Publishing Portal--February 3, 2025

The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.

 The Kiss of Night

In anticipation of our upcoming release, The Kiss of Night by Mark Wukas, we asked some friends for their opinion of Mark’s novel. Their responses confirm we made the right choice in deciding to publish it. Here’s some advance praise.

     "Here is a book that deserves a place among your favorite Chicago novels. Written with a reporter’s sharp eye and attention to detail and colorful characters, The Kiss of Night brings the city alive in all its good/evil struggles, giving you a story that is vivid and unforgettable."

--Rick Kogan

Chicago Tribune

     "Mark Wukas has captured the essence of young reporters fueled by adrenaline and idealism. Their reporting is as unglamorous as it is thankless. Yet while reading The Kiss of Night I found myself yearning for those days when chasing a story was unvarnished and pure. The Kiss of Night is the real thing and makes for a compelling read from start to finish."

--Ken Paulson

Editor-in-Chief (emeritus)

USA Today

     "Mark Wukas succeeds in creating sympathetic characters that have exceptional depth. ... The detailed descriptions of Chicago give the work a feeling of verisimilitude and paint a vivid picture of the city. ... The relationships between the characters remain dynamic, and the story’s mystery elements are well executed throughout. An often-thrilling crime novel that explores questions of loyalty, justice, and morality."

--Kirkus Reviews

     "The Kiss of Night is well-structured, the narrative quickly paced, the characters interesting and entirely believable, and the writing sharp and clean. Mark Wukas has created a narrator whose ethical and worldly coming of age echoes that of many readers. Intelligent, flawed, and increasingly self-critical, the narrator retains our compassion throughout."

--Robert N. Georgalas

Author of Deep Focus, Nothing Lost, All That Remains, and Unscheduled Stops

     "The Kiss of Night is a powerful exploration of why our world is simply not black/white, good/evil but infinite permutations of gray."

                                 --Wendi Williams

                                   Invest To Elect Illinois

=Next week it will go on pre-sale at Eckhartz Press.

I Bear Witness

=Dan McNeil is still making the rounds. He has two upcoming appearances this weekend on Super Bowl Sunday (including Doc's in Dyer from 1-3pm). In March, he'll begin his library tour. He also appeared on the Chicago Bears Podcast...

The Flip Side

=One of the most unique podcasts out there is Car Con Carne, where host James VanOsdol interviews his guests in his car. This week he has two Eckhartz Press people on with him, Ken Churilla and Jeff "Mr. Cheap" Schwartz, talking about our great book, The Flip Side.

Belle & Leaving Glory for Greatness

=February is Black History Month and Eckhartz Press proudly has a fiction and non-fiction reading choice for you to help celebrate it. Judy Ann Jamerson's haunting novel Belle is the heartbreaking story of a mother struggling with the reality of the unimaginable death of her daughter. Lou Macaluso's biography of football star-turned-civil rights hero LaMarr Thomas (Leaving Glory for Greatness) is a such an inspirational work, it is being taught at his alma mater (Thornton). 

  

Staying Alive is a Lot of Work

=Pat Camalliere's book is the focus of the latest episode of the Chicago Writes podcast hosted by Bill Turck. Pat does a great job explaining the struggles she endured, and the incredible memoir it inspired. They also go into great depth about the Chicago suburb of Lemont and why it is so important to her. Highly recommended.

RADIO HALL OF FAME

=From Feb. 1 to April 1 you may submit suggestions for possible honorees for consideration by the Radio Hall of Fame Nominating Committee at radiohalloffame.com. The ceremony is in Chicago this year. We have a few suggestions for you from our stable of authors. John Records Landecker is already in there, but what about...

Mitch Michaels (Doin the Cruise)

Bobby Skafish (We Have Company)

Chet Coppock (Your Dime My Dance Floor)

Chuck Swirsky (Always a Pleasure)

=Steve & Garry are already in there, and so is Jonathon Brandmeier, but how about these all-time greats who contributed to our book The Loop Files...

