MEDIA NOTEBOOK
A curation of news items about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago.
FUN AT THE DNC
*Colbert in
Chicago
=He opened his
Chicago shows with this Chicago anthem…
=I personally enjoyed this bit…
=And the obligatory Wrigley Field hunk...
*JB Pritzker
& Jordan Klepper
=Colbert wasn’t
the only one who did the show from Chicago this week. The Daily Show was
here too. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker gave them a Chicago tour…
As night one of the DNC kicks off in Chicago, Gov. @JBPritzker gives @jordanklepper a personal tour of the city they love pic.twitter.com/YO42YyLUnb
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) August 20, 2024
=Jon Stewart came in last night to bat cleanup...
RADIO/PODCASTS
*Radio Hall
of Fame Adds Eight Legends
=Every year
the RHOF inducts a number of legends that have passed away. This year there was
one with Chicago connections. Chuck Blore never worked in Chicago radio,
but he was the man responsible for those Lorelei commercials for the Loop (in
the late 70s/early 80s). The other Legends inducted are Jim Ladd, Alan
Colmes, Charlie Douglas, Byron McGregor, Maria Martin, Percy Sutton, and Rusty
Walker. The ceremony and dinner will take place on September 19 in
Nashville.
*Top
Billing AM & FM Radio Stations
=These numbers
are for the last full year (2023) and includes only money earned from
over-the-air ads. It does not include digital revenue. Chicago has three of the
top billing AM stations in America (including #1, WBBM-AM) although you’ll note those numbers are
going down across the board. We only have one FM station in the top 15,
however. That’s WTMX.
*Ron
Gleason
=Excellent
interview with Ron Gleason, the former leader of the Score and WBBM-AM
for the Illinois News Broadcasters Association. Hosted by Margaret Larkin.
*Melissa Bell
=She is the new boss at Chicago Public Media. This interview Eric Zorn links to is eight years old, but it does provide some insights...
*Ex-Chicago
Radio Update
=Randy Michaels is back in the news. He just bought a radio station in Cincinnati. During his time in Chicago Michaels was VP at the Tribune company and got in trouble for rowdy private poker parties, and other bawdy exploits. He later bought and owned a few radio stations in Chicago under the name Merlin Media.
=Jack
Diamond, former morning
man at WLS-FM, has signed on as the afternoon man on the New Mix in Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania.
*CHGO Sports
=Congrats to Joey Christopoulos...
*Podcast
Corner
=Alex
Cooper, host of the Call Her Daddy podcast, just signed a $100+ million contract with Sirius/XM.
=John Leslie is the host of the Talking About Radio podcast. There are a few interviews here that would interest Chicagoans. Former WGN GM Tom Langmyer. Radio Rewound’s Ted Gorden Smucker. Radio’s best friend Art Vuolo. For the real radio nuts out there.
*Radio
Rewound
=A reminder that Labor Day weekend is Radio Rewound weekend. My interview with Ted Gorden Smucker will appear in Illinois Entertainer’s next issue. Here’s another promo from one of the participants: Ron Riley.
=They have
some accompanying artwork now too.
=With the
format change of WCBS, and the shuttering or massive slashing of other stations
in Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco and more, CNN.com ponders the future of
local radio news.
*GOP
scrutinizing Audacy
=The company
is trying its best to escape bankruptcy hell, but because they are now owned by
George Soros, Republicans in Congress are scrutinizing every detail.
*Another All-Star Radio Golf Outing
=Can you name the three Chicago radio stars in this photo? (Answer at the bottom of the column)
*Rest in
Peace
=John
Lansing
NPR Chief. Former
news director at Channel 2 in Chicago. He was 67.
Former NPR chief John Lansing, who led the network through a pandemic, shifting social winds, and a brutal economic crunch, has died just months after retiring.
— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) August 16, 2024
My piece:https://t.co/4RwdAwSuIx
=Maurice Williams
Songwriter and
singer. Wrote “Stay”. He was 86.
Lead singer of
the band Great White. He was 63.
MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES
*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, and has a new podcast called Good Game with Sarah Spain.
*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. I interviewed Lin in 2018 for Illinois
Entertainer.
*August
19, 1977
=Groucho
Marx dies. Just three days after Elvis.
