Showing posts with label Mark Caro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mark Caro. Show all posts

Friday, October 25, 2024

Media Notebook--10-25-24















MEDIA NOTEBOOK

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



RADIO/PODCASTS

 

*Chicago Public Media’s AI Plan

=OpenAI and Microsoft have invested $10 million in local news, including a $500,000 grant to Chicago Public Media in Chicago. According to Axios, in Chicago it will be used by WBEZ and the Chicago Sun Times for transcriptions, translations, and summaries. There’s more info here.

=WBEZ also got a grant from the Mellon Foundation to expand their radio project targeting prisoners and their families. Inside Radio has more.

 


*Vikki Kokuzian Leaving WGN Radio

=Her last day will be on Monday. Vikki is leaving to concentrate on her kids and her real estate business.


 

*Will Ferrell’s House Party

=Ferrell is coming to town tomorrow to host a charity party at Wintrust Arena, along with DJ White Shadow and Swedish House Mafia. They will be spinning tunes along with celebrity DJs and artists like D-Nice, A-Trak, Felix Da Housecat, Terry Hunter, Terrence Parker, Twista, and Henry Fong. It’s a charity fund raiser for Cancer for College. Get your tickets here.



*Podcast Corner

=Carson the Magnificent. Steve Cochran interviews Mike Thomas, who has just finished the Johnny Carson book begun by the late great Bill Zehme. 

=Coming soon: The Supper with Sylvia Podcast starring Chicago TV journalist Sylvia Perez. 

=Trump is appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast today.

=Tom Jones interviews Steve Kornacki for his Poynter Report Podcast.

=Political podcasts get election year bump.

=Barstool Sports Won’t Interview Harris or Trump. Dave Portnoy: “I’m not deep enough.”


 

*Ex-Chicago Radio Update

=Tony Sculfield, who anchored the morning show at WGCI for a few years, has re-emerged on the radio dial. The stand-up comic is now the co-host of the Toni and Tony Morning show on Kiss 104 FM in Atlanta.


 

*Music News

=MusiCares names the Grateful Dead as the Persons of the Year. The 34th annual award is handed out at a gala ceremony around the time of the Grammys. Tickets available here.

=Here’s an endorsement you might have missed: Insane Clown Posse endorsed Harris for President. Country singer Jason Aldean early voted for Trump.

=Chicago-based rapper Lil Durk arrested on murder-for-hire charge.

 


*Rest in Peace

=Paul Di’Anno

Former lead singer of Iron Maiden. He was 66.


 

MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES

 

*October 20—Artie Kennedy birthday

=The always lovable former WLUP and ESPN producer/production man. You can get an idea of Artie’s engaging personality from reading this interview I did with him back in 2009.

 

*October 21—Frank Mahoney birthday

=Frank worked with Geoff Pinkus at WIND and WCKG.

 

*October 22—Danny Parkins birthday

=Former Afternoon co-host at the Score, now with FS1.

 

*October 22—John Govi birthday

=The man behind those great Chicagoland record shows

 

*October 22-- Joe Collins birthday.

=One of Chicago’s best traffic reporters passed in 2017, just a few years after I interviewed him for Illinois Entertainer.

 

*October 22—Kurt Scholle birthday

=Former WJJD/WJMK/Satellite Music Network jock/newsman Kurt Scholle (air name: Kurt Schafer) is a dead-ringer for Santa during the holiday season.

 

*October 22—Pam Zekman birthday

=Chicago television’s investigative reporter extraordinaire 

 

*October 23—Dan Dorfman birthday

=Dan is a reporter for Pioneer Press, who occasionally writes for the Chicago Tribune.

 

*October 23, 1925

=Birth of the greatest late-night talk show host of all-time, Johnny Carson.

 

*October 24—Mary June Rose birthday

=The former WGN Radio program director Mary June Rose now lives in North Carolina and works as a photographer (MJ Rose-Photos).

 

* October 24 Anne-Marie Kennedy birthday

=Former WLUP (and CBS-Boston) promotional guru 

 

*October 25, 2014

=Ten years ago this week, we lost one of the good ones. Cindy Gatziolis was the promotion director at the Loop during the second Loop hey-day in the 90s, before going on to work for the Mayor’s Office of Special Events. I wrote this tribute to her the day she passed away.

 

*October 25-- Patti Haze birthday

=Chicago rock radio royalty.  I interviewed Patti for Illinois Entertainer in 2016.

