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 WBBM-AM
=The Atlas family started the radio station this week in
1924 and were given the call letters WBBM. It’s a really interesting story,
which you can read here. My late father-in-law grew up in Wheaton near the
Atlas family, became friends with the kids, and told me some incredible stories
from those early days, going all the way back to the ‘40s. His description of
Mr. Atlas’ office in downtown Chicago was like something out of Citizen Kane.
*100 Years of WLS-AM
=They have been posting interviews with some of their
all-time greats. This week, they added an interview with WLS legend Catherine Johns.
*60 Years/The British Invasion
=February 9, 1964, The Beatles appeared on the Ed
Sullivan Show, and launched The British Invasion. Dave Plier
recently interviewed the owner of the Ed Sullivan library about that
momentous day.
=Bob Sirott has been doing Beatles-related material all week. Enjoyed this segment about how they created their sound at Abbey Road studios.
=We have two Eckhartz Press books that have humorous stories about the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. I’ve posted free excerpts from John Landecker’s book Records Truly is My Middle Name and Chuck Quinzio’s Life Behind the Camera. Click on the book titles to read them.
=This interview is about Chicago’s connection to the Beatles. It involves the great Dick Biondi.
*Q-101 Launches
Podcast Network
=Among the offerings: The Brian & Kenzie Podcast
(audio offerings from the morning show), Car Con Carne with former Q-101
stalwart James VanOsdol (the already popular “interview in a car” show),
The ROMANce podcast (with morning co-host Kenzie and her husband Justin
Roman, discussing their homelife), and A Case For (with morning show producer Case
making a Case for musical artists).
*Top Sports-talk Shows in the Country
=Barrett Sports Media ranked them and
named Bernstein & Holmes the #4 midday show in the country. Carmen
& Jurko came in at #6.
=In the afternoon slot, they ranked Parkins & Spiegel #2 and Waddle & Silvy #7.
=They also ranked the program directors. Mitch Rosen (The Score) is #2 in the country. Danny Zederman at ESPN is #12. Zederman recently got promoted to Director of Content.
*Radio Producer’s Throat Grabbed by Actor
=This one hit close to home for me, as a former radio producer who was asked to do things like this. Joshua Fox (from radio station KIIS) tried to play a joke on Saltburn star Jacob Elordi in Australia, and the star didn’t play along and asked him to delete the tape. When Fox wouldn’t do it, Elordi allegedly went for his throat. The BBC has more on this story.
*AI generated voices in robocalls are now illegal
=The FCC made the announcement this week.
*NPR’s Linda Wertheimer Retires
=The former
co-host of All Things Considered is an NPR legend (“Founding Mother”).
Her farewell note to the staff is here.
*Podcast Corner
=Joe Rogan Wins the Lottery. He just re-signed
with Spotify for (gulp) $250 million.
=BIN jumps into the podcast world. Black Land will be hosted by Emmy-Award winning journalist Vanessa Tyler.
*Rest in Peace
Eddie Volkman alerted me to the sad news earlier this week: “Buddy
Scott, the B96 program director who “created” Eddie and Jobo passed away this
morning from heart trouble and multiple other health problems. Breaks my heart.”
The outspoken country music star was 62.
He was a guitarist for the groundbreaking group MC5. Kramer
was 75.
The man who wrote “Elvis is Everywhere” was 66.
Bassist and music director of Bob Marley & the
Wailers. He was 77.
*The Loop Files
=Mark the date. I’m bringing the all-star team with me
this time, John Record Landecker and Mitch Michaels.
*February 4, 2009—Eddie Schwartz died
=Eddie was the overnight voice of Chicago for decades,
first at WIND, then at WGN, and finally at WLUP. When I interviewed Eddie in 2007, he was
already in declining health and was difficult to understand. Still, I’m glad I
got the chance to get him on the record while I could.
*February 4—Jim Williams birthday
=The Channel 2 news anchor recently celebrated his 20th anniversary
at the station.
