Media Notebook--6-6-24

MEDIA NOTEBOOK

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

RADIO/PODCASTS

 

*100 Years of the Big 89

=The June issue of Illinois Entertainer is out and includes my tribute to the Big 89. I featured a few excerpts of interviews from some of the men who helped build it into a powerhouse in the early 1960s, Clark Weber, Ron Riley, and Bob Hale. Read it here.

 *Illinois Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

=The Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Joliet (on Route 66) honors not only musical performers, but also the radio personalities and stations that helped put those performers on the map. Last year The Loop (WLUP) was inducted. This year, it’s Super CFL (WCFL). Last year, Bob Sirott was inducted in the radio personality category. This year, they have chosen Bob Stroud.

=As for the musical acts, Illinois’ very own Richard Marx, the Smashing Pumpkins, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Steve Goodman, Willie Dixon, Susie Bogguss, and Marshall Thompson from the Chi-Lites will be honored. The event will be held on October 20 at the Rialto Square Theater. Bob Sirott will serve as the emcee. Get your tickets at www.rialtosquare.com

 

*Salem Media Apologizes for “2000 Mules”

=The company had been distributing the bogus election interference film by convicted felon Dinesh D’Souza, but after being sued by one of the people D’Souza falsely implicates in the movie, they suddenly saw the light…

“It was never our intent that the publication of the 2000 Mules film and book would harm Mr. Andrews,” Salem said in a statement. “We apologize for the hurt the inclusion of Mr. Andrews’ image in the movie, book, and promotional materials have caused Mr. Andrews and his family. We have removed the film from Salem’s platforms, and there will be no future distribution of the film or the book by Salem.”

=In Chicago, Salem owns WIND Radio (AM 560)

 

*SAG-AFTRA Files Unfair Labor Practices Charge against WBEZ

=On behalf of the journalists that work at WBEZ…

📢 Today, @sagaftra filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against Chicago Public Media (the parent organization of WBEZ, Vocalo and the Chicago Sun-Times) for refusing to provide information necessary for us to represent our members and enforce the union contract.

— We Make WBEZ + Vocalo (@WBEZUnion) June 3, 2024

 *Podcast Corner

=The Rundown podcast is a worth a listen for Chicago music fans. “Spending the Night at Mister Kelly’s with the Newberry Library” Listen here.

 

*Music News

=ABBA was knighted this week by the King of Sweden. All four members were there, Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, and Anni-Frid (ABBA, get it?). The AP Reports.

=Cyndi Lauper announced her farewell tour. More Info at the Hollywood Reporter

 

*Rest in Peace

=Scott Ginsburg

One-time owner of The Loop in Chicago (Evergreen Media). He would go on to found the highest billing radio group in America with Tom Hicks (Chancellor Media) during the radio-station-buying-frenzy era after the passing of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Ginsburg was 71.

=Brother Marquis

Rapper from the groundbreaking 2 Live Crew. He was 58

MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES

 

*June 2—Dave Hoekstra birthday

=Hoekstra wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times for decades. Dave’s books include “The Supper Club Book,” “The People’s Place (Soul Food Restaurants and Reminiscences from the Civl Rights Era to Today” and “The Camper Book (A Celebration of a Moveable American Dream),” all published by Chicago Review Press. He’s also hosted a show on WGN Radio. This is a photo of Dave (right) with legendary DJ Bobby Skafish (left) after an interview at WGN.

 *June 2—Geoff Buchholz birthday

=Geoff is well-known behind the scenes in Chicago’s radio and television community. His trophy case is bursting with a Peabody, Murrow, and an Emmy award. He is currently a writer/editor at WBBM NewsRadio.

 

*June 3—Jim Kirk birthday

=Jim is the publisher and executive editor of Crain’s Chicago Business. Before coming to Crain’s, he was the editor-in-chief of the LA Times. He also worked at the Chicago Tribune, covering a beat that I hold near and dear: the media.

 

*June 3—Dan Deibert birthday

=The former WGN Radio host is working as a comedian specializing in corporate gigs.  