 

*October 26-- Jasmine Cooper birthday

=TV/radio producer (WCIU, WGN)

 

 

TV/STREAMING

 

*Kevin Cross new IBA Chairman of the Board

=Cross is the President/GM of NBC Universal Chicago (Channel 5 & Telemundo). He added another title to his crowded business card, chairman of the board of the Illinois Broadcasters Association…



 

*NAB President Warns About Trump’s Media Threats

=Trump has now threatened to revoke licenses of NBC, ABC, and CBS during this current campaign. The president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters Curtis LeGeyt talked to The Hill about the threat.


 

*Leila Rahimi Leaves NBC-5

=Two years ago she was named the lead sports anchor at Channel 5. This week she confirmed to the Sun-Times that she is no longer with the station. She will continue appearing twice a week on the Score midday show.


 

*Mully & Haugh on TV

=It’s a radio simulcast…


 *50 Years of IHSA State Football Championships

=Tomorrow night (Saturday) at 8:00 on WCIU, Dave Bernhard and Tim O’Halloran will host a high school football special, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the state playoffs, and previewing and predicting this year’s upcoming finals (from 1A to 8A). The games will be played Thanksgiving weekend.

 


*Cable News Corner

=Father clearly doesn’t approve of this approach…

 =Cigar Aficionado Interviews Bret Baier


 

*Dana Carvey’s Incredible Joe Biden Impersonation

=The New York Times analyzes the great political impersonations from this election season and one of them stands out. Dana Carvey as Joe Biden. Totally agree.


 

*Congrats to WGN-TV

=More hardware for the WGN-TV shelf…


 *Rest in Peace

=Jack Jones

Crooner. Singer of the Love Boat theme. He was 86.



PRINT/DIGITAL

 


*Scoops of the Week

=Former Trump Chief of Staff General John Kelly ended his long silence, talking to Jeffrey Goldberg at the Atlantic, and Michael Schmidt at the New York Times. He has said of some of these things before, but this time there is audio.


 

*LA Times Editor Quits After Owner Nixes Endorsement

=The newspaper was getting ready to endorse Kamala Harris for president when owner Patrick Soon-Shiong stepped in to announce no endorsement would be made. That led editorial chief Mariel Garza to step down. The New York Times has more on the story.

=FYI, in case you forgot, the Chicago Tribune also no longer endorses candidates for president. Their owners (Alden Capital) made that decision in 2022. Neither does the Chicago Sun Times, because they merged with Chicago Public Media, and are now considered a not-for-profit.

=LATE UPDATE: Jeff Bezos also killed the Washington Post's endorsement of Kamala Harris.



*Writer Underwriting Writer

=Did you know that when Blair Kamin retired as the architecture writer for the Chicago Tribune, he agreed to pay for his successor out of his own pocket? Mark Caro has that incredible media story.


 

*Cooper Hefner Trying to Buy Back Playboy

=Hugh Hefner’s youngest child, Cooper, is trying to buy back the iconic Playboy brand, and according to this report, is offering $100 million. Cooper is 33 years old, the son of Hef and Kimberly Conrad.

=LATE UPDATE: His bid was "unanimously rejected" last night.

 


*Nuzzi Parts Ways with New York Magazine

=She had been suspended since the news of her affair with RFK Jr. came out a few weeks ago, but Olivia Nuzzi and New York Magazine made it official this week that she no longer works for the magazine.


 

*3rd Most Popular Magazine in America

=Would you believe it’s Costco Connection?


 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 


*Whistleblower Demands Nunes Firing at Truth Social

=According to this piece in Pro Publica, a whistleblower at Trump Media is calling out CEO Devin Nunes for “consistently lying” and “making the company vulnerable to action by regulators.”



 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, June 09, 2023

Media Notebook--6-9-23















MEDIA NOTEBOOK

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

(By Rick Kaempfer)



RADIO/PODCASTS

 

 

*House Committee Holds Hearing on AM Radio Future

=On Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing called: “Listen Here: Why Americans Value AM Radio.” The automakers received an earful from both parties. It remains to be seen if this brings out the desired effect. The Sun Times has a full report. 


*AM listening habits in Chicago

=It turns out that Chicago is one of the most AM-Radio friendly markets in the country. Last week Nielsen came out with a study of the top 141 markets, and Chicago ranked second in AM Radio listening – 48% of listeners tune to AM radio. We have five major AM-only stations, WGN (720), WSCR (670), WLS-AM (890), WIND-AM (560), and WMVP (1000). WBBM (780) has an FM simulcast (105.9), but it also has a huge AM radio audience. Then there’s also WCPT (820), WMBI (1100), WGRB (1390), WCKG (1530), and WVON (1690).


