MEDIA NOTEBOOK
A curation of news items about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago.
RADIO/PODCASTS
*Is Eric Ferguson Coming
Back?
=Eric posted a birthday
message on Facebook this week. (h/t to Charlie Meyerson at Chicago
Public Square for spotting this)
=He's been off the air for a few years now. Sounds like he wants to come back. The question is which station is willing to take a chance on him? Despite the lawsuits against him being adjudicated in his favor (they were eventually dismissed), the details were widely spread. His reputation took a big hit. It would be a risky hire, but his long track record of ratings success could compel someone to take a flier.
*Terry Chess
=The
son of Phil Chess (one of the famous Chess Brothers), and the first
general manager of The Loop back in 1977, Terry Chess, is my interview
subject this month in Illinois Entertainer. I didn’t interview him in
time to be part of The Loop Files, but he has read the book, and lets me
know what I have right and wrong about the first two years of the station.
=Coming next month: Tom Freakin Skilling
=A podcast interview with
one of the greats, my old boss and friend John Records Landecker…
=John arrived in Chicago this week in 1972. Thanks to Midwest Radio Memories for posting this…
=Every year at this time the National Radio Hall of Fame looks for nominations from the listening public. They opened for suggestions yesterday, and will continue accepting them until March 31. Click here to submit a name. You'd be surprised how many all-time greats have yet to be inducted.
*Carmen DeFalco
=Barrett Sports Media wrote a nice profile of ESPN AM 1000’s midday co-host.
=Barrett Sports Media also caught up with former Score host Mike North to talk about his retirement and what he is up to these days.
*Podcast Corner
=Smartless Wins The Lottery
Nine figures, baby. More money than any of them made in TV/film. Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes’ SmartLess Media has signed a multi-year agreement with SiriusXM. The deal is worth more than $100 million.
=Paul Anka Gets a Podcast
From the ‘everyone in the
world has a podcast’ department, add the name of singer Paul Anka. He is
teaming up with business whiz Skip Bronson to do a weekly interview
podcast. Anka, by the way, is the father-in-law of Jason Bateman.
Between the two of them they can now swim in pools of money like Scrooge
McDuck.
=Charlie Sykes is leaving The Bulwark
Sorry to hear this news. I’m
a regular listener. He announced his departure in his newsletter yesterday,
saying: As
much as I love putting out a 2000-word morning newsletter and six podcasts a
week —and having conversations with the smartest and most interesting people
around — there’s always the risk of being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of
idiocracy out there.
*Music News
=Elton John and Bernie
Taupin to receive the Gershwin Prize for popular song. The award is given
out annually by The Library of Congress.
*Former WVON jock Joe Cobb
Sues Soul Train
=He is the man behind that iconic Soul Train scream. The 80-year-old Cobb is suing to get some of those Soul Train royalties. The Sun-Times has the story.
*Cheeseland
Awaits
=Former WLS
staffer Cosette Nowik is heading to Wisconsin.
*Ex-Chicago
Radio
=Liz Wilde had a stint in Chicago in the mid-90s (WLUP). She is
currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer and updated her fans and
friends on her progress…
=Elizabeth Grattan has exited WDOK/Cleveland. She had been there since 2019. Elizabeth previously worked in Chicago at WGN and WZZN.
*Mardi Gras
Weekend Kick-off Broadcast
=WLUW (88.7FM) is hosting a live Mardi Gras weekend kickoff
party at Gale Street Inn on February 10, from 11am-2pm. DJ Tom Jackson
will host and Naomi Ashley and Jon Williams will perform. Make
your reservations through Gale Street Inn.
*Rest in Peace
Wife, manager, “savior” of Beach Boy Brian Wilson. She was
77.
MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES
*January 28—Jack Silver birthday
=Jack was the ringmaster
at AM 1000 back in the Johnny/Kevin/Steve & Garry heyday. He went on to
become a bigshot for CBS Radio and later Audacy in Los Angeles. I
interviewed him in 2009.
*January 29—Oprah
Winfrey birthday
=It’s hard to remember
that Oprah was a complete unknown when she arrived in Chicago in the mid-80s.
They didn’t quite know what to do with her, and even used her on the news with
Joel Daly.
*January 29—Dane Placko birthday
=The top reporter for
WFLD-TV (Channel 32) has been there now for over 30 years. He has a closet full
of Emmys, and a profile in Illinois
Entertainer written by me. This is a fun interview about his forced month-long
vacation in England.
*January 29—Tony
Lossano birthday
=The former host of
the Nude Hippo show and the podcast Lossano &
Friends is also a long-time radio producer (WLIT, WLS) and podcast
producer (including my podcasts, Minutia Men & Minutia
Men Celebrity Interview).
*January
30—Chuck Swirsky birthday.
=Chuck is
not only the play-by-play man of the Chicago Bulls. He’s also an author. His
book Always
a Pleasure came out during the holiday season of 2022.
*January 30, 1935—Warner
Saunders birthday
=Warner Saunders had a
long and distinguished television career in Chicago at NBC-5. He retired in
2009 and passed
away in 2018.
*January 30, 1969
=The Beatles performed live for the very last time. 55 years ago this week, they climbed onto the rooftop of their Apple Records headquarters. The entire show was part of the Get Back special that aired on Disney+ a few years ago.
