Showing posts with label Johnnie Putman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Johnnie Putman. Show all posts

Friday, February 16, 2024

Media Notebook--2-16-24















MEDIA NOTEBOOK

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



RADIO/PODCASTS

 

 

*Audacy’s Post-Bankruptcy Moves

=When Audacy announced their bankruptcy, we all wondered about the next steps the company would take. Here are a few of them. Also, look who is gaining a majority financial stake: George Soros. Let the conspiracy theories begin. In Chicago, Audacy own WSCR, WXRT, WUSN, WBMX, and WBBM-AM & FM.


 

*KC Radio Host Killed in Parade Shooting

=The lone fatality in the Kansas City parade shooting was a DJ. Her name was Lisa Lopez-Galvan, and she co-hosted a show on KKFI Free Range Radio in Kansas City. Her son and two cousins were also injured. Inside Radio has more information about this tragic story. 

=This story broke this morning...



*Valentines from WSHE Listeners

=WSHE asked their listeners to create Valentine’s Cards so they could deliver them to La Rabida Children’s Hospital, and thousands of them did. It’s the eighth year the station has teamed up with the hospital for their Valentine’s Day Cards for Kids program.

 


*Steve & Johnnie’s Special Valentine’s Day

=On Valentine’s day in 1985, Steve King and Johnnie Putman were paired together as a team on WGN. It obviously worked out pretty well for them. They tell that story on their blog Both Sides Now. (Photo credit: Paul Natkin)



*Sports Talk Chicago Expands Regional Syndication

=Jon Zaghloul’s Sports Talk Chicago added a few more regional outlets this week. The show began on YouTube but now also airs in Kankakee (WKAN), Wilmington (WYKT), Bloomington-Normal (WRPW), Hammond IN (WJOB, and JED-TV), Aurora (ACTV), Round Lake Beach (WRLR), and Peoria (WZPN).

 


*Crystal Radio Award Finalists

=The NAB announced the finalists last night. There is exactly one Chicago station on the list, WTMX.



*Newsweb Sells WCPT

=The new owner of WCPT and WSBC is Heartland Signal. The price was $1. Of course, Fred Eychaner is the head of Newsweb AND the founder of Heartland Signal.


 

*SiriusXM Cutting 3% of Workforce

=Specific names and/or titles have not been announced yet, but 160 jobs will be eliminated.


 

*Rock & Roll HOF

=The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees for 2024: Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Eric B. & Rakim, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Jane's Addiction, Kool & the Gang, Lenny Kravitz, Oasis, SinĂ©ad O'Connor, Ozzy Osbourne, Sade, and A Tribe Called Quest.

 


*Podcast Corner

=Megan Markle gets new podcast partner after being dumped by Spotify.


 

*Ex-Chicago Radio

=Congrats to former WGN talker Brian Noonan. He is now entrenched as the evening host at WTMJ-Milwaukee, from 7-9pm weeknights.


 

*Rest in Peace

=Bob Edwards

Long-time NPR host, Morning Edition. He was 76.



*The Loop Files

=This next appearance for The Loop Files keeps getting better and better. Former Looper Dan McNeil will be there posing questions on the mic to Mitch Michaels, John Records Landecker and me. Also, my predecessor as Steve & Garry's producer (and guitarist for Steve Dahl's Teenage Radiation) Roman Sawczak will be there too.



 

MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES

 


*February 11—Jim Moran birthday

=I interviewed the former WLS man in 2011 for Chicago Radio Spotlight.

 


*February 11—Rob Creighton birthday

=Creighton worked at Next Media in the Chicago suburbs as a programmer and air talent.

 


*February 12—Wendy Snyder birthday

=Wendy has seen it all in Chicago broadcasting at radio stations like the Loop, Q-101, WCKG, WGN, and WLS. I’ve interviewed her many times over the years, including this one in Illinois Entertainer from 2013 when she and Bill Leff first re-started their show together on WGN.