*2023 Radio Mercury Awards

=The awards for radio commercials were given out last night in New York, and the folks at FCB-Chicago were the big winners. WDRV The Drive also won in the Broadcast Radio Promotional Spot category. You can listen to the winners here.


*What happened to JP at WIIL Rock?

=John Perry was the PD and a jock at WIIL Rock. He went by JP on the air, and had been there for 30 years. This week I got a few tips that he was no longer at the station. I checked the website. Sure enough, his name is gone. I sought a statement to find out what happened, and still haven't gotten a response.

 


*Podcast Corner

=The Score’s Matt Spiegel is the host of a new Audacy podcast called The PBP. Each week Spiegel will talk to great baseball play-by-play announcers. The first episode features Joe Buck. The second episode is with Jason Benetti. 

=The Bob & Tom Show once aired here in Chicago on 103.5 FM. The show is still on the air in many markets, but since 2015, Bob hasn’t been a part of it. He retired from radio. Well, he recently was diagnosed with gastric cancer, and now he’s back doing a podcast to share his journey. It’s called The Bob & Cancer Show, and you can find it wherever you get your podcasts.

=Kevin Pollak is hosting a new podcast that goes over the episodes of the recently completed Amazon show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Pollak was one of the stars of the show (as Moishe Maisel), and he’s also a gifted comedian. Should be a good one.

=This one debuting on June 12 sounds interesting too. It’s called Diss and Tell and it’s about celebrity feuds.

=Did you know you can reach 35% of all weekly podcast listeners (13+) by advertising on the top ten rated podcasts. 45% on the top 25 rated podcasts. Edison Research has the details.

=For May, the top five rated podcasts were…

1.   The Daily – The New York Times

2.   Dateline NBC – NBC News

3.   Morbid – Wondery

4.   Up First – NPR

5.   NPR News Now – NPR

 

 

*Memory Lane

=Former WLS-AM 890 great Dex Card passed away four years ago this week. This piece in the Journal Times is a nice remembrance of the man. 

 


*The Loop Files

=This week I featured my interview with Jeff Hoover. New Loop interviews post every Tuesday morning.


 


MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES

 

 

*June 6, 2016—Dan Sorkin death

=He isn’t remembered by too many people these days, but Dan Sorkin was a superstar of Chicago radio in the late 50s/early 60s. He’s the man responsible for discovering Bob Newhart. I interviewed him back in 2010 and found him to be a delight.

 

*June 6—Larry Lujack birthday

=There’s an argument to be made that Larry is one of the top five greatest radio performers in Chicago history. He certainly was one of my heroes. I was thrilled to interview him just a few months before he died (in 2013) for Illinois Entertainer.

 

*June 6—Roe Conn birthday

=Roe made his mark at WLS Radio, co-hosting the popular Roe & Garry show (with Garry Meier). He later co-hosted the show with Bill Leff, and then Richard Roeper, before moving to WGN Radio. He’s out of radio now, working as the director of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. I’ve interviewed Roe a number of times over the years, including this one from 2007.


*June 6—Scott Bertram birthday

=Scott was a former Chicago radio reporter, who is now the GM of the radio station at Hillside College, as well as being a journalism professor at the school.

 

*June 6, 1944—D-Day

=This is the message Dwight D. Eisenhower sent to his troops…


 

June 7—Alan Rosen birthday

=Al was a production engineer with WLS radio, and then WBBM radio for several decades. One of his gigs at WLS was running the controls for John Records Landecker. He contributed this to John’s book Records Truly Is My Middle Name about the first time he encountered the future Hall of Famer…

“I started working with John his first night in his regular shift, and I discovered right away that there was something very different about him. As he was speaking on the air he looked at me and pointed to his headphones, indicating that something wasn’t right.  So, I tried to increase the level in John's headphones, and brought the music level down a little so he could hear himself better. After the first break he told me it still wasn't right, so I tried again, lowering the music level even more. I had John's mic going way into the red on the meter and the music level down around 40 percent so I didn't see how I could make him any louder. 

I will never forget what John told me next.  He said, ‘No no, I want the MUSIC louder and my mic brought down!  I want to be INSIDE the record!!’

