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
=For the first time in
over a year, WLIT is not the #1 station in Chicago. The new ratings champ is the Drive (WDRV), even though their ratings went down slightly this month. These
are the top ten stations in the latest ratings (M-Sun, 6am-Midnight, 6+)
The Drive 6.2
WLIT 5.9
WVAZ 5.4
WBBM-AM 5.2
WOJO 5.2
WXRT 5.0
WLS-FM 4.6
WUSN 4.1
WGN 3.8
WSCR 3.3
=The two Spanish language
stations had tremendous months. WOJO went up 0.7 and La Ley went up 0.8. Also,
Me-TV FM had a big month, and they now reside just outside the top ten, with a monthly
jump of 0.6 (overall 2.8). WLS-FM had their biggest month in over a year.
=WLIT dropped the most,
nearly a full rating point (0.9).
=WBBM-AM remains the top revenue-producing station in town. It's in the top ten nationwide, with earnings of $30 million.
*Mary Sandberg Boyle
=She made this list last
year too…
*Gabe Ramirez Out at the Score
=Ramirez had been part of
the cluster for 15 years (previously at B-96), but when his contract ran out
last week, it wasn’t renewed. Details here at Barrett Sports Media.
*Podcast Corner
=The podcasting listenership
numbers were released this week for the first quarter of this year. According
to the Edison Research numbers, these are the top ten rated podcasts…
The Joe Rogan Experience (Joe
Rogan)
Crime Junkie (audiochuck)
The Daily (The New York
Times)
New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce (Wave Sports + Entertainment)
Dateline NBC (NBC News)
This American Life (This American
Life)
Call Her Daddy (Unwell)
SmartLess (Wondery)
Morbid (Wondery)
Stuff You Should Know (iHeartPodcasts)
*WCPT Profile
=Radio Ink did a profile this week of Chicago's WCPT. 820 AM is the station that gave us Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
*Bill Snyder
=Bill is an Emmy-winning weather producer at WGN-TV, and now
also a regular contributor to John Landecker’s show on WGN…
*Lee Harris
=A few weeks ago I linked
to the list of National Radio Hall of Fame Nominees because Chicago’s very own Bob
Stroud is among those nominated. I didn’t realize there was another Chicago
connection. Lee Harris is a news anchor who once worked at WFYR in
Chicago for legendary program director Dave Martin. A short interview with Lee was published this week by Inside Radio.
*The Mix Helps with River
Cleanup
=Last weekend was “Chicago
River Day” and the Mix (WTMX) did their part. They recruited 2000 volunteers to
clean up garbage and remove invasive plant material along the river. Several
on-air staff members participated, including morning show members Violetta Podrumedic,
Chris Petlak, and Nikki Chaiken, and Casey McCabe and Jenny Valliere from the
afternoon show.
*Jim Hanke
=One of the people let go
in the latest round of layoffs at Audacy.
*CHIRP Radio's Film Fest for Music Lovers
=CHIRP (Chicago Independent Radio Project) is staging a film festival this weekend at the Davis Theater in Lincoln Square. It's a festival of music documentaries. More details are here at Block Club Chicago.
*Rudy Guiliani
=You may have heard that
Guiliani was suspended from his talk show on WABC
in New York. If you want to know the story, this explanation from the station owner is a good primer. It's not the only problem for Rudy. He's also in danger of losing his show on NewsMax.
*Rest in Peace
=David Sanborn
One of the all-time
saxophone greats.
*The Loop Files
=Thanks to everyone who
came out to Roselle this weekend for my book signing in Roselle. Here's a photo featuring some of the Loopers who attended...(L-R: Tom Serritella, Wendy Snyder, Jimmy Mac McInerney, Brendan Sullivan, me, Neil Sant, Jeff Hoover, Dorothy Humphrey, and Ed "Edwardo" Williams.)
=Thanks to Tom Barnas for this piece in his “Stories from the 78”
MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES
*May 12—George Carlin birthday
=The brilliant comedian
would have been 87 years old this week. Sadly, he passed away a long time ago.
Shortly before his death, I wrote about my brush with Carlin. The article was written in 2007. It takes place in 2001.
*May 13—Jim Baumann birthday
=Baumann just stepped down
as executive editor of The Daily Herald. Last year he also penned a book that collected examples of
his popular Grammar Moses column. It’s really quite good, and I don’t just say that because
I published it.