Bob Stroud

Kevin Matthews

=Or these all-time greats who contributed to Landecker's book Records Truly Is My Middle Name...

Fred Winston

Tommy Edwards

Bob Sirott

=Help us remind the world that Chicago is the epicenter of all-time great radio.

EveryCubEver

=Author Rick Kaempfer is hard at work writing the latest edition of EveryCubEver. It's scheduled to be released around Opening Day. In the meantime, follow along on his Facebook page JustOneBadCentury. Every single day he has a piece about a Cub. Here's an example from last Thursday...

Monkey in the Middle

=In 2016, comedian Dobie Maxwell wrote one our best selling books, the incredibly memorable Monkey in the Middle. That book still sells even though it came out in 2016. Dobie is currently co-hosting a podcast called Put Your Funny Where Your Mouth Is. Episode 19 posted this week.

Truffle Hunt

=The official 10th anniversary of the book will be next Friday (Feb 14), but Truffle Hunt author Brent Petersen has been writing excellent pieces at his DestinationEatDrink substack about the inspiration that led to this novel. Here's the ultimate piece about that: How Did This All Get Started?

Happy Anniversary!

This week in 2014 (February 8), Joel Daly got his first copy of his Eckhartz Press book (The Daly News). On this day in 2022 (February 6), Eric Litt had the same experience, getting the first copy of Oscars Biggest Mistakes. By the way, it's almost that time of year again. Look for Eric to appear on the Minutia Men Celebrity Interview in the coming weeks with his Oscar picks.

   

The Loop Files

=Two big events in the book The Loop Files took place this week in history. On February 6, 1981, Steve & Garry were fired by the Loop for "violating community standards." It was a huge shock at the time that has never been satisfactorily explained. Also, this week in 2023, Johnny B re-emerged to appear on WGN-TV as a mystery guest.

   

=Also, celebrating a birthday this week (February 6), former Loop late-nighter Ed Tyll. You may not like what he says, but he'll say it anyway, Ed Tyll. Ed has a new book out, by the way. You can find that here. 

We Have Company

=Bobby Skafish's tome about his 40 years of rock and roll encounters is like a history book of the genre, written by someone who personally met and interviewed the biggest stars imaginable. One of the greats featured in the book is celebrating a birthday this week, Graham Nash (below/February 2)

Your Dime My Dance Floor

=Chet Coppock was friends with George Halas, founder of the Bears and the NFL. Chet went to every opening game for the Bears for 68 straight years. When Papa Bear died in 1983, Chet broke the story on the local news (he was doing sports at Channel 5 at the time).  He also wrote about him in his Eckhartz Press book. Papa Bear was born this week (February 2) in 1895.

 

Death of the Angels

 =On the 60th anniversary of one of Chicago's most tragic fires, at Our Lady of the Angels school, veteran television reporter and producer (ABC-7, WGN-TV) Alex Burkholder released his comprehensive study of that fire, which included his well researched theory of how that fire began. WGN-TV's Steve Sanders (celebrating a birthday this week February 3) brought Alex (middle) onto the midday news to discuss it, along with one of the grown kids who survived the fire.

Ike & Me

=Rich King wrote a book in 2022 called Ike & Me, about his relationship with cameraman Richard "Ike" Isaacs. The Black & White team worked together for decades under the guidance of former WGN-TV sports director Dan Roan. Both Rich and Ike speak highly of this week's birthday boy (February 3) in the book.

Behind The Glass

=If it seems like there is no end to the sports stars featured in Randy Merkin's book Behind the Glass, you aren't far off. For instance, Hank Aaron and Alonzo Mourning (photo), both born this week (Feb 5 & 8 respectively), each rate their own chapters. But sports stars aren't the only big names in the book. Tom Brokaw (Feb 6)  and Jack Lemmon (Feb 8) are in the book too.

Grammar Moses

=This week in 2022, The Daily Herald's Jim O'Donnell wrote about our Christmas of 2021's big hit Grammar Moses by Jim Baumann. 