My mind started reeling.  For one thing, No DJ had ever told me to bring his voice down before, and second, it DID sound amazing.   When John did an introduction over the intro of a Chicago record, his voice was actually just a little lower than Peter Cetera's!  It did put him inside the music and I think was a subliminal part of the Landecker show sound.”

 

*June 7—John Fisher birthday

=The former WMET/WCKG/WLUP jock is now hosting mornings in Seattle. I got a chance to interview him in 2007.


*June 8, 1966—Bill Kurtis Breaks Out

=On this day in 1966, a twister hit Topeka, Kansas. A young college student named Bill Kurtis was on television that night filling in at the news desk and broke in to alert the viewers of Lost in Space that it was coming. He came on the air and said “For God’s Sake Take Cover.” That was the beginning of a legendary TV-news career. Bill told that story on my podcast a few years ago. You can hear the entire interview here.


*June 8—Byrd birthday

=Byrd is the afternoon drive voice at the Drive these days. I interviewed him in 2018 for Illinois Entertainer, shortly after he joined the Drive airstaff.


*June 8, 1973--Bob Sirott signs with WLS Radio

=50 years ago this week...


*June 9—Mel Tovar birthday

=Mel was the sidekick to DreX on the Kiss-FM morning show. I interviewed her in the midst of that run, in 2010, for ChicagoRadio Spotlight

 

*June 9—Rob Hart birthday

=Rob is the midday anchor at WBBM-NewsRadio these days, but has previously worked in Chicago at WGN, Q-101, and the Loop. I interviewed him a number of times over the years, including this one from 2009.


*June 9—JayBeau Jones birthday

=Jones was the PD of the Jammin’ Oldies station in Chicago (103.5) in the early 00s.


*June 9, 1934--Donald Duck makes his debut

=His first film appearance and he wasn't wearing any pants.

 

*June 10—Neil Steinberg birthday

=The Sun-Times columnist is one of the best writers in Chicago. I’m a big fan of his writing, although when I interviewed him for mypodcast a few years ago, I discovered he’s not a big fan of mine…at least not of my book covers.


*June 10—Kevin Robinson birthday

=Kevin was the program director of WJMK in the 1990s, guiding the ship with passengers like Dick Biondi, John Landecker, Fred Winston, and more. I interviewed him in 2008 for Chicago Radio Spotlight.

 

*June 10, 1928—Lee Phillip Bell birthday

=At one time she was one of the best-known television hosts in Chicago. The Lee Phillip Show ran from 1952-1986. Lee was also the creator of the soap operas The Young & the Restless and The Bold & the Beautiful.

 

 

TV/STREAMING

 

 

*Directors Reach Agreement with Hollywood Producers

=The Directors Guild has come to a 3-year agreement with the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers. 

=The Writer’s Guild on the other hand…


=And now SAG/AFTRA has also authorized a strike. During negotiations with the studios they are invoking a media blackout.


 

*Dale Jarrett and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Take WTTW on Ride

=If you’d like to watch and listen to two NASCAR legends take WTTW on the Chicago Street Race Course, click here. I’m still having a hard time believing this is really going to happen.



*Axios Chicago Profiles Steve Wilkos

=The former Jerry Springer bodyguard has his own show now. You can read his Axios profile here.


 

*Blackhawks Reportedly Signing Darren Pang for TV Booth

=What this means for Patrick Sharp, I’m not sure. Bleacher Nation has the story. 

=Speaking of the Hockey TV booth, reporter Samantha Rivera is a Chicago native and DePaul alum. Her Miami-TV report during the Stanley Cup finals has gone viral because she stiff-armed a rowdy fan trying to get in her TV shot. You can watch it here.


 

*Robin Baumgarten Gets Married

=She announced the news on the WGN Morning Show this week and says she will continue to refer to him on the air as “Mr. X” because he is enjoying his anonymity.