 


*February 12—Allison Rosati birthday

=Allison has been with Channel 5 for more than 30 years now. She initially garnered attention doing First Thing in the Morning with Bob Sirott. Of course, she’s been the main anchor for the 5, 6, and 10 O’Clock news for many years now.

 


 *February 12—Alison Payne birthday

=The popular WGN-TV news anchor was only 57 years old when she passed away in 2021.

 


 *February 12, 1953—Channel 2 Changes Call Letters to WBBM-TV

=The TV station call letters were changed after CBS acquired it. They already owned AM 780 and FM 96.3 (since 1929!), and both of those stations went by the call letters WBBM (and still do).

 


*February 13—Jim Foster birthday

=Foster has been a jack-of-all-trades for WDRV for the past two decades, including morning traffic reporter. He also has worked for Steve Dahl, produced a morning show at the Loop, and more.

 


*February 13—Jerry Springer birthday

=Jerry passed away last year. He will always be remembered for his time in Chicago when his Jerry Springer Show became a national sensation. On the other hand, his stint as a commentator on the Channel 5 News eventually led to the departure of both Carol Marin and Ron Magers, the star anchors at the time.

 


*February 14—Pat O’Brien birthday

=Not many people remember that the former CBS Sports and Access Hollywood host got his big television break here in Chicago at Channel 5. He has since covered six Olympic Games, the World Series, the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals and the Final Four. Unfortunately for Pat, he will probably always be remembered for a series of embarrassing voicemails that became public in 2005. His career has never really recovered.

 


 *February 14—Rick O’Dell birthday

=For years he was the pre-eminent host on WNUA Radio, during their jazz days. He retired last year as the programmer for Me-TV FM. I interviewed him about that in 2021 for Illinois Entertainer.

 


*February 14—Janet Sutherland birthday

=Sutherland is a former Chicago radio reporter where she was heard covering Supreme Court cases, Illinois legislation, health news and prison stories on WMAQ, WLS, WGN, KMOX, UPI Radio and 75-plus radio stations on the Illinois and Wisconsin Radio Network. In 2004, she suffered a brain aneurysm. Her long and painful recovery is chronicled in the book Nose Over Toes.

 


 *February 16—Joy Masada birthday

=Joy is probably best remembered for her days as part of the Danny Bonaduce show (on the Loop) and her stint as the producer of the Murphy in the Morning show on Q-101. She also had a five-year run at WCKG.

 


*February 17—Cheryl Raye Stout birthday

=Cheryl has been a sports reporter at WBEZ for more than 25 years now. She previously worked for WMAQ (producer of Chet Coppock’s original sports talk show) and WMVP. I interviewed Cheryl for Chicago Radio Spotlight in 2012.

 

 

*February 17—John Roach birthday

=John Roach was the genius creator of The Sportswriters on TV (with Rick Telander, Bill Jauss, Bill Gleason, and Ben Bentley), which ran in Chicago from 1985-2000. He also wrote a film called The Straight Story which was nominated for an Academy Award. He lives in Madison Wisconsin these days.

 

 

TV/STREAMING

 


*I Can't Imagine Life Without Tom Skilling

=WGN colleagues (Bob Jordan, Dan Roan, Mark Suppelsa, Steve Sanders, Jackie Bange, Muriel Claire, Bill Snyder, Dina Bair, Pat Grimes) pay tribute.

=I interviewed Tom too, and he will be featured in my next IE column, and also an upcoming podcast.



*Most Watched Television Show Ever

=The numbers for Super Bowl 58 are mind-boggling. 200 million watched part of it. 120+ million watched on CBS. 

=So naturally, this was announced two days later…

=Have you seen the full version of the Affleck Dunkin commercial?


 

*ESPN Segment on McMichael Makes Studio Hosts Emotional

=I think I had something in my eye, as well. 

 


*Jon Stewart’s Return to Daily Show

=I thought he did a great job in his first show back, Energetic and cutting. The New York Times agrees. 

 


*Colin Jost to host White House Correspondent’s Dinner

=One of the toughest rooms a comedian can play. 



