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 June ratings are out, and the top ten stations in Chicago (6+, M-Sun, 6a-Mid)
are as follows…
WLIT
(6.6)
WVAZ
(6.2)
WDRV
(6.1)
WBBM-AM
(5.4)
WUSN
(5.1)
WXRT
(4.7)
WLS
(4.2)
WOJO
(3.7)
WBMX
(3.2)
WTMX
(3.2)
=The Lite reclaims the top spot from the Drive, which had the biggest drop of the month (-1.0). Some of the biggest moves this month came just below the top ten. La-Ley moved up +0.6, Throwback 100.3 also went up 0.6. You may have noticed one standard bearer missing from the top ten. That’s WGN, which dropped 0.5 (now in 15th place), as did the Score.
*45th
Anniversary
=The July issue of
Illinois Entertainer came out while I was gone and includes my interview with
Tom Hoyt. Today is the 45th anniversary of Disco Demolition and Tom was in
charge of the radio station (The Loop) that created the most famous radio
promotion of all time. His perspective is a little different than the many
others I've spoken to about that day. You can read it here. (Next month: Brian Sherman from Sherman & Tingle)
*Jimmy
Steal to Step Down
=He has been with Hubbard (WTMX the Mix, Throwback 100.3) as their Brand Manager for the past six tumultuous years but is stepping down at the end of this year and moving into a talent coaching role with the company. In the just released ratings for June, the Mix is 10th overall and Throwback is 19th (6+, M-Sun, 6a-Mid). Radio Insight has more on this story.
*Danny
Parkins
=The
Score afternoon host got additional exposure this week when he filled in for
the Colin Cowherd show on FS1.
*Local
Radio Lineup Shuffles
=The Other Side of Midnight with Frank Morano is replacing the Rich Valdes show overnights on
WGN, beginning July 15. Morano is also a syndicated show. It originates from
WABC in New York. But at least it’s live, and it’s not as relentlessly
political.
=Lyndsey Marie has taken over the night show at Q-101. She had been voice tracking on WLS-FM at nights.
=The show she replaces, the Greg Beharrall Show, is now on the new alternative River.
*Former
Chicago Bear on the Radio in Columbus
=Remember
Dane Sanzenbacher? He played for the Bears about ten years ago but has
since gone into broadcasting. He recently joined The Fan in Columbus (97.1FM)
as a co-host and football analyst. The program director of the Fan is another
former Chicagoan, Matt Fishman.
*Podcast
Corner
=Steve Cochran was on the Crisis Cast with Thom Serafin and Lissa Druss talking about his career (among other things).
=Dax Sheppard signs $80 million podcast deal with Amazon. You read that right.
=The most consistently funny podcast of all-time remains Conan O’Brien’s (Conan Needs a Friend). The New York Times did a great piece on him last week about his life after late-night television.
=If you want to hear Steve Bannon’s podcast the next four months, it’s gonna be tough. He’s in prison. But there will be guest hosts.
=How about another Alice Cooper offering? This time he’s pairing up with golfer Rocco Mediate for a monthly show about golf.
=If it feels like everyone has a podcast, you aren’t far off. This year alone 100,000 new podcasts have debuted.
*Rest
in Peace
=Mike
Doyle
Former
WMAQ reporter. This message from his old colleague Mike Krauser…
Longtime
general manager of WJTW, WJOL, and WJDK. He was 77.
The former WLS night jock and nationally syndicated radio host passed away June 24. He was 69.
One
of the classic jingle singers from PAMS/JAM. Here’s a sample.
The
tenor voice of the Oak Ridge Boys. Gone at 76.
MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES
*July
6--Nick Digilio birthday
=The long-time WGN radio broadcaster is currently doing two podcasts on the Radio Misfits Podcast Network and launched his own website this week.
*July
6—Robert Loerzel birthday
=Frequent
contributor to WBEZ, writer for Chicago Magazine, and highly regarded
Chicago historian.
*July
6—Steve Touhy birthday
=Steve
has been on the radio in the Chicago area (mostly in the suburbs) for nearly 30
years. I interviewed him for Chicago Radio Spotlight in 2008.
*July
7—John Gehron birthday
=One
of the most legendary radio programmers in history. I interviewed him for Chicago Radio Spotlight in 2009.
*July
8—Peter Bolger birthday
=Among
his programming credits over a long career, WLS-AM.
*July
9—Dick Orkin birthday
=Probably
the most famous voice over artist in radio history. The incredibly talented
voice of Chicken Man. It really was an honor chatting with him shortly before
his death. That interview is here.
