Media Notebook--11-1-24

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 October numbers are in, and here are the top ten rated radio stations in Chicago (6+, M-Sun, 6am-Mid)

WBBM-AM (6.3)

WDRV (6.0)

WVAZ (5.4)

WLIT (4.8)

WLS-FM (4.5)

WXRT (4.5)

WOJO (3.8)

WUSN (3.8)

WRME (3.5)

WKSC (3.0)

=The three stations who had the biggest jump this month were WTMX, which rebounded to just outside the top ten (+0.6), Spanish Language WPPM (+0.3), and news/talk WGN (+0.6). They find themselves in 11^th, 12^th and 16^th place respectively.

=The biggest drops belong to WXRT (-0.5) and WVAZ (-0.4), but both stations still performed well.

 

 

*Dan McNeil

=What has former Sports-talker (The Score, ESPN, WDRV, The Loop) Dan McNeil been working on lately? Turns out Danny Mac has been hard at work writing a book about his beloved Bears. That's why Dan and the Bears are the subject of my latest Illinois Entertainer column. You can read it here. (Dan’s book is an Eckhartz Press release)

 

 

*It’s Christmas Music Time

=Halloween was yesterday. You know what means at WLIT. It’s Christmas time in the city. Ring a ling. The tunes begin at 1pm today.

=My tribute to Teri Garr is later in this column, but do you remember her ties to WLIT in Chicago? She did this commercial…

 

*Steve Bertrand Announces Parkinson’s Diagnosis

=He discussed his diagnosis with John Williams on WGN Radio this week. You can listen to their discussion about it here.

 

*Lou Manfredini Re-Signs with WGN

=His three decade run at 720AM will continue. Lou’s Fix-It show airs Saturday mornings from 6am—10am. He also does weekly appearances on the air with Bob Sirott, Lisa Dent, and John Williams.

 

*Mitch Rosen’s Letter to the Editor

=Gotta give Mitch credit for this one. With all the uncertainty surrounding the Bulls TV broadcasts, he sent The Chicago Sun Times a letter to the editor, reminding everyone that the Bulls games are easily found on the radio. Mitch is VP at the Score. Here’s a small excerpt…

Play-by-play on the radio has been a choice for fans for generations. By listening to the call of the game, fans develop a bond with their favorite team and its announcers, taking advantage of the intimacy offered by radio that can be heard at home, the office, the car or anywhere else fans want to tune in. Fans can literally take the games anywhere in this modern age using a cellphone, free apps such as the Audacy app, smart speakers, smart televisions and other devices…Chuck Swirsky, our Bulls play-by-play voice, is one of the best in the business. Next to him is analyst Bill Wennington, a member of three of the ‘90s championship teams. Postgame host Alyssa Bergamini, who hails from Chicago’s South Side, offers sharp insight, as she knows the game very well.

*Faith Rock and Roll

=Hosted by former WXRT General Manager Paul Agase…

*Podcast Corner

=The Signal Award winners for podcasts were announced this week. Among the winners: Kara Swisher, George Clinton, Anderson Cooper, Abby Wambach, Trevor Noah, and Jon Lovett. See the full list here.

=Hoping to revive his career after some very weird #MeToo stories derailed it, Armie Hammer is launching a podcast.

=See WBEZ’s The Moth live on stage December 13. Tickets are here.

=Joe Rogan’s Trump episode gets over 40 million listeners.

 

*Music News

=A 200-year-old unknown Chopin Waltz discovered.

=A Leopold and Loeb opera?

 

*Rest in Peace

=Phil Lesh

Bassist from the Grateful Dead. He was 84.

=DJ Clark Kent

Hip Hop legend. He was 58.

=Wally Kennedy

Philadelphia Hall of Fame broadcaster. Originally from Wilmette (Loyola Academy/Columbia College). He was 76.

=Lee Alan

Detroit radio legend. Inspired future Chicago jocks like Joel Sebastian, John Landecker, and more. He was 90.

 

 

MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES

 

*October 27-- Liz Wilde birthday

=She worked at the Loop in Chicago in the mid-90s, but has also been on the air in Miami, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas and more. Liz passed away a few weeks ago. She was only 52.