*February 5—Elizabeth Grattan birthday
=Elizabeth worked in Chicago at WZZN and WGN.
*February 5, 1971—Grease premieres in Chicago
=It opened at Kingston Mines, before going to Broadway.
*February 6, 1924
=WBBM-AM signs on the air (more about that in this week’s
top story)
*February 6, 1964
=WCIU-TV signed on the air. It was Chicago’s first UHF
station at the time.
*February 6--Paul Brian birthday
=I interviewed the WGN and WLS veteran in 2008.
*February 6—Ed Tyll birthday
=You might not like what he says, but he’ll say it anyway, Ed
Tyll. The nighttime talker worked at AM 1000 for a few years in the early
90s. I
interviewed him for Chicago Radio Spotlight in 2010.
*February 8, 2000—Bob Collins passed away.
=The legendary WGN morning man’s death was dramatic
and shocking. He died in a plane crash. Chicago Radio Archives and Memories
posted the audio of WMAQ’s coverage of that
day. Photo of Bob Collins courtesy of Spike
O’Dell.
=The former program director of WGN (2006-2009) is now
retired.
*February 10—Alex Burkholder birthday
=Alex was an investigative reporter/producer for WGN-TV (21
years) and WLS-TV (24 years) working alongside the great John Drury.
Burkholder is the author Death
of the Angels, about the fire that claimed so many lives at Our Lady of
the Angels school in 1958.
TV/STREAMING
*The History of The NFL Today
=Jeff Agrest has a piece in the Chicago Sun-Times about this weekend's upcoming special about The NFL Today. It has many deep ties to Chicago. The show airs Sunday at Noon.
*Cheryl Scott’s Fertility Journey
=Last year she decided to have her eggs frozen, and she
has chronicled that journey for the ABC-7 audience. You can read more about it and watch it here.
*The Super Bowl
=How much does a 30 second ad go for in this weekend’s
Super Bowl? $7 million.
*ESPN, Fox & Warner Brothers to Team Up for Sports
Streaming Service
=It won’t launch until later this year, but the idea is to get as much sports as possible into one streaming platform. You’re not going to like the price. Read more about that here.
*Joe Girardi Goes Back to New York
=The last few seasons Joe has turned up semi-regularly on
the Marquis Network. That won’t happen this year. He has signed with the YES network to be part of Yankees broadcasts this year.
*CNN Cancels Morning Show
=I guess it wasn’t Don Lemon’s fault after all. Variety has the details.
=The new strategy is less banter, more news.
*The Grammys
=The show was a big ratings winner (16.9 million
viewers). The Full list of winners is here.
=The biggest winner was probably Tracy Chapman. Her song “Fast Car” shot up to #1 on the iTunes chart.
=Didn’t see this coming…
Congratulations on topping the charts, Tracy Chapman! It was great seeing you on stage at the Grammys this weekend. I'm so glad a new generation is enjoying your terrific music. @tchapmanonline pic.twitter.com/Bitf0RT75e
— Senate President Don Harmon (@DonHarmonIL) February 6, 2024
*The Renewed Popularity of Gilmore Girls
=The best thing about streaming services is rediscovering
series from the past you may have missed the first time around. I’m currently
on a Perry Mason kick on Paramount+. The rest of you are apparently
watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix.
*Rest in Peace
He left behind a great legacy on film, particularly as Apollo Creed.
SOCIAL MEDIA
*Tucker Carlson’s Putin Interview
=Just what we needed. Russian propaganda straight from
the horse’s mouth. You know who is most offended by this interview? Russian
journalists…
Unbelievable! I am like hundreds of Russian journalists who have had to go into exile to keep reporting about the Kremlin's war against Ukraine. The alternative was to go to jail. And now this SoB is teaching us about good journalism, shooting from the $1000 Ritz suite in Moscow https://t.co/9R3lqy5O6v
— albats (@albats) February 6, 2024
*X (Twitter) to Invest in Original Video Content
=They are going to pay celebrities and influencers to try to regain audience.
