MEDIA NOTEBOOK
A curation of news items about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago.
RADIO/PODCASTS
*WLS 100
=This weekend you'll want to tune in to this...
=One of the many interviews of former WLS personalities featured recently. Steve Cochran interviews Bill Leff
=Since today is the actual 100th anniversary, here's some light reading for you. My interviews with some of the all-time WLS greats (in alphabetical order). Click on their names to read the interviews.
*Blackhawks
Re-Sign with WGN Radio
=The Blackhawks and WGN made the announcement this week. 3 more years. Troy Murray and John Wiedeman
will remain on the broadcasts, and Joe Brand will remain on the pre- and post-game
shows.
*What is
George Soros Planning to Do in the Audio World?
=George Soros
is a famous liberal financier. He is now the majority owner of Audacy, and
recently invested in Crooked Media (the company created by former Obama aides,
the hosts of the popular Pod Save America). Why is he putting his money here?
Max Tani, the media writer for Semafor, speculates and analyzes.
=According to this piece in Radio Insight, Soros is also in talks to acquire Cumulus broadcasting. In Chicago, Cumulus owns WLS-AM, WLS-FM, and WKQX-FM. Since one company can only own 8 stations in a market (5 FMs, 3 AMs), and Audacy already owns WXRT-FM, WBBM-FM, WBBM-AM, WSCR-AM, WBMX-FM, WUSN-FM, and WCFS-FM, they would be forced to sell at least 2 FM stations if that sale really occurs. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see what Soros would do with conservative talk WLS-AM?
*Dave
Benson
=When I heard that former WLUP, WXRT, and WMET jock/music director Dave Benson was programming some internet stations from his home, I had to check them out. I’ve always admired his impeccable taste in music. So, I listened to it this week. Incredible. You can check it out here. He has a jazz station (Thejazzstation365), a mix of rock, blues, indie, folk and more (Bensonic) and one that combines all genres (The Odd Sunday).
*Has NPR
Lost America’s Trust?
=That’s what
current NPR business editor Uri Berliner claims in this essay. I’m
guessing he wasn’t welcomed in the NPR hallways with big hugs after this came
out.
*Podcast
Corner
=WGN’s Karen
Conti (now also an author) appeared on the True Murder podcast to
talk about her book Killing Time with John Wayne Gacy
=Coming soon to your podcast machine: Dora the Explorer.
*The Loop
Files
=I had a great time on this podcast. Thanks to Vicki & Wynne for having me on...
=Vicki also wrote a wonderful blog about what that station meant to her.
=I’ll be back on the road promoting the book in a few weeks. Next stop is Lake Zurich at the ELA Public Library, May 1st from 7-8pm. More info is here. I’ll be doing a whole presentation. Register at the link. Seating is limited. I believe they have only 60 seats left.
*Rest in
Peace
=Randi
Landes
Randy worked
at WJMK and ESPN in the traffic department and was a wonderful colleague and
friend to those who knew her (including me). She was a huge Cubs fan too. This is Randi with
her hero Billy Williams.
MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES
*April 7, 1984
=Steve King marries
Johnnie Putman. Congrats on 40 years of marriage.
April 7—Melissa Forman birthday
=She’s the morning host on
the top-rated radio station in Chicago, WLIT. Melissa has now been in Chicago
radio for nearly 30 years. I’ve interviewed her several times, including this 2021 feature in Illinois
Entertainer.
*April 7—Dorothy
Humphrey birthday
=Dorothy’s unique voice
was one of the highlights of the Kevin Matthews show on AM
1000 back in the day. Dorothy was a traffic reporter in Chicago for many years.
In the book The Loop Files she tells an incredible story about jumping out of
an airplane on Kevin’s show.
*April 7—Bebe North birthday
=Chicago sportscaster Mike
North talked about his wife Bebe so often she became a Chicago radio celebrity
in her own right.
*April 7—John Dacosse
birthday
*April 8—Esmerelda Leon birthday
=Esmerelda is currently
co-hosting the Nick D podcast (with Nick Digilio) on the Radio
Misfits Podcast Network.
*April 8—Doug Dahlgren birthday
=Doug had a good run in
Chicago in the 1970s, most prominently at WCFL. I got a chance to interview him for
Chicago Radio Spotlight back in 2012.
*April 8—Tom O’Toole birthday
=Tom was a long-time
market veteran. One of his claims to fame: playing the first ever song on the
Loop back in 1977.
*April 8, 1974—Henry
Aaron breaks Babe Ruth’s record
= I was watching and I’ll
never forget it. Vin Scully on the play-by-play…
*April 9—Dan Levy birthday
=Levy is a prominent
voice-over man in Chicago.