*Fred Weintraub Honored

=Fred is the producer of WCIU-TV's high school sports coverage...



*ABC Announces Renewals

=List is heavy on game shows. 


 

*Vern’s Last Masters

=He’s done 40 of them.


 

*The DGA Awards

=Usually an influential award to Academy Award voters. 

 


*Cable News Corner

=Buckle Up, CNN.


=Look who is back!


 

DIGITAL/PRINT

 

*Rest in Peace

=Jack Higgins

The Pulitzer Prize winning Sun-Times cartoonist was 69.

=Jon Margolis

Former Chicago Tribune political columnist. He was 83.

=Jack Houston

28-year Chicago Tribune editor and writer. Covered the Pope’s visit to Chicago as religion writer.


 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

*How Do You Know Your Interview Was a Failure?

=Moscow movie theaters will be showing Tucker Carlson’s interview with Vladimir Putin.



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.

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Friday, September 09, 2022

Media Notebook--9-9-22













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

=Radio Insight has the full listings of Chicago radio’s Nielson ratings.  Just to give you a quick update, the Top Five stations (6+) in this past month’s ratings are The Drive & The Lite (tied for first), followed by WBEZ (NPR), WVAZ, and WBBM-AM (NewsRadio).

 


*Melissa McGurren drops her appeal

=It looks like this is the end of the line for Melissa’s appeal of her defamation lawsuit against her former employer WTMX. Her attorney filed a motion to withdraw the case, and on August 16th, it was officially dismissed. Cynthia DiNicola’s case against the company, however, continues. 

 


*Audacy has lost a billion dollars since 2018

=When I worked at CBS Radio about 20 years ago, they were so cheap they kept a lid on who could use the good stationery. It inspired an amusing chapter in my novel $everance. Well, that was a company that was making money hand over fist. I can’t even imagine what is happening now. Those same stations that were once owned by CBS Radio are now owned by Audacy, and they are in the midst of an honest to goodness financial crisis. Over the last four years, they’ve lost a billion dollars. That’s billion with a B. The Philadelphia Inquirer did a deep dive on that story this week. 

 


*Health Updates

Two Chicago treasures are battling pretty serious health issues. In case you missed the updates posted via social media this week, here’s the latest news about Lin Brehmer and Hub Arkush…

=Lin Brehmer posted this on Facebook: Hi there. Remember me? Just taking in a view of the city I love. There are two issues I'm dealing with right now. I am recovering from the surgery to put a rod in my femur after it fractured. Using a walker and wheelchair to get around. By the way, never fracture your femur. It is very painful. And then there's my ongoing treatment for prostate cancer. Rolling with the punches. At least a couple more months of chemotherapy. Putting on a brave face. Miss you all.

=Arthur Arkush posted this on Twitter about Hub: Thank you all for Hub's well wishes. I'm woefully behind in responding to many of them, but please know your support means the world to all of us. It's NFL Week 1, but Hub is in Week 3 of his battle — with incredible strides coming nearly every day. Excited to share more asap.

 


*Award Winners/Nominees

=The INBA Crystal Mic Award winners were announced this week. Congrats to WBBM NewsRadio for winning Best Large Market Radio Station, and to Lisa Fielding for winning Best Reporter, and Jeff Joniak for winning Best Sports Report. The full list of winners is here. 

=The College Broadcaster Awards were also announced this week, and a few of our local universities were recognized. Glad to see that college radio is still alive and well. Congratulations to ISU’s radio station WZND. They brought home quite a few awards. Eastern Illinois’ station WEIU also snagged an award in the sports reporting category. 

=Sam Alex is a local boy who has made a big name for himself nationally. This week he was nominated for a Country Music Award for the Sam Alex show. Sam grew up in the Chicago area, and still donates a lot of time in the area but is now hosting a national show based out of Nashville.

 


*RIP Anne Garrels

=The NPR correspondent passed away this week at the age of 71. The New York Times has her obituary. 