 

*October 28--Bill Zehme birthday

=The great media writer passed away in March of 2023.

 

*October 30, 1938

=Orson Welles broadcasts "The War of the Worlds" radio hoax, causing mass panic in US.

 

*October 30—Jim Volkman birthday

=Best known for his spot-on Harry Caray impersonation.

 

*October 31—Jim Shorts birthday

=The (totally real) sportscaster was born on Halloween. (I've interviewed him in English, and German, The German one is here, if you'd like to hear it.)

 

*October 31-- Jane Pauley birthday

=She obviously went on to bigger and better things, but she did a stint here locally at WMAQ-TV, Channel 5.

*October 31--Bill Gamble birthday

=Former Chicago radio program director (Q-101, CD-94.7, et al). I interviewed him for Chicago Radio Spotlight back in 2009.

 

*October 31—John Candy birthday

=The late great comic actor also hosted a radio show that aired on AM 1000 back in the day. It was called Radio Candy.

*November 1-- Tom Sochowski birthday

=Former radio producer/host  (WJMK, WCKG, ESPN, The Fish).

 

*November 1-- Judy Pielach birthday

=Former WGN & WLS newscaster 

 

*November 2—Ron Gleason birthday

=Former program director of The Score and NewsRadio WBBM.

 

 

TV/STREAMING

 

*Brad Edwards Leaves Journalism

=A few months ago I reported that Brad had left Channel 2. The station never made an official announcement, and neither did Brad. Until this week. He talked to Justin Kaufmann at Axios about his new plans.

=This is my interview with Brad from 2020, just after he began as the main anchor at Channel 2.

 

*The Chicago Ghoul Who Would Not Die

=Nice piece on Chicago favorite Svengoolie in the Chicago Tribune last weekend. Tis the Svengoolie season.

=I’ve interviewed Sven many times over the years. This is the most recent piece from the Illinois Entertainer.

 

*Channel 7 Anchor Judy Hsu Hit By a Foul Ball at World Series Game in LA

=It happened on Friday night during Game 1. Don’t worry, she’s fine. The story is here.

 

*Chicagoan in Final 3 for Golden Bachelorette

=His name is Pascal Ibgui, and he owns a salon in Glencoe.

 

 

*Bob Costas Retiring

=The 72-year-old made the announcement yesterday that he will be retiring as a play-by-play man. He'll still be working in television, and most likely in sports, but his play-by-play days are over. Remember his days with the Bulls?

*WCIU Celebrates its Independence

=Axios spoke with Neal Sabin at WCIU about the newly independent local television station, the U.

 

*Late Night

= Jon Stewart signs for another year. He made the announcement on The Daily Show Monday night. That was his last Daily Show before the election, but he’ll be on board now through the end of 2025.

=Jimmy Kimmel’s special monologue for Republicans.

 

 

*Cable News Corner

=Brian Williams is hosting election night for Amazon. Obviously this is a slightly different direction for Amazon. Will it be a one-off?

=I hope your beeper doesn’t go off? A pretty low moment on CNN. The guest has been permanently banned.

Girdusky to Hasan: I hope your beeper doesn’t go off pic.twitter.com/YmHhYnkDZ3

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 29, 2024

=Tucker Carlson was mauled by a demon. Yup, you read that right. Here’s the video of him talking about it.

=Who may have the hardest job in television? Jessica Tarlov, the resident liberal on the Fox News show The Five.

=Andrea Mitchell’s MSNBC show Mitchell Reports will end its 16-year run after the election.

=Sean Hannity vs. Stephen A. Smith. Memorable interview.

=I don’t think Geraldo Rivera (self-proclaimed JewRican) is on board with his good friend Donald Trump this time around. Just a feeling I get…

Latino men, for the love of your parents and children, for your pride and your honor tell this little gringo shit to go fuck himself. https://t.co/ClpvYzsGQU

— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) October 28, 2024

*Disney Pays $500 Million to Air Grammys

=CBS had the Grammy broadcasts for decades. No longer. The Wall Street Journal has the details.

 

 

*A Little Less Wrexham

=Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are selling a minority stake of Wrexham Football Club to the Allyn family. With that money, they are buying one of the oldest breweries in the UK, Wrexham Lager.

