Friday, September 06, 2024

Media Notebook--9-6-24















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 ratings for August are out, and the following are the top ten stations in Chicago for the month (6+, M-Su, 6am-Mid)

WDRV (6.5)

WVAZ (6.1)

WBBM-AM (5.7)

WLIT (5.3)

WXRT (4.8)

WUSN (4.7)

WLS-FM (4.2)

WOJO (4.2)

WRME (3.5)

WBMX (2.6)

WTMX (2.6)

=The biggest jumps this month belong to Spanish language WOJO (+1.2) and WUSN (US-99), which recovered from their bad July numbers (+0.7).  WKQX (Q-101) also had a big month, finishing just outside the top ten with a 2.5 (+0.6), and WBBM-AM returned to their perch near the top of the ratings with a gain of 0.5. This is the highest they’ve ranked in over a year.

=Meanwhile, this is the lowest that WLIT has been for more than a year (although still respectable). They dropped 0.6 this month. Luckily, Christmas music is just around the corner.

=Also, it should be noted that if you add the Score’s over-the-air ratings with their streaming numbers, they would slip into tenth place overall (2.4 + 0.9).

=In the talk radio battle, it’s WGN (2.4), WBEZ (2.3), WLS-AM (1.5)

 


*Joe Brand to the Penguins

=WGN Radio lost their Blackhawks pre- and post-game radio host this week. Great opportunity for Joe Brand…


 

*Chicago Media Departures

=I’ve reported on all of these over the previous six months or so, but Axios’ Justin Kaufmann did a nice job of chronicling all the recent Chicago media departures in one story. You can check that out here.


 

*Craig Schwalb

=Congrats to WBBM Program Director Craig Schwalb for being named as one of the top program directors in the country.


 

*Isaac Hayes vs. Donald Trump

=The song “Hold On I’m Coming” was written by the late Isaac Hayes. His family wants Donald Trump to stop using that song at his rallies. This week the courts sided with the Hayes estate.


 

*J.J. Jeffrey

=Chuck Knapp posted this scoop about former WLS jock J.J. Jeffrey this week…


 

*Rest in Peace

=Steve Zana

Northwest Indiana radio legend. He was 63. I interviewed him in 2008 for Shore Magazine.

=Fatman Scoop

Rapper. Collapsed on stage. He was 53.

=Rich Homie Quan

Rapper. He was 34.

 

 

MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES



*September 2--Bill Cochran birthday

=Cochran isn’t just one of the great voice-over guys in radio (WXRT, WNUA, ME-TV), he has a band that recreates classic albums on stage. I got a chance to talk to him about that back in 2017. 

 

*September 2—Jim DeRogatis birthday

=Jim is the co-host of Sound Opinions with Greg Kot, which is now a podcast, after a long run on WXRT and WBEZ. The show originally got it’s start on Eddie Schwartz’s overnight show on AM 1000 (with Bill Wyman in place of Kot).  

 

*September 2—JoBo Colborn birthday

=Jobo was on B-96 for 26 years. An incredible run.

 

*September 4-- John Howell birthday

=Formerly of WUSN, WJMK, WIND, and WLS. I interviewed John for Chicago Radio Spotlight back in 2007 when he was co-hosting a morning show with Cisco Cotto at WIND.

 

*September 4--Chris Base birthday

=The former WVON talker now hosts an internet show called BaseLine Saturdays.

 

*September 4-- Patrick Kampert birthday

=I like to joke with Patrick that people constantly mistake me for him because of the similarities of our names. He is the far more distinguished of the two of us, a former Chicago Tribune editor and reporter.

 

* September 4, 2014--Roy Leonard death anniversary

=Hard to believe Roy has been gone for ten years. I was lucky enough to have a lengthy chat with Roy back in 2010  and we covered his entire career. After I posted the interview he e-mailed me and said: “Did you actually post every word of our conversation? Nobody wants to hear that much about me.”

