MEDIA NOTEBOOK
A curation of news items about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago.
Radio/Podcasts
*Christmas Past
=Jim Benes has been retired
from WBBM for a few years now, but he has continued to produce his acclaimed
Christmas Past programs for them every year. That streak has now officially ended.
Jim was informed by the station that they won’t be airing it this year. I
contacted Jim for a comment.
“I am disappointed, of course. I've been doing Christmas Past since 1980 and it's become a yearly happy habit. Two books came out of the series, and the reception they received was gratifying. I am thinking about continuing the programs as podcasts. We'll have to see how that goes.”
*Rest in Peace
=Captain Whammo
Sad to hear the news on Tuesday night that Jim Channell, known in Chicago at WMET as Captain Whammo, has passed away. In his later years he became a born again Christian but remained a broadcaster. I only interviewed Jim once (in 2012) but he was quite a character. One of my most entertaining interviews ever. You can read it here.
=Mike Shuster
He was an NPR foreign correspondent for 30 years.
Formerly with WNUA news
=Denise Jordan Walker
I mentioned her passing a few weeks ago, but her celebration of life is coming up soon...
*Rob Hart interviews Terri Hemmert
=The Audacy colleagues (WBBM/WXRT) have a great chat about Terri’s 50 years at WXRT.
=More Terri: Block Club Chicago profiles her.
*Cubs shocker
=I think most Cubs fans were in shock this week over the firing of David Ross and the hiring of Craig Counsell. This is a pretty illuminating interview that may help explain it…
The most upset and frustrated that Ron Coomer has ever seen Tom Ricketts in his Cubs ownership tenure was during the season-ending series in Milwaukee as the club's fate of missing the playoffs was sealed.
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) November 8, 2023
Listen to Coomer's interview with @mullyhaugh: https://t.co/mu8dttZX1c pic.twitter.com/Y3dTPR7uHD
*An evening with Jeff Tweedy
=This week Jeff Tweedy appeared on stage at the Athanaem Theater with WBEZ’s Peter Sagal to discuss his book World Within a Song. Block Club Chicago was there to report.
*Men of the Mix
=They did it again this
year. Mix Morning host Chris Petlak, Mix newsman Brian
"Whip" Paruch, and Mix afternoon co-host Casey McCabe,
spent the month of October raising money during breast cancer awareness month. The
Men of The Mix helped raise over $480,000 for the American Cancer Society of
Greater Chicagoland. A tremendous achievement.
*Rare Chicago Radio Job Opportunities
=I’ve always got my eye out
for potential media jobs, knowing they are rare, and that my readers will
likely be interested.
=Hubbard media (WTMX,WDRV,WSHE) posted an opening this week for a social media manager.
=Audacy is still looking for a morning co-host in Chicago.
*The windfall that
transformed NPR
=I had never heard this story before. The Washington Post has a story about the day Joan Kroc passed away and left NPR over $200 million.
*Radio Reporter Receives
$700,000 Settlement
=Josie Huang was arrested covering
a story about a police shooting three years ago. LA County admitted their error with a big fat check.
*Radio’s the last thing we
talk about
=Pretty unwelcome piece in the current Billboard magazine about new music strategies
*How AI could change radio
*Radio Forecast 2024
=A big radio conference is
taking place on November 15th in New York City to discuss radio’s
and television’s future, sponsored by Radio Ink and Radio & Television News
Report. I’m sure stories like the two
above will be discussed, but this is more of a conference for the muckity mucks
to discuss financial trends and prospects. Among the speakers: Chicago’s own Bob
Heymann, the director of Media Services Group.
*The Loop Files
=More info…
Media birthdays/milestones
*November 6--Herb Lawrence birthday
=You may know Herb as the host of
White Sox podcasts, or for his work on the Score. He’s also a great follow on
Twitter.
*November 7—Robin Baumgarten
birthday
=She is one of the biggest television stars in Chicago. The WGN-TV Morning News co-anchor. I’ve interviewed her a few times, including this one going all the way back to 2009.
*November 8--Louisa Chu
birthday
=Louisa is a food critic for the
Chicago Tribune, and former WLUP/WBEZ contributor.