 

 

*Rest in Peace

=Tom Jarriel

Former ABC News correspondent. He was 89.

=Sarah Danser

Star of “Naked and Afraid” on Discovery Channel. She was 34.

 

 

STAGE/SCREEN

 

*Jeremy Allen White as The Boss

=The first photos of White portraying Bruce Springsteen for a biopic were released this week. Variety has the story.

 

*What ended the Seth Rogen-James Franco Friendship?

=It all comes down to the MeToo charges against Franco. People Magazine has more.

 

*Rest In Peace

=Teri Garr

One of my all-time favorite comic actresses. She was 79. I will always remember her fondly for her performance in the classic Young Frankenstein.

 

DIGITAL/PRINT

 

*Continued Fallout at Washington Post

=A day after receiving a Pulitzer Prize, David Hoffman stepped down from the editorial board of the Washington Post. The reason is Jeff Bezos’s decision not to endorse a presidential candidate.

=Jeff Bezos wrote an op-ed on Tuesday explaining his decision. It didn’t exactly calm down his staff or his readers. Over 250,000 readers have cancelled their subscriptions.

=Robert Kagan, who quit the Post last week, announced that he will be joining the Atlantic.

 

*America’s Largest Newspaper Chain Also Won’t Endorse

=Gannett owns the USA Today and 200 more publications. None will endorse this year.

 

*The Economist and Bloomberg Endorses Harris

=The Economist argues that Trump is simply too risky. It’s the third presidential election in a row that The Economist argued against Trump. In previous years they did endorse Reagan and George W. Bush.

=Michael Bloomberg laid out his reasons in an op-ed.

 

*News Deserts

=How bad has local news coverage gotten? Most US counties no longer have any local news at all.

 

*Rest in Peace

=James Ledbetter

Former media writer, long-time business editor and writer. He was 60.

=Steve Morse

Long-time music critic for the Boston Globe. He was 76.

=John Gierach

Author of 20 books. Expert fly-fisherman. He was 77.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

*YouTube Made $50 Billion This Year

=That’s billion with a B. $6 billion more than Musk paid for Twitter. In one year.

*TikTok introduces Access Hollywood Tape to Generation Z

=They were too young to be aware of it when it came out eight years ago, but after Trump's comments this week about protecting women "if they want it or not", his Access Hollywood tape re-emerged on Tiktok, and has gone viral. The Washington Post has more.

*On Elon Musk’s X, Republicans go Viral while Democrats Disappear

=That’s the headline in the Washington Post this week after analyzing tweets on the social media platform. Full analysis is here.

=Here’s the analysis from CNN.com. Misinformation is pumping out on X at a level that can’t be counteracted by election officials.

 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.

Media Notebook--6-21-24

MEDIA NOTEBOOK

A curation of news items about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago.

RADIO/PODCASTS

 

*Chicago Public Media Unions Call for Immediate Ouster of CEO

=Journalists for WBEZ and the Sun Times are united in this effort after a no-confidence vote. They say CEO Matt Moog must go. You may remember Moog. He’s the one who said he was leaving last year but stayed longer to enact a series of layoffs. According to this article, his own salary has increased 19% since doing so.

*Hubbard Honors Matt Bisbee for 50 Years

=I thought this was a nice gesture by the folks at Hubbard Broadcasting, honoring production genius Matt Bisbee for 50 years in radio. They named the studio after him…

*Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2024

=Once again our Chicago-based nominees were shut out (although Lee Harris did briefly work in Chicago). This is the list of the eight members of the Radio Hall of Fame class of 2024…

·         The Crook & Chase Countdown‘s Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase

·         Lee Harris

·         Phil Hendrie

·         Jaime Jarrin

·         Kraig Kitchin

·         Barry Mayo

·         Mary McCoy

·         Matt Siegel

=The announcement was made earlier this week. 

  =UPDATE: Readers have pointed out Barry Mayo's important role in the creation of WVAZ. Great point. So, we have two with Chicago ties in this current class.

