#FreeKicks Ep222 - 'Season 7 Premier' https://t.co/VhtDRgzYEJ
— Radio Misfits Podcast Network (@radiosmisfits) August 24, 2024
Saturday, August 24, 2024
Free Kicks
New Premier League season, new season of Free Kicks. Hard to believe it's our 7th season.
Friday, August 23, 2024
Media Notebook--8-23-24
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.
Thursday, August 22, 2024
20 Years: Bonus Tales about the Cubs
I've obviously written about the Cubs too many times to mention, between my website justonebadcentury.com and my six editions of EveryCubEver. Thought I would share a few of them from this week in history, from 1927, 1971 and 1982.
Enjoy.
August 19, 1927
The radio show “The Amos & Andy Show” debuts on the NBC Network. Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden are white men who make a career out of playing caricatures of black men, Amos & Andy. In it’s day it is the biggest radio show in the country.
The show began in 1926 as “Sam and Henry” on WGN radio, which described it as a “colored comedy serial.” Blackface Minstrel shows were the biggest Vaudeville draws, and this was simply a radio version of that already popular comedy form.
By 1927 the radio program had become so popular (inspiring candy bars, short recordings, books and toys) that there was a huge demand well beyond WGN’s listening reach. Chicago’s NBC station, WMAQ, saw the possibility of distributing the show nationwide and Correll & Gosden leaped at their lucrative offer.
The only problem was that WGN refused to let them take the name Sam & Henry along with them. This was solved pretty easily. The show was renamed Amos & Andy, and within a year it was a nationwide six-night a week hit, airing at 7PM Eastern time. It was rebroadcast on the West Coast in the same time slot; the first show to ever rate that kind of importance.
Chicago was suddenly the center of the American media universe–and became the home to dozens of national hit radio shows. None of them, however, were as popular as the number one show in the country; Amos & Andy.
When you hear it now, it’s shocking. But in 1928, radio certainly wasn’t the only part of American society that treated African-Americans as second class citizens. It would be another 19 years before Jackie Robinson would break the color barrier in baseball, and 25 years before the Chicago Cubs allowed a black man to play for them.
While Amos and Andy were building a powerhouse radio show in Chicago, the Cubs were building a powerhouse lineup. New acquisition KiKi Cuyler, centerfielder Hack Wilson, and Riggs Stephenson formed what is considered by many to be one of the best outfields of all-time. It’s certainly the best the Cubs ever fielded. Stephenson was on-base machine and a great hitter for average. Cuyler was a speedster who stole a league-leading 37 bases in 1928 while leading the team in runs scored. Hack Wilson was pure power. He hit a league-leading 31 homers, knocked in 120, and hit for average too (.313)
Despite the great hitting, fielding, pitching, and the best manager in baseball (Joe McCarthy—who would go on to win eight titles with the Yanks), the Cubs just couldn’t put it all together. They ended the year four games behind the even more impressive St. Louis Cardinals.
The Cubs kept getting better, making the World Series in 1929, but Amos & Andy became a record-breaking phenomenon. At its peak, cities literally came to a halt while the show was being broadcast. Everyone wanted to hear their favorite two characters and their daily misfortunes. While the peak of their popularity came during the thirties, the series remained on the air for nearly 30 years. No other series ever came close to being as popular.
Surprisingly, despite what is highly controversial content to modern day ears, Amos & Andy wasn’t particularly controversial for many years. (Photo: Correll & Gosdin with African-American fans) Defenders claimed it was no different than other ethnic humor, while only a handful of African-American newspapers demanded it be pulled from the network. It wasn’t until the show moved to television in the early 50s, that the controversy became too much for Amos & Andy to continue.
***
August 23, 1971
Cubs manager Leo Durocher completely loses his composure in the clubhouse, and in so doing, may have lost his team forever.
It happens before a game against the Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs are 11 games over .500 and only 4 1/2 games behind the first place Pittsburgh Pirates. But Leo is still upset with pitcher Milt Pappas. The previous game he had allowed the winning run in a 4-3 loss when Doug Rader hit an 0-2 pitch for a double. Leo calls a club meeting and rips Pappas for his stupidity. After his little speech he opens the floor for comments.
Joe Pepitone is the first one to defend Milt. He says: “He didn’t want to do it. Why are you always blaming people?” Ken Holtzman and Pappas also speak out, ripping Durocher.
That’s when Leo loses it. He tears into every player on the team in a legendary expletive filled tirade. Among those he rips is team captain Ron Santo. He says that Santo is a malingerer who plays politics with the front office. Among his charges: Santo is pouting and demanding a Ron Santo day. That’s when Santo loses it. He calls Durocher a liar and has to be physically restrained by his teammates.