*July
9—Will Clinger birthday
=Will
is an actor/writer/performer best known for his days at Wild Chicago at WTTW.
*July
10, 1925—Scopes Monkey Trial begins
=A
teacher, John Scopes, was on trial for teaching evolution, and it was
the biggest story in the nation. Former presidential candidate William
Jennings Bryan was the prosecutor. Clarence Darrow was Scopes’
defense attorney. Scopes lost the trial (it was in Tennessee) but it was
overturned on a technicality. WGN Radio in Chicago broadcast the trial.
*July
10—Kevin Wells birthday
=Kevin
is a newscaster at WGN Radio.
*July
10—Fred Mitchell birthday
=Fred
wrote for the Chicago Tribune for over 40 years and has written several books,
including bios of Billy Williams and Gale Sayers. I interviewed him on my podcast a few years ago.
*July
12—Connor McKnight birthday
=Connor
is part of the Chicago White Sox radio team.
*July
12—Barry James birthday
=For
over 20 years Barry was the program director at Chicago radio stations,
including a very successful run at WTMX. I interviewed him about that in 2009.
BJ is currently retired and living in Florida.
TV/STREAMING
*CBS-2 Chicago Reveals New Street-level Studio
=Looks pretty swanky. 3500 square feet. They
debuted it this week. You can check it out here.
*Back at the Sports Desk
=Have you noticed the new sports anchor at CBS-2?
He made the announcement last week…
*All-Female Cubs Broadcast
=The Marquee Network made history on Sunday with
an all-female announcing crew. Beth Mowins handled the play-by-play, Elsie
Menaker was the analyst, and Taylor McGregor was the on-field reporter. This is
the first all-female crew to ever broadcast a Cubs game.
=It’s not the first-ever all-Female broadcasting
team for MLB. That honor goes to the crew who broadcast the Orioles-Rays game
in July of 2021. Heidi Watney and Lauren Gardner served as co-hosts for the
pre- and post-game shows, with Sarah Langs (analyst), Melanie Newman
(play-by-play) and Alanna Rizzo (reporter) handling game broadcast duties.
*WGN-TV anniversaries
=WGN-TV’s Marcus Leshock hit a milestone
this week…
Just hit my 15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY at @WGNNews!
— Marcus Leshock (@marcusleshock) July 8, 2024
That photo on the right was my first work ID. The picture on the left is sitting on the anchor desk today. That’s something I never imagined happening when I first walked in here!
Thanks for watching over the years! 📺🙌 pic.twitter.com/gkEqu2up7i
=WGN-TV’s Robin Baumgarten did too…
*Me-TV Toons
=It’s been on the air now for a little while. How
is it going? Here’s a pretty stellar review of the channel and its offerings.
*Windy City Weekend
=Yes, that was WLS-AM 890 morning host Ray
Stevens appearing on Windy City Weekend on ABC-7 with Val Warner and
Ryan Chiaverini. He is part of a segment called “host chat”.
*Cable News Corner
=Big cuts coming at CNN. Over 100 jobs.
*Head of CBS News to Step Down
=She’s only been in the job about a year, but Ingrid-Ciprian
Matthews sees the writing on the wall. It has to do with the story below.
Paramount owns CBS.
*Paramount Merges with SkyDance
=This time Shari Redstone and the Paramount board agreed to the terms of the merger. Redstone will largely cash out, and the new man in charge will be Daniel Ellison, son of Oracle’s Larry Ellison. But beware; there’s also a 45-day “shop clause” where Paramount can shop for a better deal.
*Paramount Removes The Daily Show Archives
from Internet
=And former Daily Show members and fans are not happy about it. The Hollywood Reporter has the story.
Rest in Peace
Actress from "The Shining" and "Popeye"
I loved everything he ever did, but most of all, this…
Oscar
winning screenwriter of “Chinatown”
=Judy Belushi Pisano
Judy Belushi Pisano, widow of 'SNL' icon John Belushi, dies at 73 https://t.co/oPUn6m9cxN
— USA TODAY Life (@usatodaylife) July 7, 2024
Actor
from General Hospital, Dallas, Clueless, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and
so many others. He was 75.
DIGITAL/PRINT
*USA
Today’s Editor Steps Down Abruptly
=It happened last week. His resignation was effective immediately.
SOCIAL MEDIA
*YouTube
Now Allows Removal of AI-Generated Usage of Your Likeness
*TikTok
Propels Billy Joel
=Would
you believe the song “Vienna” by Billy Joel is now a sensation with
women of Generation Z? So says The Guardian.
Not sure why I love this story, but I do.
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.