*Willie Mays and Jack Brickhouse

=Sad news this week about the passing of all-time baseball great Willie Mays. This is his obit via the AP. When you read the article, you’ll be reminded of Chicago broadcasting legend Jack Brickhouse’s role in Willie’s career. Jack was at the microphone during Willie’s most famous MLB moment, the over-the-shoulder catch in the 1954 World Series. As it turns out, it was also the most famous moment in Brickhouse’s career too. Two Hall of Famers linked together in history forever--the Say Hey Kid and the Hey Hey kid. Jack said: “Willie Mays just brought this crowd to its feet with a catch which must have been an optical illusion to a lot of people.”

*Top Share/Top Cume

=Radio Insight published a list of the top 50 rated stations in the country (by share) and not a single Chicago station cracked the list.

=However, they also posted the top 50 stations in the country by cume, and there Chicago still showed up. Cume just means the total number of people who listen to a station, so obviously the third biggest market should rate a few stations, right? In our case... WLIT (#17), WDRV (#22), WLS-FM (#23), WXRT (#36), WTMX (#37), WBMX (#40), Kiss-FM (#43), and B-96 (#47).

=Still, it’s disappointing. Chicago was once the radio capital of the world. It obviously no longer is.

*Lock it and Store it

=Chicago-based BIN (Black Information Network) has started a new initiative called “Lock it and Store It”. It’s a gun-safety campaign. More information is here.

*Ex-Chicago Radio

=KC Lupp, who was known on the air in Chicago at WGCI as KC White, was laid off from his morning gig in Tulsa this week. (I interviewed him in 2008 for Chicago Radio Spotlight)

*Podcast Corner

=I like this idea. A fake baseball game podcast designed to help you sleep. You know what would be even better? A fake golf tournament.

*Paul Brian Obit

=In case you missed it, here is the obituary in the Sun-Times on Father’s Day for Paul Brian.

 

MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES

(I won’t be posting the next two weeks, so there are a few more than usual)

 

*June 17—Tom Weinberg birthday

=Tom started out as a print journalist and went on to become a pioneering television documentary and non-fiction producer for PBS and WTTW. He also established the incredibly valuable video archive MediaBurn. In 2017 he wrote a stunning book about one of his memorable television adventures, Chasing the Lost City: Chronicles of Discovery in Honduras. 

*June 17—Eric Zapchenk birthday

=Eric works at Huntley Community Radio and Salem Media Group. He got his start in radio at WJMK.

 

*June 17—Kristin Tews birthday

=Kristin is the co-founder of Noteworthy Media Network. For 14 years before that she ran Personal Best Media and Networking.

 

*June 17—Bridget Kaempfer birthday

=Bridget worked in radio at the Loop AM & FM and later at Sporting News Radio before moving into the private equity world. She is currently married to (and has been for 33 years) the editor-in-chief of this column. Of all the birthday celebrants on this week’s list, she is the only one getting a present from me.

 

*June 18—Roger Ebert birthday

=They say that no-one is irreplaceable, but it turns out that Roger was. He was a Pulitzer Prize winning film critic, but he was also a force of nature. I met Roger many times during my radio days (I ran the board for Siskel & Ebert when they filled in for Steve & Garry), but my favorite Roger story is in John Landecker’s book Records Truly Is My Middle Name.  I added my two cents as well…

Landecker: I invited Roger and his wife over to my house for a party (along with a bunch of other friends). I had just gotten this new plasma television, and asked Roger if he wanted to come in and see it. I put on the film “Wyatt Earp” which had just come out on DVD, because I love that opening scene—the way they use sound is unbelievable. While we were watching that opening scene, with the sound cranked to ear splitting levels, Roger was doing a dissertation on why Val Kilmer should have been nominated for an Academy Award for that role, and Roger’s wife Chaz walked into the room. She looked at what we were doing, sighed, and said. “Oh great. Just like home.”

        Rick:  My three kids, who were all little at the time, were also there. They sat quietly and listened to Roger pontificating about the genre of Westerns, and the acting in some of those old Westerns, and before he was through, a small crowd had formed. All of us were spellbound. When we got in our car to leave later that day, my oldest son Tommy, who was about eight or nine, said to me: “Who was that friend of John’s? Boy, he sure does love movies.