*August 20, 1911
=First
around-the-world telegram sent.
*August 21—Joel
Daly birthday
=The late
great newscaster would have been 90 today. My publishing company Eckhartz Press
published Joel Daly's book The Daly News in 2014. My co-publisher David
Stern and I had monthly breakfasts with Joel until he got too sick. He was
a great storyteller. Joel seemingly met every major historical figure from the
second half of the 20th century.
*August 21—Steve Johnson birthday
=The former
arts and culture writer for the Chicago Tribune has always
been one of my favorite local writers.
*August
21—Marcella Raymond birthday
=The former
WGN-TV reporter (she just stepped down in June ’23) owns her own public
relations firm, Marcella Raymond Media.
*August 21—John
Filo birthday
=Who is John
Filo, you ask? He’s just the guy who won the Pulitzer Prize for taking this
photo during the Kent State Massacre. I interviewed him on the 50th anniversary. The story of how he happened to be
there to take that photo, and what it took to get it to a newspaper, is a great
one. Filo went on to become an executive at CBS.
*August 22—Alison Moran birthday
=Alison is a
trailblazer in covering women’s sports. I interviewed
her in 2012 for Chicago Radio Spotlight.
*August 22—Darrin
Jackson birthday
=The White Sox
radio analyst.
*August
23, 1991—The World Wide Web
=It’s not that
long ago. Think how much it has changed the world. The World Wide Web officially
opened to the public this week in 1991.
TV/STREAMING
*Robbie
Gould
=The former
Bears kicker will be part of the Bears post-game shows this year on the Marquee
Network…
SPORTS-MEDIA NEWS:
— Jeff Agrest #🟦 (@JeffAgrest) August 18, 2024
Dave Wannstedt will join Marquee Sports Network's #DaBears postgame show this season, the Sun-Times has learned. He'll continue with NBC Chicago after NBC Sports Chicago shuts down, appearing on Sports Sunday.
*New FSI
Lineup
=The New York Post has the details.
Danny Parkins (formerly of the Score in Chicago) will be part of the new
morning show along with Mark Schlereth and Craig Carton.
*Ponder
Out, Greenberg In
=Sam Ponder
has been replaced at ESPN by Mike Greenberg on the Sunday NFL
Countdown show. Greenberg, of course, has ties to Chicago. He got his start
in sports broadcasting working at WSCR, the Score. Ponder will be paid the
remainder of her contract, about a million dollars.
*World News
Tonight Producer Named President of ABC News
=His name is Almin
Karamehmedovic, and he has been producing the World News Tonight newscast
(with David Muir). He replaces Kim Godwin who left in May.
*NBC Takes Away Seth Meyer's Band
=Obviously Seth is not in favor of this move. Fred Armisen has been back this week for a swan song.
*A CNN
Comedy?
=It’s called Have
I Got News For You and it stars Roy Wood Jr., Amber Ruffin, and Michael
Ian Black. Based on the BBC show of the same name. More info here, via Variety.
*Judge
Blocks Venu Debut
=On anti-trust
grounds. Full details here.
*Chick-Fil-A
Starting Up a Streaming Service
=Variety has the story. It’s a little
light on details at the moment, but it appears they want it to be a
family-friendly service.
*Eugene and
Dan Levy to Host Emmy’s
=It’s not often that you get a father/son team in that role. The Hollywood Reporter has the story.
*Rest in
Peace
He was Oprah before Oprah. One of the biggest stars of daytime TV. And for several years, based in Chicago. Tributes have been pouring in from all over the country. He was 88.
=The moment Phil and his future wife Marlo hit it off on live TV...
)STAGE AND SCREEN
*Rick Kogan
interviews Mike Royko performer
=Michael
Bisschop is doing a one-man show about Mike Royko. Royko’s friend
and colleague Rick Kogan interviews Bisschop about that performance.
*Rest in
Peace
One of the most famous actors in France. He was 88.
The young
Salvatore Tessia in Godfather II. He was 83.
DIGITAL/PRINT
*The Onion is back in print
=Not a joke. Block
Club Chicago has the details.
(The three radio stars in the all-star golf photo above are Bernie Tafoya, Andrea Darlas, and Roger Badesch)
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.