*April 9, 1982—Harry
Caray’s first home game as Cubs announcer.
=Fergie Jenkins got
the win. Lee Smith got the save. Bill Buckner hit a homer to win
it.
*April 10—Robert Murphy birthday
=The great Murphy in the
Morning had an incredible run as morning man at Q-101 in the 1980s, and more
recently worked at WLS-FM. I had a chance to interview him a few times over the
years, most recently in 2014 for Illinois
Entertainer.
*April 11—Ryan Manno birthday
=I interviewed the former Q-101 jock
along with his brother back in 2008 for Shore Magazine.
*April 11—Gil Gross birthday
=Gil was a newsman at
WLS-AM back in the 1970s, before taking his skills out to the West Coast and
having a very long and successful radio career in San Francisco.
*April
12, 1924—WLS Radio is born
=That’s
right, WLS is 100 years old. I’ll be at their celebration banquet
tonight.
*April
12—Larry Schreiner birthday
=Radio’s
all-time “street reporter” at WGN, Schreiner passed away in 2014. The WGN radio website did a nice
tribute to him at the time.
*April
12—David Letterman birthday
=He
looks a little bit like Santa Claus today with that big beard of his, but
Letterman will always be remembered as one of the kings of late night
television. I
interviewed his good pal Tom Dreesen a few years ago on my
podcast, and he told some great
stories about Letterman.
*April
13—Bob Stroud birthday
=I’ve
interviewed Bob many times over the years, including in 2022 for Illinois
Entertainer.
*April
13—Ken Nordine birthday
=The
word-jazz master died in 2019 at the age of 98. The New York Times did a great tribute
to him at the time.
*April
13--Amy Guth birthday
=Amy is
currently with Crain’s Chicago, but she was with the Tribune and WGN Radio
before that.
*April
13--Shawn Burke birthday
=Burke
was the morning man at Oldies 104.3 WJMK in the early 90s. He currently resides
in Florida.
TV/STREAMING
*Gene Honda
=Gene has been
a PA announcer in Chicago for decades (Blackhawks, White Sox, Depaul,
University of Illinois, Big Ten Tournament, and NCAA Final Four since 2010),
and before that he was a radio guy at WLAK (now known as WLIT), and a TV guy at
WTTW. Fellow Illini.
Gene Honda, the PA announcer of the @MFinalFour, is announcing his last Final Four game tonight 👏
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 8, 2024
Thanks for all the memories 🙌 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/HNsGeK629s
*Sports
Emmy Award Nominees Announced
=The full list is here. The NFL Network snagged 11 nominations to lead the sports television
pack.
*Pat
Sajak’s Final “Wheel of Fortune” Episode Date Set
=It was announced this week. Mark your calendars. Sajak’s final “Wheel of Fortune” will
air on June 7. It was taped on Friday, the final episode of the 41st
season.
=Ryan Seacrest will be taking over for him. He says he’s feeling the pressure.
*Roz Varon
farewell
=It happened
last Friday. Her good friend Bart Shore was there taking pictures...
*Women’s
NCAA Final Sets Ratings Record
=Huge numbers.
18.7 million. Up 89% from last year. And 4 million more than the Men’s Final.
Pretty incredible.
*Ozempic
Jingle
=You've obviously seen and heard that
“oh, oh, Ozempic” jingle that is on every television show these days. You
may even remember the 1975 song by Pilot it is based on (“Magic”). But did you
know it’s the same singer? The New York Times has the story.
=I was only 12
at the time, but when “Magic” came out, it was one of my least favorite songs
ever. It’s right up there with “We Built This City” (the still undisputed
heavyweight champ of hated songs).
=The Ozempic jingle has rapidly moved up my most hated jingles chart, but still sits in second place behind the Kars-4-Kids jingle.
*Conan
Returns to the Tonight Show
=It was his
first time back in 14 years.
*Jon
Stewart Visits Duke
=And talks to
the journalism students there. Hilarity ensues.
*ESPN signs
9-year deal with the Mannings
=Technically,
it’s a 9-year deal with their production company Omaha Productions, but it includes a deal with Peyton
& Eli Manning to continue on their Monday Night Football broadcast.
*Hot Mic on
the Golf Course
=Remember, Tyrell
Hatton is a Brit. If you are sensitive to bad language, don’t click on the
video.
There has never been a hotter mic pic.twitter.com/k4rEjFbL0R
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 8, 2024
*$everance
=This month the rights to my first novel $everance reverted to me, and I'm now allowed to sell it at
Eckhartz Press. I'm still very proud of that book. It predicted many of the
changes that have occurred in the media over the past 15 years. Unfortunately,
it was a satire, so those predictions were supposed to be ridiculous.
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.