=Lisa hosts afternoons on
WGN Radio. I was
lucky enough to interview her for Illinois Entertainer in 2016, shortly after she was
inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame (during her days at US-99).
*January 31, 1975
=This is a fun trip back
in time. John Coleman is the host. Bob Sirott, Chuck Schaden, Sherman
Kaplan, and Clark Weber are the guests. The show is called Midnight.
Thanks to Chicago Radio Archives & Memories for posting it.
*January 31—Josh Liss birthday
=The
morning sports anchor for WBBM News Radio was featured in the December 2016 edition of Illinois Entertainer.
*January
31—Nick Shepkowski birthday
=Shepkowski was a producer and host
at the Score for 15 years.
*February
1—Lisa Miller birthday
=Lisa has
been one of the most powerful media agents in Chicago for the past four
decades. She is married to Channel 5 meteorologist Brant Miller. By
the way, it’s pronounced Lissa.
*February
3—Karen Conti birthday
=Karen has been a legal analyst and host at WGN Radio for many years. She also has a new e-book coming out in March called Killing Time with John Wayne Gacy: Defending America's Most Evil Serial Killer on Death Row
*February
3—Dan Roan birthday
=Dan retired as the sports director of WGN-TV in 2022. I snapped this photo of Dan and his fellow WGN-TV colleagues at Rich King’s book launch party just a week or so before Dan retired.
=Steve
also retired from WGN-TV and is also in that photo above (second from the
right).
*February
3—Lisa Greene birthday
=Lisa did
stints at several radio stations in Chicago, including WJMK. I interviewed her for Chicago Radio Spotlight in 2008. She
currently lives in California.
*February
3—Steve Bertrand birthday
=Steve
has been a news mainstay at WGN radio since the mid-80s. I interviewed him for Chicago Radio Spotlight in 2012.
*February 3, 1959—The Day
the Music Died
=I interviewed Bob Hale,
the DJ who introduced Buddy Holly on stage before his last concert, the
night of the plane crash. What an incredible story.
=Bob Dearborn was a DJ at WCFL when Don McLean’s “American Pie” came out. That song immortalized the phrase “the day the music died”. Dearborn became famous for his analysis of the song because McLean refused to explain it. That explanation is here.
TV/STREAMING
*Demetrius Ivory Named Chief Meteorologist
=Big shoes to fill. He will be replacing Tom Skilling when Skilling retires at the end of the month. Of course, Ivory has been with WGN-TV for more than ten years.
*The Only Guaranteed Ratings
=The NFL has had an
incredible playoffs ratings-wise.
In conclusion of its 30th season of NFL coverage, @NFLonFOX is projected to score its best #NFCChampionshipGame in twelve years with 56,691,000 viewers. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/OY3m1huB5r
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) January 29, 2024
*Top Streamers for 2023
=The numbers are in, and we
have a new streaming champion. Suits set a streaming record in 2023,
breaking the record formerly held by The Office. Of the new shows last
year, the most streamed show was Ted Lasso. The Hollywood Reporter has more info.
*U2 at the Grammy’s
=Live from the Sphere in Las Vegas.
*The Greatest Night in Pop
=Richard Roeper reviews the Netflix special about the making of the song “We Are The World”
*Cable News Corner
=OAN may have broken laws while spreading election lies
=Joy Reid has
a potty mouth
“Starting another f*cking war.” Joy Reid drops f-bomb on hot mic while clip is being played. She later apologized. (Video: MSNBC) pic.twitter.com/JmyBNRXgOb
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) January 30, 2024
Broadway legend. 10-time
Tony Nominee. She was 91.
Choreographer, dancer.
3-time Tony winner (The Wiz). He was 67.
PRINT/DIGITAL
*Very Bad Month for Journalists
=More than 500 journalists were let go in January.
*Tribune Guild Protest
=All is not well between The
Tribune Guild and the owners of the newspaper. They staged a digital picket
line (a click-it line) yesterday…
Here’s how you can show your solidarity:
— Chicago Tribune Guild (@CTGuild) January 31, 2024
DO NOT click on stories at https://t.co/m1zKvUd4Bt
DO NOT engage with Trib social media accounts
DO NOT open and engage with Chicago Tribune emails and news alerts Thursday.
Respect our picket line by not crossing the “click it” line! pic.twitter.com/Ux7rElLuCR
*The Onion Union Settles
=Meanwhile, The Onion Union reached a tentative agreement with their owners.
*Jake Sheridan
=Shifts from covering emerging news to covering City Hall.
*Miranda Davis
=Hired by Bloomberg to cover money and power in Chicago and the Midwest. She was previously with The Real Deal.
*Rest in Peace
The former Travel Editor for
the Chicago Tribune was 92.
SOCIAL MEDIA
*Social Media CEOs Testify
to Senate
=The subject was child
exploitation. The Associated Press reports how it went.
*Twitter Blocks Taylor Swift
Searches
=After this past weekend’s Chiefs game, you would assume that Taylor Swift was a popular search. She was, but not for the reason you think. Someone posted fake nudes of her. And those went viral, prompting Twitter (X) to block the searches of her name.
*Universal Music Pulls Songs
from TikTok
=This includes music from
artists like Taylor Swift and Drake. It’s a royalty dispute.