*Max Armstrong and the Telly Awards

=Former WGN radio reporter Max Armstrong shared this news on his Facebook page this week: “The word came from RFD-TV this week that among the 11 Telly Awards for which they received richly deserved, wonderful honors were two that involved me. I’m still smiling about it, because I did virtually nothing. I was simply the host on-camera for one production and the subject of another.  “Rural America Live: Ukraine Special with Howard Buffett” won a Silver Telly Award. I hosted the one-hour special from the farm of businessman, farmer and philanthropist Howard Buffett. A 2-man crew from Oklahoma shot it on Howard’s farm in Nebraska and the real magic came from the production and editing at RFD in Nashville. Katie Avant led the project that truly brought to life the horrors of Ukraine’s battle and Howard’s efforts to spotlight the human condition there. And RFD’s Christina Loren shared the news that she had received a Telly Award for her superb work on “The Rural Americans: Max Armstrong.” Again, all of the work was done by others. In the days before the tv crew came to our little place, Linda worked so hard to fix and shine things around home here that were long neglected before our arrival. And then Christina, her two camera operators and the editing crew in Nashville performed their wizardry. I remember watching the results and thinking: “Now that’s an amazing effort to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”

 

 

*Seeing Stories of Kindness May Counteract Negative Effects of Consuming Bad News

=This study is food for thought for the “if it bleeds, it leads” news directors in TV newsrooms around the country. 

 

 

*Fewer than 1/3 Voters Believe Local News Holds Officials Accountable

=Mark Caro wrote this piece for Medill Local News Initiative originally. Poynter reprinted it this week.



*Every Major TV news Organization is now run by Women

=Two of three people overseeing CNN (until they name a full-time replacement) are women. They join Kimberly Godwin at ABC News, Rashida Jones at MSNBC, Rebecca Blumenstein at NBC News, Wendy McMahon at CBS News and Suzanne Scott at Fox News. 

 

*Succession Lexicon

=Here’s a fun lexicon guide for viewers of Succession. The most used words in the series. (h/t to Eric Zorn’s Picayune Sentinel for pointing this out)


 *Chuck Todd is leaving Meet the Press

=The Washington Post has the video of his explanation and his introduction of Kristen Welker. His last show will be in September. Todd will remain with NBC News. 

 


*Padma is leaving Top Chef

=One of only two shows my whole family still watches together (the other is John Oliver’s show). I’ll miss Padma.


 

*An excerpt from Maureen Ryan’s book

=Maureen is the former TV Critic for the Chicago Tribune. Her new book is called “Burn it Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood”. The Hollywood Reporter printed an excerpt this week (about SNL’s culture). 

 

 

*Cable News Corner

=Chris Licht is a goner. The New York Times has the story.

=This is the article that put the final nail in Chris Licht’s CNN coffin. It was written by Tim Alberta in the Atlantic, and it’s called “Inside the Meltdown at CNN” 

=Licht’s handpicked staff was also given the boot. 

=Former CNN media critic Brian Stelter offered this advice to whoever is hired to replace Licht. 

=John Roberts apologized to Chris Christie


 

 

DIGITAL/PRINT MEDIA

 

 

*LA Times Cuts 13% of Newsroom Jobs

=That’s over 70 jobs, and the LA Times Guild is not happy about it. Variety has the details. 

 

 

*New Prison Policy Prevents Journalists from Publishing While Incarcerated

=New York Focus has the story. I guess that’s another reason not to go to prison.


 

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

 

*Twitter Ad Sales are Down 59%

=It’s been a financial debacle since Elon Musk took over. The New York Times has the gruesome details.


 

*Tucker’s New Show on Twitter

=It debuted this week. This Reuters story will fill you in. Sounds like it’s more of the same conspiracy nonsense, although now it looks like he’s doing the show from a garden shed.

=Fox News says this is a breach of contract. 



*Chinese Communist Party Used TikTok to Find Protestors in Hong Kong

=This admission came from a former executive at ByteDance (owners of TikTok). The AP reported the news on Wednesday. 

 

 

*Viral TikToker Apologizes to Chicago after Trying Deep-Dish Pizza

=He was pretty bold about his New York Pizza love. Turns out he had never tried Chicago deep dish. When he did, he immediately recanted.




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.


If you're interested in some of my other projects from this week...

The Fifth Edition (2023) of EveryCubEver is out now!  Buy your copy today

The Fifth Edition (2023) of EveryCubEver is also on amazon. Buy your copy today.

EveryCubEver interview with Garry Meier

EveryCubEver interview with Andrea Darlas

Minutia Men: Stunt Restaurants

Minutia Men Celebrity Interview: Shatner's Hairpiece

Minutia Men Celebrity Interview Classic: Loverboy's Doug Johnson

Free Kicks with Adam & Rick: Season Finale

Meet the Eckhartz Press Author: Margaret Larkin

From the Eckhartz Book Shelf: Grace's Rockin Roll Adventure

My latest novel: Back in the D.D.R

Windy City Reviews Back in the D.D.R.

Podcast Interview about Back in the D.D.R: Military Family Museum Podcast

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