 

* September 5-- Johnnie Putman birthday

=The better half of WGN’s long-time overnight team Steve & Johnnie (that’s Steve description) talked to me for Illinois Entertainer back in 2016 

. 
*September 6-- Nick Friedell birthday

=The former ESPN Chicago reporter is a go-to NBA expert.

 

*September 7—Jonathan Hood birthday

=I interviewed the ESPN Radio morning co-host (with David Kaplan) in 2010. 

 

*September 7—Steve Scott birthday

=The former WLS Newsman was a victim of the format change at WCBS in New York. I chatted with him in 2008 shortly after he left us for the big Apple.


 

 

TV/STREAMING

 

* WGN-TV Morning Show anniversary


=On September 6, 1994, the WGN-TV morning show as we know it today debuted (with Robin Baumgarten, Larry Potash, and Paul Konrad). I don’t think they could have possibly foreseen the ratings juggernaut it would become. I’ve written about the show a few times, including for Shore Magazine eleven years ago. Here’s a short excerpt from that article…

            Is there anything they’ve ever refused to do?

            “I won’t dress like a woman,” Potash admits, drawing the line.

            “I won’t dance,” Konrad adds.

            “Um,” Robin says, thinking about it. “Wow, well, let’s see. I’m trying to think if I’ve ever said no to anything before. Maybe that’s part of my problem.”

 

 

*Dave Wannstedt

=NBC 5 Chicago (WMAQ-TV) has announced former Chicago Bears head coach/renowned NFL analyst Dave Wannstedt will be joining the station’s signature sports program, Sports Sunday, as its lead Bears/NFL analyst beginning Sunday, September 8.

 

 

*Nick Olczyk

=Son of the great Eddie Olczyk continues his own NHL broadcasting climb. This year he’s moving from Seattle to Salt Lake City, to be part of the new club in Utah.


 *Cable News Corner

=Brian Stelter has returned to CNN as the editor of Reliable Sources. He is once again the chief media analyst at the cable news outlet, two years after having been fired by the network. 

=The succession battle in the Murdoch family is playing out in secret behind the scenes and the other major news outlets are asking a court to make it public. My money is still on Kendall...er, I mean Lachlan. His brother James endorsed Kamala Harris.


 

*Brian Lamb retires from C-SPAN

=After a mere 47 years on the job. His last day was Friday.


 

*Rest in Peace

=James Darren

Star of Gidget and TJ Hooker. Former teen idol. He was 88.


 

 

STAGE & SCREEN

 

 

*Angelina Jolie’s Comeback

=Her new movie was just released at the Venice Film Festival and she is getting some Oscar buzz.



 

*Making Fun of Nepo-Babies

=Jack Robbins, son of Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, has done a series of videos making fun of Nepo-babies (like himself). The New York Times has the story.


 

 

DIGITAL/PRINT

 


*New York Times Publisher Writes Op-Ed in Washington Post

=A.J. Sulzberger's piece is called "How the Quiet War Against Free Press Could Come to America." You can read it here.



*Mary Mitchell Retires from Sun Times

=After 34 years. Her last column was in Friday’s paper.


 

*What Journalism Isn’t

=Great substack piece by former Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times editor Mark Jacobs. Among his observations (provided in list form)… Journalism isn’t helping unnamed sources take anonymous potshots at their enemies.


 

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

 

*Russians Funding Right-Wing Media Operation in America


=It’s a very disturbing story. Russia has successfully infiltrated right wing media.

Among the commentators listed on Tenet Media’s website are right-wing personalities Benny Johnson and Tim Pool. Both have millions of subscribers on YouTube and other social media platforms. Pool interviewed Trump on his podcast in May.

=Tim Pool, by the way, is a Chicagoan. The Sun-Times has the scoop. I'm sure he wasn't suspicious that he was being paid $100,000 per episode. For a YouTube podcast.


 

*Iran Working Against Republicans

=Meanwhile, according to this piece, Iran is doing the opposite. They are spreading misinformation to hurt Donald Trump and the Republicans.




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.


 

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