=Channel 32 reporter Dane Placko also told me a great story about Roger on my podcast a few years ago. It’s a great story about the time Dane and Roger got into a car accident on their way home from the Illini Rose Bowl loss. Dane tells it well. 

 

*June 18—Bruce Dumont birthday

=Bruce was the founder/CEO/President of the Museum of Broadcasting. He also had a long career as a broadcaster, hosting the show Beyond the Beltway. I got a chance to interview him back in 2009.

 

*June 18—Andy Shaw birthday

=I interviewed Andy for Illinois Entertainer back in 2013 when he was with the BGA. Andy is also a proud papa…

 *June 19—Kate Sullivan birthday

=The former Channel 2 anchor is now the host of the show To Dine For TV, a show for foodies. 

 

*June 19—Brian Peck birthday

=Brian has worked as a disc jockey for both Hubbard broadcasting and Cumulus but is now a reporter for WBBM-NewsRadio. He also hosts The Catholic Word podcast.

 

*June 20, 1989

=The Chicago Tribune published an article about a new-fangled machine that was transforming radio shows. It was called the fax machine. I was quoted in the piece. So was Q-101’s Doug Blair and WLS’ Brian Kelly. It was written by Katherine Seigenthaler. 

 

*June 20—Drew Horowitz birthday

=Drew was an executive with Bonneville during the heyday of the Eric and Kathy years.

 

*June 21—Erich “Mancow” Muller birthday

=Mancow has had nine lives in Chicago radio, beginning with his first stop at 103.5 FM. He later had a long run at Q-101, but also worked at WLS-AM, and the Loop. He had a television show for a while as well. I interviewed him for Chicago Radio Spotlight in 2008. 

 

*June 21—Lou Visconti birthday

=Lou is one of the administrators of the great Facebook page: FM Rock Stations of the 1970s. If you like this column, I’ll bet you’ll like that Facebook page.

 

*June 23—Alan Cox birthday

=Alan got his start on Brandmeier’s show on the Loop. He went on to host the morning show at Q-101 and is now on the air every afternoon in Cleveland. I interviewed him for Chicago Radio Spotlight in 2008.

 

*June 23—Scott Miller birthday

=There were two Scott Millers in Chicago radio. This one hosted the afternoon show on Oldies 104.3 for nearly a decade. Scott is still in radio, working for Townsquare Media in Greenwich, Connecticut.

 

*June 23—Bob Vorwald birthday

=The legendary sports TV producer worked with Mark Giangreco at Channel 5, before moving over to WGN to produce their live sports broadcasts.

 

*June 24—Roger Badesch birthday

=Roger was a longtime Chicago radio newsman (most prominently for WGN), but he also worked in the press office for Mayor Byrne and Mayor Washington. In 2020 he published his memoir, The Unplanned Life, via Eckhartz Press.  I interviewed him for Illinois Entertainer in 2016. 

*June 24—Midge “Cheese” Ripoli birthday

=Midge was a long-time producer for Mancow, but currently produces the Sherman and Tingle show at the Drive.

 
*June 25, 2017

=John Records Landecker was named to the National Radio Hall of Fame. He was inducted by his longtime friend and colleague Bob Sirott.

*June 25—Mark Suppelsa birthday

=I got a chance to interview the Channel 9 anchor a few times before his retirement, including this one from 2009.

 

*June 25—John Kass birthday

=The former Chicago Tribune columnist and WLS Radio host suffered a heart attack and stroke last year, but he is back to writing a blog. 

 

*June 27—Jim Wiser birthday

=He is probably most famous for his time as Jonathon Brandmeier’s producer (Jimmy “Bud” Wiser), but Wiser went on to produce Fox Thing in the Morning at WFLD-TV and Spike O’Dell and Greg Jarrett’s morning shows at WGN Radio. I interviewed him in 2013 during his time at the Tribune.

 

*June 27—Adam Howarth birthday

=Adam is the Director of Coaching for the Illinois Youth Soccer Association, but he’s also the co-host of the Free Kicks podcast about the English Premier League. It’s currently on summer hiatus but will return in August on the Radio Misfits Podcast Network.