 

*June 3—Dianne Goldsher Rosen birthday

=Long-time traffic reporter in Chicago (WLS, WLUP, Shadow Traffic)

 

*June 5, 1968

=Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated on live television…

 *June 6, 2016—Dan Sorkin death

=He isn’t remembered by too many people these days, but Dan Sorkin was a superstar of Chicago radio in the late 50s/early 60s. He’s the man responsible for discovering Bob Newhart. I interviewed him back in 2010 and found him to be a delight.

 

*June 6—Larry Lujack birthday

=There’s an argument to be made that Larry is one of the top five greatest radio performers in Chicago history. He certainly was one of my heroes. I was thrilled to interview him just a few months before he died (in 2013) for Illinois Entertainer.

 

*June 6—Roe Conn birthday

=Roe made his mark at WLS Radio, co-hosting the popular Roe & Garry show (with Garry Meier). He later co-hosted the show with Bill Leff, and then Richard Roeper, before moving to WGN Radio. He’s out of radio now, working as the director of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. I’ve interviewed Roe a number of times over the years, including this one from 2007.

 

*June 6—Scott Bertram birthday

=Scott was a former Chicago radio reporter, who is now the GM of the radio station at Hillside College, as well as being a journalism professor at the school.

 

*June 6, 1944—D-Day

=This is the message Dwight D. Eisenhower sent to his troops, 80 years ago this week…

 *June 7—Alan Rosen birthday

=Al was a production engineer with WLS radio, and then WBBM radio for several decades.

 

 *June 7—John Fisher birthday

=The former WMET/WCKG/WLUP jock just recently was let go from his morning gig in Seattle. I got a chance to interview him in 2007.

 

 *June 8, 1966—Bill Kurtis Breaks Out

=On this day in 1966, a twister hit Topeka, Kansas. A young college student named Bill Kurtis was on television that night filling in at the news desk and broke in to alert the viewers of Lost in Space that it was coming. He came on the air and said “For God’s Sake Take Cover.” That was the beginning of a legendary TV-news career. Bill told that story on my podcast a few years ago. You can hear the entire interview here.

 

*June 8—Byrd birthday

=Byrd is still heard as a weekend and fill-in jock on the Drive. I interviewed him in 2018 for Illinois Entertainer, shortly after he joined the Drive airstaff.

 

 TV/STREAMING

*Chicago Sports Network to Debut in October

=It will be the television home for the Bulls, Blackhawks, and White Sox. Jeff Agrest has more information in the Sun-Times. 

 

 

*Chicago Bears on Hard Knocks

=The HBO series about NFL training camps will feature our very own Chicago Bears this year. Axios Chicago has a list of potential topics they should cover. I got a kick out of it.

 

*Paul Konrad’s Night with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog

=Konrad appeared on stage with Robert Smigel’s creation this week, along with former Governor Rod Blagojevich, former Cub Ryan Dempster, and WGN-TV producer Jeff Hoover. Some highlights are here.

 

*John Cusack’s Screening of High Fidelity

=The well-known Chicago star screened and discussed his well-known Chicago movie High Fidelity this week at the Auditorium theater. Gwen Ihnat with Block Club Chicago was there.

 

*Brats

=A documentary about the Brat Pack is debuting at the Tribeca film festival. That led the NY Times to name the five “essential Brat Pack films.” Children of the 80s, these are your movies.

 

*Paramount and Skydance Agree to a Merger

=Another mega-corporation in the media. Shari Redstone, by the way, will walk away with a cool $2 billion. Full details are here.

 

 

*Ratings for the Trump Verdict

=When a former president gets convicted of 34 felonies, people tune in. Over 10 million viewers. The New York Times has the ratings.

=Media critic Margaret Sullivan analyzes the coverage of Trump’s conviction. 

 

 

*Cable News Corner

=Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch married for the fifth time. He is 93. She is 57. Together they are 150.

=Eric Bolling Leaves Newsmax. More info here.

=NewsNation Partnering with X for Kennedy & Trump Town Halls. Axios reports.

 

*Rest in Peace

=Janis Paige

Star of stage and screen. Worked with Fred Astaire and Bob Hope. She was 101 years old.

=Ben White

CNBC contributor and former NY Times reporter.

