
=Jurko has been at ESPN Radio in Chicago for twenty years. He currently co-hosts the midday show with Carmen Defalco. Before his radio career, he was an NFL lineman for a decade. I interviewed him for Shore Magazine in 2008.
*August
18—Sarah Spain birthday
=Sarah
got her start locally here in Chicago at ESPN Radio, but now works for the TV
network.
*August
18—Doug Bensing birthday
=Doug
worked in radio for years at The Score, WJMK, and WMVP.
*August
19—Buzz Kilman birthday
=The newsman/bluesman
was a big part of both Steve & Garry’s show and Johnny B’s show on the Loop.
He talked about those days in this interview I did with him in 2009.
*August 19—Brendan Sullivan birthday
=The former Loop/WCKG producer/writer currently works as a
Creativity Coach. He also co-wrote the novel The Living Wills with me in
2011. That book launched my company Eckhartz Press. This 2012 interview of Brendan for Chicago Radio Spotlight goes over the highlights of his radio
career.
*August
19—Lin Brehmer birthday
=The late WXRT great is being celebrated all weekend in Chicago (at the Metro and Wrigley). I interviewed Lin in 2018 for Illinois Entertainer.
TV/STREAMING
*Corey McPherrin Stepping Down
=46 years. News, sports. Stellar career.
It’s ova. It’s all ova! After a quick 46 year run— the last 32 in Chicago—- it’s time to drop the mic. With all sincerity: it’s been a sensational ride— more than I ever dreamed of. They’re showing old clips all week. https://t.co/wW2H8B84KS https://t.co/wW2H8B84KS
— C. McPherrin FOX 32 (@coreymcpherrin) August 16, 2023
*NBC
Grants
=NBC Chicago, Telemundo
Chicago, and Comcast NBCUniversal announced the not-for-profit organizations in
Chicago they have given grants to, a total of $225,000. The money is from the
Comcast NBC Universal Foundation, which helps Next
Generation Storytellers, Youth Education & Empowerment, and Community Engagement. The grants were given to…
+Dion’s Chicago Dream
(helping those with food insecurity)
+Snow City Arts Foundation
(helping children in hospitals through art)
+O-TV Open Television
(helping artists from marginalized communities)
+Spark Shop (inspiring the
next generation of engineers)
+The Outreach House (helping
struggling people in York Township)
+Foster Progress (helping
former foster kids attain college degrees)
+Rebuilding Together Aurora
(rebuilding homes in Aurora)
+Girls 4 Science (giving
young girls early access to STEM)
*ME-TV’s “Back to School with Me”
=On Sunday,
August 27 from 8:00am – 5:30pm, MeTV is running a marathon of school-themed
episodes from classic shows like The Andy Griffith Show, The Brady Bunch,
Leave It to Beaver, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Beverly Hillbillies,
Gilligan’s Island, Mama’s Family, The Love Boat, and Saved By The Bell.
*The WGA and SAG/AFTRA Strike
=A protest this week in Chicago.
=Meanwhile, in LA, the WGA blasts the new gatekeepers.
*Actual Diversity
With Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews just named as president of CBS News, women now lead news content at ABC, NBC and CBS; non-white women now lead news operations at ABC News, CBS News and MSNBC. https://t.co/pTVKX0ubBA
— Eric Deggans at NPR (@Deggans) August 14, 2023
=Or as they call it in Variety, non-linear viewing.
*Al Michaels Profile
=Is there anyone in the broadcasting business who
doesn’t respect and admire Al Michaels? Great profile here in the Sports Business Journal.
*Cable News Corner
=Massive changes at CNN. The new 9pm (CT) host is Abby Phillip. The 10pm (CT) slot goes to Laura Coates. Phil Mattingly and Kasie Hunt join the morning show with Poppy Harlow. There are lots more changes to the weekend lineup, and one unusual weekday entry—Charles Barkley. Check out the full list here.
=Yet another lawsuit against Fox News.
*Rest in Peace
=Tom Jones
Not the singer. The writer of Broadway’s long running musical “The Fantastiks”
=Clarence Avant
The Black Godfather of the Entertainment business.
=Michael Parkinson
The BBC's most famous interviewer. He was 88.
DIGITAL/PRINT
*Police Raid Kansas Newspaper
=This sounded like an obvious breach of freedom of the press. CBS News has the details.
=Looks like that thought finally occurred to local law
enforcement too…
BREAKING: I’m told the Marion County attorney has withdrawn the search warrant and has released the seized items from Marion County Record to the attorney for the newspaper who has a forensics expert in Marion on standby. @KSHB41 pic.twitter.com/51mE1t0CuG
— Jessica McMaster (@JessMcMasterKC) August 16, 2023
*Local Picks
People ask me what I read to stay in touch? Here are a
few…
=If you don’t already read Jim O’Donnell in the
Daily Herald, you really should. He covers sports/media with flair. For
instance, check out this interesting take on Coach Q
=There’s always something surprising in Block Club Chicago as well. Didn’t expect to see a piece on Ronnie Woo Woo, for instance.
=”Best Free Daily Roundup in Your InBox” is how The Reader describes Charlie Meyerson’s Chicago Public Square newsletter. Couldn’t agree more. It’s worthy of a subscription. For cryin’ out loud, it’s free.
SOCIAL MEDIA
*More Twitter Controversies
=Special Counsel received Trump’s DMs,
despite Twitter’s “momentous” effort to delay.
=Elon Musk’s X Throttled Traffic to Websites He Dislikes. So much for Mr. Free Speech Absolutist.
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...
Minutia Men Podcast: Naming Body Parts
Minutia Men Celebrity Interview Podcast: Jim Peterik & Larry Millas from the Ides of March
Free Kicks with Adam & Rick returns later today.
The Fifth Edition (2023) of EveryCubEver is out now! Buy your copy today
The Fifth Edition (2023) of EveryCubEver is also on amazon. Buy your copy today.
My latest novel: Back in the D.D.R
Windy City Reviews Back in the D.D.R.
Podcast Interview about Back in the D.D.R: Military Family Museum Podcast
