Musings, observations, and written works from the publisher of Eckhartz Press, the media critic for the Illinois Entertainer, co-host of Minutia Men, Minutia Men Celebrity Interview and Free Kicks, and the author of "The Loop Files", "Back in the D.D.R", "EveryCubEver", "The Living Wills", "$everance," "Father Knows Nothing," "The Radio Producer's Handbook," "Records Truly Is My Middle Name", and "Gruen Weiss Vor".
A weekly update/preview of my latest podcasts, and a look back at some of my previous audio work from this week in history over the past 40+ years.
Our podcasting equipment finally broke down after 500+ episodes, so we are in the process of building a new studio. Until that is completed, here are a few audio highlights to chew on.
=My brush with the former presidential mistress was discussed on this episode, along with audio of the interview, and the parody song I wrote about it.
A curation of news items
about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago
(By Rick Kaempfer)
Happy to be back in the
saddle.
RADIO/PODCASTS
*The 2023 inductees to the
Radio Hall of Fame are…
102.9
WMGK Philadelphia morning host John DeBella
Longtime
“The Big 98”
WSIX Nashville morning host Gerry House
WNEW/WCBS-FM
and SiriusXM host Pat St. John.
Former
WAAF Boston, WIYY Baltimore, and KISW/KZOK Seattle morning host Bob
Rivers.
American
Top 40 host Shadoe Stevens
NPR
correspondent Nina Totenberg.
WLIB/WBLS
New York and Inner City Broadcasting executive Charles Warfield.
RadioInk
publisher Deborah Parenti.
=Chicago is shut out this year, unfortunately.
=Quick story about one of the inductees, Bob Rivers. When
he was in Baltimore back in 1988, he did that old “stay on the billboard until
my team wins” stunt when the Orioles started the season off winless. One of my
first jobs as Steve & Garry’s producer was to get a phone number for him so
they could make fun of him.
*Illinois Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
=This month’s Illinois Entertainer is out and features my
interview with Ron Romero from the Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and
Museum. You can read it here.
*New
boss at Hubbard
=While I was on my July hiatus, Hubbard Radio announced the
appointment of Keith Lawless as VP/Market Manager for The Drive, the Mix, and
WSHE. Lawless comes from Tampa where he had a 25-year run with Cox Media.
*All Access Shuts its Doors
=Another radio/media/music publication is going away.
Joel Denver’s All Access is shutting down after 28 years on August 15th.
It was purely a financial decision, as Denver said “the money just isn’t there
anymore to continue.” These staffers are now available.
*Sportscaster-palooza
=When I was a kid I believed the Beatles all lived in the
same house (like in the movie “Help”) and hung around with each other all the
time. Turns out that wasn’t true, but you know what is true? All Chicago
sportscasters live in the same house and hang out together. Here is the
evidence. From left to right. Chuck Swirsky, Mike Monaco, Zach Zaidman,
Adam Amin, Jason Benetti, Jon Wiedeman, Darrin Jackson and Jeff Joniak. I
wonder where their house is. Looks like it’s near the river.
=Where was Pat Hughes? Oh, no big whoop, he was just
being inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame.
=Abe was a fixture on the Angi Taylor Show at 95.5 FM (Rock 95.5)
for nearly three years as the co-host and executive producer of the show. The
station and Kanan were unable to agree on a contract, which officially ended
his time here. Kanan previously worked at Q-101 and the Loop.
*Lin Brehmer is a finalist for Personality of the Year
=Chicago may have been shut out of the Radio Hall of Fame
this year but look who was nominated for the prestigious Marconi Award for
Major Market Personality of the Year: the late great Lin Brehmer.
=August will be Lin Brehmer month in Chicago. You’ve
probably heard about the tribute concert to Lin at the Metro, but did you know
the Cubs are also joining in the celebration?
We're teaming up with @93XRT and @MetroChicago to honor the life of Chicago radio host Lin Brehmer.
Lin's Binge at Wrigley Field includes pregame food and music festivities at Gallagher Way, a limited-edition cap and more with proceeds benefitting Intonation and Nourishing Hope.… pic.twitter.com/QR9W83hle9
=The recently retired radio reporter Dave Kerner also has
been undergoing some pretty serious health issues these past two weeks. He
updated his Facebook friends with this report…
Three days after coming home following
the placement of two stents in my heart, I experienced some pain on my right
side (near rib cage) to the point of not being able to lie down and
sleep.Toughed it out until Monday when I called doctors and they arranged a
late Monday afternoon scan. Four hours after the scan, my cardiologist calls me
and says he’s concerned enough I should go back to hospital ER. Another two day
stay, more tests and the result of a small blood clot and a small amount of
fluid in a lung, both treatable without surgery. I’m back home again. Medical
people watching my back. And more that has happened to me and my health in the
last 11 days than the other 65-plus years put together. But again, VERY
GRATEFUL.
*Cisco Cotto’s new gig
=He’ll still be working at WBBM-AM, but...
*U of C radio station facing trouble
=U of Chicago’s student run radio station has had its
budget slashed, and the students and alumni fear for the station’s future.
Block Club Chicago has the details.
*Ex-Chicago Radio
=Remember
Don Geronimo? The former B-96 and WLS personality has been in Washington DC at
WBIG-FM for years now, but this week they showed him the door after an on-air
incident involving sexist comments toward a local Washington TV anchor. Details are here.
=Don’s
apology was posted yesterday. It’s too late to save him, but it’s still the
right thing to do.
=Brad White attended the
Illinois Center of Broadcasting and got his career start as a board op at WLIT.
Well, talk about working your way up the ladder! Last week iHeartMedia
announced that Brad has been named as the Program Director of one of America’s
most respected rock stations, KBCO in Boulder-Denver. He has been working at
the station and its Denver sister stations since 2003.
*Rest in Peace
We lost a few local legends over the past month. All of
them are big losses…
=Dick Biondi was one of the all-time greats.
Robert Feder’s tribute. Dick Biondi, Chicago’s definitive voice of Top 40 radio, dies at 90 https://t.co/VD3Oi78gvf
=Today was her last day as a traffic reporter on WGN-TV. She begins a new role as the co-host of a new show called Spotlight Chicago in September. (It was air at 3pm on WGN-TV). This is a look back at her traffic reporting career.
*No end in sight for writers/actors strike
=What does our media consumption future hold? The New York Times took a crack at answering the question we’ve all been wondering
about.
=The basketball announcing icon shared the bad news with
his fans a few weeks ago. ABC-7 has the story.
*Mark Jackson out at ESPN
=You’ve probably heard about the many layoffs at ESPN
over the past few weeks. The NBA crew in particular has been shaken up. Jeff
Van Gundy was shoved out recently. This week they said farewell to Mark Jackson.
*Vanna White signs partial deal
=When I signed off at the end of June, Vanna was in a
holdout with Wheel of Fortune, trying to secure a raise. She got part of
what she wanted. If you read between the lines, it doesn’t sound like she’ll
get all of it.
*Rest in Peace
We lost a few greats in the television/film world as
well.
=You may not know the name Jack Reed, but you’ve seen
famous actors portray him.
=Katie Spikes
We at 60 Minutes are mourning the loss of our longtime producer, Katie Spikes, and extend our deepest sympathies to her family.
Katie exemplified the best of 60 Minutes, in her work at CBS News for three decades, and as our beloved colleague and friend. pic.twitter.com/vY5oV3xMox
I've been working on an exciting book and will have details about that book in the coming weeks. My podcasts and regular blog features will return next week.
As usual, if you have any media news you'd like to share, drop me a line at rick@eckhartzpress.com.
