MEDIA NOTEBOOK
A curation of news items about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago.
RADIO/PODCASTS
*WLS
100
=April 24th of this year is the 100th anniversary of WLS-AM. If you haven’t been paying attention, current WLS morning man Steve Cochran has been doing some great interviews with some of the most important figures in the station’s history. For instance, this is his chat with famous former WLS program director John Gehron. He has also chatted with Tommy Edwards, Roe Conn, Jeff Davis, Garry Meier and more. More interviews and a photo gallery are here.
=Also, if you are/were a WLS fan, you should be following Scott Childers’ Chicago’s WLS Radio History page on Facebook. Scott wrote the book on the subject (literally) and has been posting some incredible photos every day.
*Phil
Manicki
=Me-TV FM has a new program
director, longtime Chicago jock Phil Manicki. Phil replaces Rick
O’Dell who retired late last year. Phil has previously worked in Chicago at
WDRV, WLUP, WCKG, and WGN. “Thanks to Weigel Broadcasting for creating the coolest radio
station in Chicago,” Manicki said. “I’m excited to join the incredible team at
MeTV FM following fellow WPGU alumni, Rick O’Dell to write the next chapter in
the station’s story.”
=WPGU, by the way, is the student run radio
station at the University of Illinois. Other prominent alumni in Chicago media
include Roger Ebert, Dane Placko, Charlie Meyerson, Wendy Rice, Kathy
Voltmer, Robin Baumgarten, Gene Honda, Jon Hansen, Andrea Darlas, Alex Quigley,
Ben Ponzio, Greg Easterling, and Steve Ennen. And me too.
*Ashley Bihun Named Operations Manager at WGN
=Ashley had previously worked at WGN as a
producer and for the past four years she had been a supervising producer for
the station.
*BIN Promotes Thompson & Ingram
=Chris Thompson and Angela Ingram have been promoted at BIN (Black Information Network). Thompson will now be the Senior VP of News/Programming. Ingram adds the title of Senior VP of Public Engagement. She will continue her work at iHeart Chicago where she has been since the mid-90s.
*Honoring Les
=Mark Grote did a tremendous job on the
Score Wednesday morning paying tribute to the late-great Les Grobstein
who died two years ago this week. If you missed it, you can listen to it here.
*Podcast
Corner
=The incredible shrinking podcast industry. Apple’s new policy is driving down listener numbers. Max Tani at Semafor explains.
=Meanwhile
in Rosemont, Steve Dahl brought aboard Tom Thayer as a guest on
his podcast. Rick Gieser was on hand to watch the recording.
=Rick
Kogan recommends two Chicago sports books. One is George Ofman’s book
chronicling the sports guests he’s had on his podcasts.
*Regional
Oversight
=I’m keeping a close eye on Audacy
since they announced their Chapter 11 restructuring. There has been a flurry of
activity in executive positions, but most of those changes so far have been in
other markets. This is the first news about the Chicago market. Brian Purdy, who has served as a
Regional President and Dallas Market Manager since 2017, has added regional
oversight for Audacy Chicago, Madison, and Milwaukee. Chicago was previously
overseen by Rachel Williamson, who last month was promoted to
President of Local Sales Strategy & Innovation.
*Music
News
=This
year’s inductees to the Songwriters Hall of Fame include Steely Dan and REM.
More info here.
=The Smashing Pumpkins announced they were looking for a new guitarist. 10,000 people applied.
*Rest
In Peace
The last surviving member of Edward R. Murrow’s radio team (and only female). She was 101.
*The
Loop Files
=Don’t
forget to come out this weekend. Come
for the records, and swing by my table to buy a signed book. If you've already
bought the book and want it signed, I'm happy to do that too. Any former
Loopers in the area are invited. I have a poster I'm asking former Loopers to
sign that we are auctioning off for charity when this book tour concludes.
Additional details below…
*January 15—Martin Luther King Jr. birthday
=This year his holiday and birthday synched up. Every year I like to
highlight this song, put together in 1970 by Detroit disc jockey Tom
Clay. It’s a beautiful tribute to JFK, MLK, and RFK.
=Mary is the boss at WGN Radio these days, having previously
produced classic shows by the likes of Steve Cochran and Steve Dahl.
She is the first female GM in WGN’s 100-year history. I interviewed her last
year for Illinois Entertainer.
*January
17—Zach Harris birthday
=Harris
worked previously with Q101, B96, and
WCKG.
*January 17, 1956—Chuck Goudie birthday
=Channel 7’s premier investigative reporter has been with WLS-TV
since 1980 and has been their chief investigative reporter since 1990. He has
won every award imaginable, including Emmys, Lisagors, Murrows, and more.
*January 17—Tom Marker birthday
=Marker is still heard on the radio at WDCB spinning his blues classics. He is best known for his multi-decade run at Chicago’s WXRT. He also just appeared on the Car Con Carne podcast.
*January 17—Ted Novak birthday
=Ted was a long-time traffic reporter for WGN radio and became a favorite
of the late-night and overnight crowd.
*January 17—Rick Zurick birthday
=Zurick was the morning news anchor and news director at WLIT for
many years, and also anchored news for WGN Radio.
*January 18, 1922—Bob Bell birthday
=Simply one of the most beloved local media people in Chicago
history. Bob Bell was none other than Bozo the Clown at WGN television for
decades.
*January 18—Corey Morris birthday
=The former Chicago traffic reporter now lives in Laredo, Texas.