This is Ben’s partner, Sara.
I’m heartbroken to tell you that Ben died on Saturday, June 1 after a brief illness. He loved his family, being a journalist, rooting for the Yankees and the Commanders and so much more. He’ll forever be in my heart and will be missed by so many. 💔

— Ben White (@EconomyBen) June 4, 2024

 

 

PRINT/DIGITAL

 

*Sally Buzbee Steps Down as Executive Editor of Washington Post

=Sounds like the new boss (CEO William Lewis) wasn't happy with the way she handled the phone hacking story...which just happened to involve him. The New York Times has the scoop

 

*Epoch Times CFO Charged with Money Laundering

=Bill Guan, the CFO of the right-wing news outlet, was indicted as part of a massive money laundering operation. Mediaite has more.

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

 

*Trump Joins TikTok

=And he called it an honor. Yes, it’s true, he once tried to ban it. On the other hand, Biden is also on TikTok, and he is trying to ban it too.

 

 *X Changes Rules to Allow Porn

=Only consensual adult nudity and adult porn, but this is not your mother’s Twitter. (No examples at the link)

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.

$everance

Today is officially the 15th anniversary of my first novel's release. It was called $everance. It's still available at ENC Press.

Not to be confused with the recent series on Apple TV. This was the story of the original $everance...

Tom Zagorski was one of the most popular morning radio personalities in Chicago for nearly twenty years, but the financial realities of the new corporate-owned media world make him obsolete. His boss is doing whatever he can (including public and private humiliation) to make Zagorski quit so he doesn’t have to pay the severance. Zagorski pushes back by passive-aggressively needling his boss into firing him — without ever crossing the line that could get him fired for cause.

When neither side budges after six months of battle, an exasperated Zagorski sends an e-mail to the CEO of the corporation, sarcastically suggesting a massive firing of anyone who doesn’t actually bring in money. Instead of firing Zagorski in a rage, CEO takes the e-mail at face value, eliminating thousands of jobs and sending the stock price soaring. To reward the genius who came up with the idea, the CEO makes Zagorski his new COO.

Getting fired suddenly becomes a monumental task: Zagorski has become the darling of Wall Street. In order to get fired, he has to get the stock price to go down and/or irritate his mercurial boss so much that he can’t take him any longer. Zagorski takes great glee in pursuing both of these options, and, along with his on-air partner Richard Lawrence, plunges headlong into the world of media finance, politics, and personalities.

Still very proud of this one. 

It got great reviews. 

It was particularly appreciated by people in the media who knew what I was writing about...

"Rick cuts the modern media conglomerates to the quick in his alternately hilarious and disturbing Severance. Some readers will think his moguls and media personalities are exagerrated. I'm here to tell you they're pretty dead-on."
--Roe Conn, WLS Radio





"It's about time somebody told this story. $everance certainly captured the world of radio, warts and all."
--Legendary broadcaster Clark Weber








“Severance is a black comedy that would be funnier if its darkness weren’t so true. And it crackles with the insights and cynicism that made Network and Broadcast News the seminal cinematic treatments of today’s dumbed-down news business. Move over Christopher Buckley----Rick Kaempfer is in town!”
--ABC-TV News Reporter Andy Shaw




"Other than 'love', 'Severance' is the sweetest word in the English language. This really made me laugh."
--WGN Radio's Steve Cochran





"Told with the keen insight of a veteran insider, it's a humorous indictment of an industry that has lost all sense of purpose -- except for making money, of course."
--Former Chicago Sun Times media columnist Robert Feder




"A hysterical critique of corporate morality"
--Chicago Tribune's RedEye Columnist and WGN-TV Morning News Anchor Larry Potash




"I was with it the whole way, and I love the appended real life figures at the end. I enjoyed the hell out of $everance."
--The Beachwood Reporter's Steve Rhodes


"Brilliant satire! I got a paper cut from the sarcasm. I wish I could say it was great fiction, but having worked in radio, I think it’s just really funny non-fiction. The reality in between the laughs will scare the hell out of you."
--Longtime radio personality and playwright Spike Manton





