MEDIA NOTEBOOK
A curation of news items about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago.
RADIO/PODCASTS
*Cutbacks
at Hubbard
=In Chicago, Hubbard owns The Mix, The Drive, and Throwback 100
=Violetta Podrumedic
made the announcement of her departure on Facebook. Violetta had been a part of
the Mix Morning Show for the past six years. Before that she worked at WGN
Radio.
=Lisa Kosty of Throwback 100 announced her departure as well. She had been with the station for ten years.
=Also let go,
one of the beloved behind-the-scenes staffers, Fina Rodriguez. Fina came
aboard with Greg Solk at the beginning of the Drive. She previously
worked with Greg at the Loop.
*Hurricane
Coverage
=Got an e-mail
from Bart Shore with a little more information about what is happening
in his area (North Carolina), and the importance of radio…
We
are just south of Asheville which was hit so hard- several towns destroyed near
there, our town just had no access in or out, no internet or phone service for
several days- but amazing enough, our little radio station, WSQL stayed on the
air. So if you had battery powered radio or got in your car, you could hear
updates on conditions in the area- Our Mayor, would come on almost hourly at
one point with updates- Local radio was the only source for
information. It was kind of like being on an airplane, you’re up in
the air- no access in most cases to anything, when you land, you’re back and
it's ok...in this case- we were all left in the dark. We were lucky at my
home, we had power, so I could hear the updates- others, not so
lucky. In fact, there are still many without power...There were lines at
the gas stations that had gas- 100 cars at times. I have no idea, why,
there was nowhere to go- but it was something to see...and of course most
stations ran out of gas. Bottled water is hard to come by, toilet
paper and so many other things we taken as a given....It is getting back to
normal-
=In Florida,
radio once again is playing an essential role during Hurricane Milton. It’s at
times like this that we remember how important radio can be.
*20 Years
of Koz
=Congrats to Kevin
“Koz” Koske for his 20th anniversary with WTMX. In this
business, that’s a lifetime. (Photo: Koz Facebook page)
*Ex-Chicago
Radio Update
=Former B-96
jock Julian Nieh is looking for a new gig and has a unique way of
looking for it. He produced a film about himself.
*Podcast
Corner
=Kamala
Harris appears on the Call Her Daddy podcast, one of the top five
rated podcasts in the world.
=The New York Times does a feature story on the Smartless podcast starring Will Arnett, Sean Hayes, and Jason Bateman. Tim Walz is appearing on that podcast this week.
*Rest in
Peace
WLS Radio legend. It was nice to hear his old colleagues and friends John Landecker and Bob Sirott talk so kindly about J.J. on the air last night and this morning on WGN Radio. Chuck Knapp is another former colleague...
Backup singer,
Gospel singer, Whitney’s mom. She was 91.
MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES
*October
6—Jay Goeppner birthday
=Former
Beatle Brother and frequent radio guest
*October
7--Melissa McGurren birthday.
=I previously interviewed her for Shore
Magazine (2008), when she was still part
of the morning show at the Mix. She is now morning co-host at US-99.
*October
7--John Owens birthday
=Chicago/Midwest chapter President of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences until last year. Owens currently works at ABC-7 in Chicago and is the co-author of the book Chili Dog MVP.
*October 10--Jeff
Hoover birthday.
=I’ve
interviewed the WGN Morning News producer a number of times over the
years. This one from
2007 was the first time. Yes, he is also featured in my book,
The Loop Files.
*October 10--Carol
Marin birthday.
=You surely
know that Carol has won countless awards (including Emmys, a Polk, a Peabody,
and more), but did you know she is an Illini?
=SNL debuts. 50th season is underway.
*October 12--Marv
Nyren birthday
=WLS Radio executive,
VP/Market Manager
*October 12--Stephanie
Tichenor birthday
=Another WLS
Radio executive, Program director
*October 12--Ryan
Chiaverini birthday.
=Former Windy
City Live host and current ABC-7 sportscaster
*October 12-- Tom
Teuber birthday.
=Tom recently
passed away but is remembered fondly in this town for his time at WMET and
WBEZ.
TV/STREAMING
*An Evening
with Mike Myers
=Look who will
be here for the 60th Chicago Film Festival. An Evening with Mike
Myers will be on October 19th from 7-8:30pm. The Career
Achievement Award will be presented and Dave Foley will be here to lead
the conversation. More information here.
=VP Kamala
Harris tried to reach voters through pop culture this week, by appearing on
The View, the Howard Stern Show, and Late Night with Stephen
Colbert. Her running mate Tim Walz appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel show.
*NFL
Players Association Asks Reporters to Leave Locker Rooms
=I don’t think this is an unreasonable request, as long as the players are still made
available for interviews in another location. Everyone is entitled to a little
privacy while getting dressed, undressed, and showered.
*CBS
Rebukes Reporter over Ta-Nehisi Coates interview
=It was
definitely a tough interview, but was it unfair? That’s what CBS News brass
decided. The full controversy is discussed here.
=The chairman of the company, Shari Redstone, defended the reporter.
*Cable News
Corner
=Coming soon:
Spanish Language Fox News
=CNN Fact Checks Misinformation about Hurricane Response.
=Important CNN executive, Ken Jautz, steps down
*Rest in
Peace
Actor in Risky
Business, General Hospital, Beverly Hills 90210. He was 89.
DIGITAL/PRINT
*Nobel Prize in Literature
=It goes to Han Kang, author of "The Vegetarian"
*The
Atlantic Endorses Harris
=It’s only the fifth time in the magazine’s long history that it has endorsed a candidate for president.
*Hearst and
OpenAI Make a Deal
=One of the largest newspaper (and magazine) groups in the country is teaming up with OpenAI. This whole AI revolution is not a future thing. It’s a now thing.
*Rest In
Peace
Reporter for
AP, NBC, and others. He was 77.
SOCIAL MEDIA/TECH
*Facebook
Removing Posts from Chicago Public Square
=Charlie
Meyerson’s Chicago Public Square newsletter seems to rub the content moderating
folks at Facebook the wrong way. Charlie expounds on that in his Thursday edition.
*Google has
been ruled a monopoly. Now what?
=The Justice
Department is trying to figure out exactly what to do with the search engine
giant. The Washington Post has been covering the story.
*Democrats outspending Republicans on Social Media
=The notable
exception is on X, where Elon Musk is using his platform to promote Republicans.
*New gig for FTX executive
=The crypto-criminal Ryan Salame posted his new position on LinkedIn: prisoner.