*May 13—Mark Giangreco birthday
=The long-time Chicago
sportscaster (WMAQ-TV, WLS-TV, ESPN Radio) is no longer on the air in Chicago,
but he’s a great follow on Twitter. I was lucky enough to interview him a few
times, including once on my podcast, and once for Shore Magazine.
*May 13—John Benedeck
birthday
=John is a radio/podcast
producer (WIND, Club 400), but he’s also one of the organists for the Chicago
Cubs.
*May 14—Janet Shamlian birthday
=The former Channel 2
reporter is now a correspondent for CBS News, contributing to CBS This Morning
and CBS Evening News. Janet grew up in Park Ridge.
*May 15—Lynn Sweet birthday
=The Chicago Sun Times
reporter is the paper’s Washington Bureau Chief. She has worked for the
Sun-Times since 1976.
*May 15—Fred
Huebner birthday
=Fred retired not too long
ago after a long and distinguished sports radio career at both the Score and
ESPN (WMVP). I interviewed Fred back in 2017 for Illinois Entertainer.
*May 16—Bob Edwards
birthday
=The legendary host of
NPR’s Morning Edition would have been 77 years old this week. He passed away earlier this year.
*May 16, 1929—The First
Academy Awards
=Douglas Fairbanks was
the host at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. 270 people attended.
The radio broadcast of the Academy Awards began the following year.
*May 17—Robert Feder birthday
=When Robert retired after
four decades on the beat, he left a gaping hole in Chicago media coverage. I
remember when I was still working in the business, the first thing I did every
morning was open the Sun-Times to his column to see if I was still employed.
His last media gig was for the Daily Herald.
*May 17--Jim O’Donnell birthday
=One of the best writers
on the local newspaper scene, Jim currently covers sports media for the Daily
Herald. I featured him
in my column at Illinois Entertainer back in 2018.
*May 17—Jordan Dash
Orman-Weiss birthday
=He goes by Dash on the
air at B-96. I interviewed him for Illinois Entertainer in 2021, when he was still at
the Mix.
*May 17—Jim Nantz birthday
=He may not be doing the
Final Four anymore, but Nantz is still the biggest star at CBS Sports.
TV/STREAMING
*Five Chicago TV Shows that are not The Bear
*Mike Lowe
Reveals Diagnosis
=Stage 3 Colon
Cancer.
‘Cancer sucks:’ WGN Reporter @MikeLoweReports reveals stage 3 colon cancer diagnosis https://t.co/zJOwkbJvaI
— WGN Morning News (@WGNMorningNews) May 16, 2024
*CNN & ABC Score Presidential Debates
=One will be in June. The second in September. One won’t have an audience. The New York Times has the rest of the details.
*Venu Sports
=Remember the news about the streaming sports service that will combine Disney/Fox/Warner-Discovery. This week they said they are still on track to debut in the fall. They also revealed the name of the service: Venu Sports.
*C-SPAN Executive Suite
=The new CEO
for C-Span is former CNN executive Sam Feist.
*NewsNation Executive Suite
=Announcements
were made this week…
*Matt
Kissane Scores Role in upcoming SNL Film
=Matt has been
around for 30 years in Chicagoland, working as a comic actor and performer. One
of the roles he has played frequently is an impersonation of Matt Foley,
Farley’s motivational speaker. That experience has paid off for him. Kissane’s first
film role will be portraying Chris Farley in the upcoming SNL 1975. Congrats
to Matt.
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*If TNT
Loses the NBA
=Andy Masur delves into what will happen to the TNT NBA crew if TNT loses the broadcast rights to
the NBA, which appears to be more and more likely.
*Seth Meyers
Signs for Three More Years
=Meyers
recently hit the ten-year mark as the host of the late-night show. Variety explains the new deal.
*Bourdain
and Albini
=Both are gone
now, but this segment captures them well…
*Bill Maher on CBS Sunday Morning
=I haven’t
watched Maher in a few years, but this was a good interview with Bob Costa
last weekend. You can read it or watch it here.
*Rest in
Peace
Native
Chicagoan. One-time Channel 5 reporter. Worked for CBS News and CNN. Illini
Media Hall of Famer. He was 74.
King of the
Low-Budget Movies. He was 98.
DIGITAL/PRINT
*Collapse
of the News Industry is Taking its Soul Down with it
=Interesting
piece in Politico this week by Jack Shafer. He argues that
journalism needs swagger, and that swagger is slowly disappearing.
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.