The Cubs somehow go out and win the game, but afterwards they spiraled into a deep losing streak. They lose 16 of their next 21 games. Cubs owner Phillip Wrigley doesn’t speak up about the dispute until a few weeks later, but when he does, he leaves no doubt where his loyalties lie. He takes out a full page newspaper ad praising Durocher.
He writes: “Leo’s is the manager and the ‘Dump Durocher Clique’ might as well give up. He is running the team, and if some of the players do not like it and lie down on the job, during the off-season we will see what we can do to find them happier homes.” He adds a P.S. “If we could only find more team players like Ernie Banks.”
Ernie retires a few weeks later. Leo is gone by the middle of the next year. And the Cubs don’t register back-to-back winning seasons again for more than 30 years.
***
August 22, 1982
The Cubs retire the first number in franchise history: #14 in honor of Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks. No-one had worn #14 since Ernie retired as a coach in 1973, but by raising the #14 flag the Cubs make it official. In the lineup for the Cubs that day is a rookie third baseman named Ryne Sandberg, who would have his own number #23 retired by the Cubs almost exactly 23 years later.
While Ernie was the last Cub to wear #14, he obviously wasn’t the first. Some big names in Cubs history also wore it, including pitchers Guy Bush (1932), Charlie Root (1934) and Larry French (1935-1941), and the eccentric Lou “the Mad Russian” Novikoff (in 1942). The last person to wear #14 before Ernie was a little known player named Paul Schramka. He appeared in exactly two big league games in April of 1953. On Opening Day he came in as a pinch runner, replacing catcher Clyde McCoulough. He didn’t score. Two days later he came in to replace outfielder Gene Hermanski in left field. The ball was never hit to him. A few days later he was sent to the minors. Ernie took over the number that September. Over the next two decades while Ernie Banks made a name for himself in Chicago, Schramka lived in the Milwaukee area, and worked in a slightly different field.
He was a mortician.
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
Studio Walls--8-21-24
A weekly update/preview of my latest podcasts, and a look back at some of my previous audio work from this week in history over the past 40+ years.
Here are a few from the archives...
August 18--Robert Redford birthday
=I have a story about meeting the acting legend on a ski hill.
August 18—Carmen Serano birthday
=The Breaking Bad star was a fun interview, especially went riffing against Steven Seagal.
August 18—Elayne Boosler birthday.
=Kevin Matthews has a story about Elayne that you'll never forget.
August 18—Patrick Swayze birthday
=His friend and co-writer Stacy Widelitz told us all about Patrick.
August 18—Denis Leary birthday
=Sainty Nelsen worked with the great comedian, and told us a memorable story about him.
August 19—Matthew Perry birthday
=One of the guest-stars of the show, Alex Kapp, talked about the late Friends star and the way the cast bonded together.
August 19, 1969—Ken Holtzman No hitter
=We have the audio.
August 19--Brendan Sullivan birthday
=The improv legend (and co-writer of The Living Wills) was on this episode of Minutia Men.
August 19—National Photography day.
=We've had at least five all-time great photographers on the show: Mick Rock, John Filo, Antony Penrose, Barry Butler, and Fred Winston.
August 20—Don King birthday
=Mark Giangreco told us a great story about how Don King once got him suspended. :
August 20, 2023
=Nicole Zwiercan named Mrs. America. A few months later she appeared on Minutia Men Celebrity Interview.
August 21--Joel Daly birthday
=One his last ever interviews.
August 21--Carl Giammarese (The Buckinghams) birthday
=We relived the glory days with him on this episode of Minutia Men.
August 21--John Filo birthday
=He was the photographer who took the famous Kent State Massacre photo. We had him on the show to recall the circumstances that led to that photo. :
August 21--Jim McMahon birthday
=I told my brush with Jim story in this episode.
August 22--Valerie Harper birthday
=The late great actress helped us pull a stunt on her old friend Mary Tyler Moore. The audio of that event was played on this episode of Minutia Men.
August 22, 1995—Mel Reynolds convicted.
=Was it a news story in the 1990s? Then naturally there's a Landecker and the Legends song.
August 23--Mark Hudson birthday
=He was one of our guests when we filled in at WLS. There's both audio and video of that day. Also photographic evidence (below)
August 23, 1992—Dr. Demento plays Ebony & Ivory song “The Hayfever Song”
=My first ever parody song. Here's the show rundown from that day.
August 23—Keith Moon birthday
=Carl Giammarese told us a story about Keith involving a hotel television set.
August 23, 2021—Covid vaccine officially approved by CDC:
=Rave-out essay about people who refused to take it.
August 23, 1998—That 70s show debuts
=Tommy Chong told us what it was like to work on that show.
August 24, 1992—Georgia Dome opens
=Jim McMahon buys a pizza. He was in uniform at the time.
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