 

*June 27—Doug Buffone birthday

=The Chicago Bears legend was just as beloved in Chicago during his post-playing days, particularly during his days at the Score. He passed away in 2015. 

 *June 28—Steve Downes birthday

=The former morning man at both the Loop and the Drive is probably better known for his voice over work, especially in the world of video games. I interviewed him about that in 2008.

 

*June 28—Elon Musk birthday

=The owner of Twitter/X was born in 1971.

 

*June 29—Chuck Schaden birthday

=Chuck has been keeping old-time radio alive for decades. His show “Those Were the Days” still airs every weekend on WDCB 90.9, although now it is hosted by Steve Darnall. Schaden was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1993.

 

 *June 29—Craig Sager birthday

=A fixture on NBA basketball television coverage for decades. Sager passed away in 2016. (Photo with Chicago Bulls Radio PBP man Chuck Swirsky).

*June 30—Cristina Ohr birthday

=Cristina was the GM of the Loop during the Bonneville days, and before that was the sales manager at WVAZ. She is now a professional/executive coach.

 

 *July 1—Shemp DeYoung birthday

=His real first name is Mark, and for many years he was well known to Chicago radio listeners as the producer for Kevin Matthews, Danny Bonaduce, and Steve Dahl. His nickname Shemp was given to him by Kevin. DeYoung currently resides in Texas. (PHOTO: The Loop producers in the late 80s…Wiser, Shemp and me)

*July 1—Karen Hand birthday

=Karen was a newscaster at WLS AM before her star turn as the newsperson on Eddie & Jobo’s show on B-96. I got a chance to interview her for Chicago Radio Spotlight in 2008.

 

*July 3—Connie Szerszen birthday

=Connie was known as the Top Rock Girly Jock back in her days at WIND Radio. I interviewed her for Chicago Radio Spotlight in2009 when her memoir came out.

*July 5--Jim Rose birthday

=The long-time Channel 7 sports anchor retired earlier this year.

 

TV/STREAMING/FILM

 

*Brad Edwards

=I’ve heard from a few inside sources that Brad Edwards and CBS-2 have parted ways. He is no longer listed on their website. I tried to reach both Edwards and the news director at Channel 2, and nobody has responded to my inquiries.

*The Tony Awards

=I watched it once…the year The Producers was up for every award. But I know many of you are interested. Here’s the recap from Sunday night’s broadcast.

=Here’s the moment that brought me back again…

So cool. Pete Townshend, now 80, on the Tony Awards telecast tonight. Playing the intro to The Who’s 1968 rock-opera TOMMY. #tonyawards #Leafs pic.twitter.com/9BpxbvhFGi

— Howard Berger (@Berger_BYTES) June 17, 2024

*Charles Barkley Announces Retirement from Television

=It won’t happen until 2025 (after the TNT rights to the NBA run out), but he made the announcement last Friday.

=Andy Masur writes: Barkley is Simply Irreplaceable

*Ghostlight

=The new film debuting this week at the Music Box Theater before going nationwide next week is a Chicago-project through and through. Chicago directors. Chicago actors. Chicago setting. And it’s about Chicago theater. WBEZ has more.

*Rodent Men

=It used to be that looking a little like a rat or a mouse wasn’t considered desirable. Not anymore. Now, according to this NY Times article, it’s hot!

*Cable News Corner

=Newsmax lost $42 million last year. And that was before the lawsuits…

=Chicago journalist Jennifer Schulze: “Fox, Sinclair and the RNC are working together to meddle in the election”

*Rest in Peace

=Donald Sutherland

One of the all-time greats. Gone at 88.

 =Anouk Aimee

The "thinking man's sex symbol". She was 92.

PRINT/DIGITAL

 

*The Summer of Royko

=Chicago Magazine has a piece about the one-man show about Royko, and the tribute to him at the Newberry library.

 

*John Schulian Remembers Mike Downey

=The sportswriter’s sportswriter remembers another all-time great.

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

*Surgeon General Asks for Warning Labels on Social Media

=He’s looking for a similar label that tobacco products have had for decades. The AP has the story.

This is the last Media Notebook column until July 12. I'll be covering another big story in Berlin for the next two weeks. Have a great Independence Day!