 


*Podcast Corner

=At one time Call Me Daddy was one of the highest rated podcasts in the world. Then the co-hosts had a feud. It’s a tale as old as time. You can read about here. 

=One of the biggest news stories this week concerned the escape of the conman Fat Leonard. I’m sure you read about it, but did you know that he recently did a podcast? 

=George Ofman’s podcast features interviews and conversations with Chicago sports media celebrities. This week’s episode is about native Chicagoan Greg Gumbel, from Hyde Park to broadcast fame. Listen to it here.

 

 

MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES

 


*Bobby Skafish goes to the Loop (September 1983)




*John Howell’s birthday/September 4

=I interviewed the WLS night talker in 2007 when he was co-hosting a morning show with Cisco Cotto at WIND.

 


*Roy Leonard death anniversary/September 4, 2014

=I was lucky enough to have a lengthy chat with Roy back in 2010  and we covered his entire career. After I posted the interview he e-mailed me and said: “Did you actually post every word of our conversation? Nobody wants to hear that much about me.” I disagreed then, and I’m even more glad I did it now. Here's a little taste...

    Marcel Marceau was one of my first guests—and we really hit it off. Ironically, he wouldn’t shut up (laughs). We even had him out to the house. That’s one thing I never really talked about on the air—that I spent a lot of time with some of these people off the air—many of them came out to the house. I remember another time we had Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits over. He ended up in the bedroom upstairs playing guitar with my boys.

 


*Johnnie Putman birthday/September 5

=The better half of WGN’s long-time overnight team Steve & Johnnie (that’s Steve description) talked to me for Illinois Entertainer back in 2016 

.


*WGN-TV Morning Show anniversary/September 6

=On September 6, 1994, the WGN-TV morning show as we know it today debuted. I don’t think they could have possibly foreseen the ratings juggernaut it would become. I’ve written about the show a few times, including for Shore Magazine ten years ago. Here’s a short excerpt from that article…

                Of course it’s one thing to have a guest do something crazy, or to have your evil genius segment producer (Hoover) appear on camera and perform his dead-on Jerry Lewis, Christopher Walken or Neil Diamond impersonations, or to have a regular contributor like gifted comedian Mike Toomey do a wacky character on the show, but it’s another thing altogether for the anchors to do something like that themselves.

            Is there anything they’ve ever refused to do?

            “I won’t dress like a woman,” Potash admits, drawing the line.

            “I won’t dance,” Konrad adds.

            “Um,” Robin says, thinking about it. “Wow, well, let’s see. I’m trying to think if I’ve ever said no to anything before. Maybe that’s part of my problem.”

 


*Jonathan Hood birthday/September 7

=I interviewed the ESPN Radio morning co-host (with David Kaplan) in 2010. 

 


*Steve Scott birthday/September 7

=The former WLS Newsman is now a radio star in the big Apple (WCBS), but he hasn’t forgotten his Chicago roots. At least he still hadn’t forgotten them when I chatted with him in 2008. 

 


*Marc Silverman birthday/September 10

=2020 was a rough year for the ESPN radio afternoon co-host (with Tom Waddle). I talked to Silvy in the midst of his medical difficulties.  So happy to see he has recovered since.

 


*Norman Lear is 100!

=The legendary television producer/writer turned 100 over the summer, and the Hollywood Reporter talked to him about that milestone. Among the topics discussed, his thoughts about the abortion debate, 50 years after the controversial Maude episode.

 


*RIP Queen Elizabeth

=The Queen made it to 96 years old before passing away yesterday. She famously visited Chicago in 1959. Found this video on YouTube…


 

 

TV/STREAMING

 

*Award Winners

=The INBA Crystal Mic Award winners were announced this week, and a few Chicago TV stations brought home the honors. WGN-TV won for Best Breaking News for covering the Oak Brook Mall Shooting, and WLS-TV won for Best Digital Presence and for Best Weather Operation. The full list of winners is here. 

 


*YouTube vs. Traditional Television

Anyone with kids knows the power YouTube has over the younger generation. It’s hard to overstate it. Here are a few pieces written this week that further illustrate the current situation.