"I thought this novel was just going to be an amusing story about radio. But the way Kaempfer has woven in elements of all media and politics is masterful, to say nothing of insightful, and frequently laugh-out-loud funny! It’s a brilliant first entry. I can't wait for his next page-turner!"
--Legendary broadcaster and programmer Bob Dearborn





"$everance is a comical, suspenseful, thought-provoking novel about the frightening realities of corporate media in America. Kaempfer writes with ease, quickly drawing the reader in to the satirical-yet oddly realistic-world he's created. This one is tough to put down-a delightful page-turner!"
--Julia Perla, Managing Editor, Shore Magazine




"Too bad Zagorski (the main character) is fictional. Today's media could use someone like him to shake things up. He's the personification of fairness with just enough wicked cynicism to make him completely irresistible. The thought that a team like Zagorski and Lawrence might actually exist should make some big bosses more than a little uneasy."
--Leslie Keiling, WGN Radio



"Rick Kaempfer’s “$everence” is whiplash-fast, choke-on-your-coffee funny, and ultimately frightening. Kaempfer has seen it all in the radio business, and has some dire predictions for the rest of the media, too. It’s the summer’s must-discuss beach read – and probably a sign of the apocalypse."
--Paige Wiser, Chicago Sun-Times columnist




"I laughed out loud many times while reading it - yeah, it's that funny! If you work in the radio business you'll love the inside view of the industry and if you're not in the media you will certainly learn a lot of eye-opening trade secrets."
--Cara Carriveau




"I began laughing almost immediately! The first paragraph alone made me feel like I was back at my first radio job trying to avoid doing anything remotely near the station’s break room! I absolutely LOVE the book! The plot twists and turns were totally unpredictable!"
--Darren Marlar, "Marlar in the Morning", 101-QFL


"As funny as this book is, $everance is a must read for anyone who cares about the state of radio and the media in general. The more ridiculous the plot gets, the more one realizes that it's probably the closest to the truth about what comes out of our radios, tvs and newspapers every day! Kaempfer has done his homework and manages to weave a delightful tale questioning the terrifying possibilities of truth for sale."
---Jeanne Ashley, Star 102 KCKC, Kansas City




"Richard Kaempfer has peeled the lid off your favorite radio station and shown what's inside. $everance turns the radio business on its head and makes you laugh out loud, but it also asks some tough questions. A great read!"
--Reed Pence, Media Tracks




"Got this book and read it in one sitting. Fantastic. I'm realizing that I worked with - and for - most of the characters in this book!"
--Len O'Kelly, WFGR Morning Host







"It's a ripe satire that rips the media giants a new one. Kaempfer throws his rocks with a keen insight."
--Jeff Hoover, WGN-TV Morning News






"Rick Kaempfer's novel Severance reveals the scary truth about the state of our media industry today. In a country where the First Amendment and the Fourth Estate were created specifically to keep our government in check, Severance is a must read for anyone who listens to the radio, watches TV or reads the newspaper—and who cares about the information they’re being fed. This is an extremely important book, one the mainstream media doesn’t want you to know about!"
--Kim Strickland, author of "Wish Club"


"A fast moving read that gives the reader insight into the fast moving radio industry; Kaempfer folds the reality of the business with the ridiculous...which is more often than not, the reality of the business!"
--Andi Kuhn, longtime radio personality





"Severance may be a novel – but the storyline it presents is a very realistic – albeit extreme look at the corporate media world – written as only an industry insider could do."
--Dan Kelley, longtime radio programmer

Here are several more from regular readers. 

Here's another. 

When it first came out, John Records Landecker even interviewed me about it in the pages of Shore Magazine. You can read that interview here.

I wrote about it for the Illinois Enterainter on the 10th anniversary.

Sadly, most of the things I predicted would happen (as satire) have happened. Even more sadly, in the case of political media, I wasn't savage enough. Reality has gone beyond satire. I still think it's the best thing I've ever written. But that's just my opinion.

I wish it had gained a bigger audience, but after my round of local media appearances (who embraced it), I realized that the national media would never give me a platform to point out how corrupt they were. At the time, my family was also struggling financially (I had recently left the business permanently, and was working as a free-lance writer), so this was the extent of my advertising budget. It was highly mobile, but it turns out, it wasn't too effective...