*November 8, 1957
=WGN Television started broadcasting
select shows in color for the first time (mainly just the syndicated programs
that were available in color)
*November 9, 1967
=The first issue of Rolling Stone
magazine was released
*November 9, 2013
=Former Q-101, Loop, and Drive
jock Carla Leonardo died. Hard to believe it’s been 10 years. I was
lucky enough to interview her the year before she passed away.
*November 9--Tony Frothingham
birthday
=The former Vince & Stony co-host
(WLUP) also worked as a radio producer but has since returned to his native
Massachusetts and now works in the wine business.
*November 9—Al Yellon birthday
=The man behind Bleed Cubbie Blue.
He has a book coming out soon.
*November 10-- Ric Federighi’s birthday
=Ric enjoyed a long and successful
career as a traffic reporter in Chicago before entering the world of radio
ownership in Michigan City, Indiana. I
interviewed Ric back in 2008 for Shore Magazine.
*November 10--Lou Brutus
birthday
=The former afternoon man on Rock
103.5 is currently a nationally syndicated host.
*November 10--Ron Riley birthday
=The former WLS Big 89 star was huge in the 1960s. I got a chance to interview him in 2011. He has some great stories.
*November 11--Amy Jacobson birthday
=Current morning show co-host at AM 560 WIND, and former Channel 5 reporter.
TV/Streaming
*Jason Benetti Sign with the
Tigers
=As if White Sox fans haven’t
had enough bad news lately, this one really hurts. Benetti is one of the best play-by-play
announcers in the biz and his chemistry with Steve Stone was incredible. He announced yesterday that he is taking his microphone to Detroit. The Sox say they are looking for a replacement, but that
Len Kasper will remain on the radio side.
*SAG/AFTRA strike is over
=The news broke Wednesday
night…
Dear #SagAftraMembers:
— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) November 9, 2023
We are thrilled & proud to tell you that today your TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee voted unanimously to approve a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. As of 12:01 a.m. PT on Nov. 9, our strike is officially suspended & all picket locations are closed. pic.twitter.com/FhvSRJQXFE
*The Chicago Emmy Awards on TV
=It’s this weekend on NBC Sports Chicago, November 11
beginning at 7pm. The 65th annual awards will be hosted by the
comedian Godfrey, and will feature presenters like Geoffrey Baer,
Chuck Garfien, Ozzie Guillen, Alex Maragos, Sylvia Perez, and more.
*Lead Sports Anchor at ABC7
=The former co-host of Windy City Live...
*Fox Business Hires Chicago Correspondent
=Her name is Kelli Saberi and she comes from the local Fox affiliate in Austin.
*The rare follow up question
=George Stephanopoulos
interviewed Congressman Steve Scalise last weekend and asked him a
simple question about whether the last election was stolen or not. When the congressman
tried to weasel out of answering this simple yes/no question, George asked it
again, and again, and again. In this piece, he explains why.
*CBS News launches
fact-checking unit
=They will focus on disinformation, deepfakes, and AI.
*Rest in Peace
The stuntman for Marvel films was only
41. Three of his children also died in the car crash.
The former child actor was only 35.
Print/Digital
*Citations dropped against
Daily Southtown reporter
=This happened in Calumet City. A pretty amazing story about a reporter essentially being cited for doing his job, before officials finally came to their senses.
*Google Revelations
=This anti-trust suit against Google has
been revealing a few very interesting tidbits.
=Did you know that Google spent $26 billion to hide a phone setting from you?
=You can now see which search queries were the most profitable for Google.
Social Media
*Elon Musk to incorporate AI
startup into Twitter
=It’s called Grok. People are not thrilled.
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.
If you're interested in some of my other projects...
Minutia Men Podcast: What Men Talk About
Minutia Men Celebrity Interview Podcast: The real Matt Foley
Free Kicks with Adam & Rick: The Knives are Out
The Fifth Edition (2023) of EveryCubEver is out now! Buy your copy today
The Fifth Edition (2023) of EveryCubEver is also on amazon. Buy your copy today.
Windy City Reviews Back in the D.D.R.