=8 numbers that show how big YouTube has become for younger viewers (Bloomberg). 

=Why millions are watching YouTube recaps instead of the actual TV shows (Daily Beast) 

 


*The Grass is Not Always Greener

=Local and network television is clearly struggling, but would you believe that streaming services are already facing an existential crisis? According to the Washington Post, that’s what’s happening, and the viewers are noticing. 

 


*RIP Bernard Shaw

=The former CNN Anchor passed away this week at the age of 82. Shaw was the first chief-anchor at the network. The AP has his obituary.  He was known for his stellar work at CNN, but Shaw was a native Chicagoan. He attended University of Illinois Chicago, got his broadcasting start here (at WNUS, which is now WGRB), and in 2002 was awarded the Order of Lincoln (the state’s highest honor) by Governor George Ryan.

 


*Kyle Long Lands at CBS

=The former Chicago Bears offensive lineman is now a part of the CBS Sports Network. More details on his new gig are here. 

 


*Cable News

=Is there a purge going on at CNN? The Washington Post tackled that issue this week. 

=Is there a smoking gun e-mail at Fox News regarding the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit? NPR reported this week that there was. 

 


*What Real Censorship Looks Like

=Both sides of the political divide in this country at one time or another are claiming they are being censored. If you’d like to know what real censorship looks like, take a look at this analysis of what China does to the show The Big Bang Theory. It’s fascinating to see what they clip out of the show. 

 


*New Streaming News Shows

=Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace is going to be part of the HBO Max/Discovery Plus channel (as well as CNN) 

=John Dickerson will be doing a nightly show M-Thursday for CBS News Streaming service. 

 


*The Creative Arts Emmys

=The full list of winners is here, and it’s a star-studded list, including the Beatles, Barack Obama, Adele, RuPaul, and Chadwick Boseman.

 

 

OTHER MEDIA NEWS

 

 

*The Salt Shed is a Hit but Nearby Businesses are not Happy

=The Salt Shed has become a very popular concert destination in Chicago, but for everything good it seems there is an unintended consequence. Two local recording studios are nearby, and they can no longer operate during the hours concerts are taking place because of the noise level. Block Club Chicago has the story. 



*Politico’s New German Owner

=Sounds like a real peach. Read this recent profile and see if you agree.

 

*Social Media Corner

=Instagram is being punished for the way they handled teen users information in Ireland. The fine is a measely $400 million. Read more about that here. 

=Truth Social is on the verge of collapse. The Washington Post headline describes the situation pretty well: Truth Social in Limbo as Merger Partner Grapples with Another Failed Vote.

 


*Photography Corner

=Paul Natkin is not only the go-to-photographer for every media person in Chicago, he’s also one of the greatest rock photographers of all time. Now he has a book out. Find out more about that here. 

=Everyone is a photographer these days thanks to the phone in our pocket, but some people are better than others at creating memorable iPhone photographs. Take a look at these 20 photos that are winners of the 2022 iPhone photography awards.

 

*Printer’s Row Litfest

=Chicago’s premiere literary festival is taking place this weekend in Printer’s Row. Hundreds of authors will be out there, including me, and about a dozen authors from my company Eckhartz Press. It runs on Saturday and Sunday from 10am-6pm. My co-publisher David Stern will be there with Randy Merkin (Behind the Glass) and Paul M. Banks (Transatlantic Passage) on Saturday. I’ll be there on Sunday along with fellow authors John Owens (Chili Dog MVP), William Wagner (Talking Bout My Generation), Margaret Larkin (Wicker Park Wishes), and Ken Korber (the Grace book series). Come on out and say hello!



*MEDIA NOTEBOOK site

I have moved all of the previous Media Notebook columns to it's own site, and will continue to post each of them here. If you'd like to bookmark this page, you can find them all in one place. 


If you have any media stories (Chicago or national) that you think I might like to share in future columns, feel free to drop me a line at rick@eckhartzpress.com or amishrick@yahoo.com

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