*January 18—Jim Gronemann Birthday
=Producer Jim, as he is known on Melissa Forman’s WLIT
morning show, worked with Melissa for twenty years. When
I interviewed Forman for Illinois Entertainer in 2021, she said: “He’s Lenny to
my Squiggy”.
*January 18—Jake Hamilton Birthday
=Entertainment reporter at Good Day Chicago on Channel
32.
*January 18—Reed Pence birthday
=The former WLUP and WBBM-FM newsman was the co-owner of
MediaTracks which produced public affairs programs for hundreds of radio
stations nationwide. He is now retired.
*January
19—Roy Leonard birthday
=One of
the smoothest air personalities in Chicago radio history. I was lucky to get a
chance to interview Roy just a few years before he passed away. It was one of
my all-time favorite interviews. You can read it here, if you’re interested. After I posted it, he e-mailed me and
said: "You didn't have to print ALL of it." Yes I did.
*January 20—Chris Witting birthday
=The founder and CEO of Syndication Networks Corporation (based in
Chicago). His Success Journal airs in Chicago on WBBM
NewsRadio 780.
*January 20—Rich Renik birthday
=The former WMAQ and WUSN personality is now part of the Alpha
Media group in Crest Hill.
*January 20—Mick Kahler birthday
=Mick produced legendary personalities in Chicago for decades
(including Larry Lujack at WLS and Big John & Ray at
US-99) before leaving radio to become a teacher. He still writes parody songs
that are occasionally featured on WGN-TV.
TV/STREAMING
*Another
honor for Tom Skilling
=He is being inducted into the Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame. We only have a little
over a month to enjoy Skilling on WGN-TV. He signs off at the end of February.
*You
Can See Why the White Sox Didn’t Want Him
=Congrats
and last laugh to Jason…
Our 2023 State Winners:
— NSMA Sports Media (@NSMASportsMedia) January 16, 2024
ILLINOIS SPORTSCASTER OF THE YEAR@jasonbenetti
ILLINOIS SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR@kfishbain
Full list at: https://t.co/wzE3OxfiqV pic.twitter.com/huqvbW6eQu
=Jeff Agrest ranked the top sportscasters in Chicago. He has Pat Hughes #1 on his list.
*New host at Fox-32
=Brian Jackson begins next week...
*The
Emmy Awards
=Great night for The Bear,
Succession, and Beef. Also kind of fun to see the reunions of old TV
show casts, but whoo boy, was the writing painful.
=People Magazine’s Top 12 moments of the show.
=Elton John becomes 19th EGOT winner. All of them are here.
=The ratings were the lowest in Emmy history.
*Best
and Worst NFL Announcer teams for 2023
=The
website Awful Announcing ranks them every year. Last year the team of Ian
Eagle & Charles Davis (CBS) was ranked #1. This year, they fall
to #2, behind Joe Buck and Troy Aikman (ESPN). All 17 teams that broadcasted NFL games this year are ranked here.
*A
Groundhogs Day Tribute to Harold Ramis
=February
2nd. Good morning, woodchuck-chuckers. I think of this film every
time I hear “I Got You Babe” by Sonny & Cher.
*Cable
News Corner
=Elle
Magazine has a great profile of CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in their
current issue.
*Happy
Days at 50
=Surviving
cast Ron Howard, Anson Williams, Donnie Most, and Marion Ross
talk to the New York Times.
*High
School Basketball
=It's high school basketball season again, and The U (WCIU-TV) will broadcast live girls and boys local high school basketball on “Game of the
Week” in February, including the Girls & Boys
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) championships as well as the Illinois High School
Association (IHSA) Super-Sectionals.
*He
Won’t Be Back
=Seems like a petty reason, but as a German, Arnold knows that his papers must be in order. (I'm allowed to say that, I'm a German too)
Arnold Schwarzenegger will face criminal tax proceedings after failing to declare an item upon arrival to Germany, a Munich Customs press officer told CNN Wednesday. https://t.co/5wboiNhoo3
— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) January 18, 2024
*Rest
in Peace
The last surviving member of The Honeymooners. She played Trixie, Ed Norton’s wife. Joyce was 99 years old.
Star
of All My Children and Grown Ups. He was only 50.
PRINT/DIGITAL
*Bulls
Fans Boo Jerry Krause
Honestly,
one of the most shameful moments in Chicago fans history (just shy of Bartman)…
=Rick Morissey of The Sun Times points the finger of blame at Jordan.
=So does the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board.
*LA Times Staffers Stage One-Day Walkout
=They are protesting the impending (and promised) layoffs.
*Inside
The Messenger’s Money-Torching Bet to Make the Media Great Again
=Quite the headline, no? The article in the Washington Post tells the tale. The publication trying to present unbiased news (The Messenger) is being forced to lay off staff and is searching for additional funding after blowing through their initial $50 million stake.
*CEO
of Barstool Sports Steps Down
=Erika Ayers Badan made the announcement via X (Twitter)…
Viva pic.twitter.com/9bqaXdCcsh
— Erika (@erika_) January 16, 2024
*Rest
in Peace
The
great Washington Post television critic. He was 79. His book about Saturday
Night Live served as a model for me when I was writing The Loop Files.
SOCIAL MEDIA
*Sheryl
Sandberg Leaving Meta Board
=Arguably
the most famous female businesswoman in America is stepping down from the board
of directors at Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram. Axios has the story.