Safe Inside

=This week in 2018, Lee Kingsmill appeared on Nick Digilio's show to talk about his Book of the Year finalist Safe Inside.

$everance

=Look what book is once again relevant...

Studio Walls--December 11, 2024

 

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.

December 8, 1980—Death of John Lennon

=We interviewed his one-time girlfriend May Pang  

=We also interviewed Mitch Weissman, who played John in Beatlemania, about the last time he saw John. 

December 8, 1943—Jim Morrison birthday. 

=Chip Monck told us a story about saving Jim from the cops in Miami. 

December 8—Judd Legum birthday

=We interviewed the political reporter in this episode of the show.  

 

December 9--Sheila Moeschen birthday

=The Humorist/author was a fun guest.  

December 9, 2010—Commercial debuts

=My son Sean was featured in a commercial for the U.S. Men's National Team. Fluke thing. He received a pair of cleats. Very end of the ad.

December 9--Neil Innis birthday

=The late Monty Python (and Rutles) great was featured on this episode of the show.  

December 9--Donny Osmond birthday

=My Donny story.

=Danny Bonaduce's Donny story

December 9—Redd Foxx birthday 

=As it turns out, Nick Digilio does a very good Redd Foxx impersonation.  

December 9—Mort Downey Jr.  birthday

=Scott May worked on his show. Memorable story.  

 

December 10--Rod Blagojevich birthday

=My brush with Blago.  

December 10, 1995—Tommy pees in his own ear

=Landecker audio. It's a long story, but it's a good one. Maybe we'll play it this week.

 

December 11, 1886—Arsenal plays their first match ever 

=That reminds me...

 

December 12, 2012--Concert for Hurricane Sandy relief

=The Who played there. Their keyboardist Loren Gold told us all about it.  

December 12—Rentahitman saves a life

=We interviewed Rentahitman about it. His name is Bob Innes. 

December 12, 2022—Kim Simmonds (from Savoy Brown) dies. 

=His drummer Garnet Grimm told us about his bandmate's musical genius.  

 

December 13—National Horse Day 

=Stuntwoman Janene Carleton specializes in movie stunts with horses.  

=Actor DB Sweeney told us a story about how he lied to a director about his knowledge of horses. 

December 13, 1996--Debut of "McCaskey the Greedy Owner" song

=Still appropriate today. Guess who wrote the lyrics. We may feature it this week on the show.

 

December 14, 2019—Debut of Twelve Days of Every Cub Ever

Studio Walls--July 3, 2024

 

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.

Here are a few from the archives...

June 30, 1959—Two balls in play at once at Cubs game

=We have the audio of that totally confusing play-by-play

June 30—Mike Tyson birthday

=Dan Frischman of the show Head of the Class has a great story about his brush with Mike Tyson. He told it to us in this episode of Minutia Men.

***

July 1—Release of the New York Times bestseller The Lie by William Dameron

=He appeared in this episode of Minutia Men Celebrity Interview.  

July 1—Canada Day

=Mr. Zero, one of the leaders of the Canadian Band The Kings appeared on Minutia Men. 

=Felix Cavaliere from the Rascals talked to us about his inexplicable popularity in Canada. 

=Canadian journalist Paul Saltzman told us a story about Beatles making fun of Canada. 

***

July 3--Tom Cruise birthday

=I told my Tom Cruise story in this episode of Minutia Men.  

July 3, 1971—Don Kessinger hits an inside the park homer 

=We have the audio. 

July 3, 2020—Rick appears on Phil Manicki show on WGN 

=We talked about the media business, including our show Minutia Men. You can hear it here.

***

July 4, 1954—West Germany beats Hungary 3-2 to win the World Cup

=Just another reminder to listen to Free Kicks.

July 4—Bill Schnee birthday

=The famous recording engineer/producer has some incredible rock and roll stories. A great sampling of them are in this interview. 

***

July 5, 1970—Leo Durocher starts a brawl 

=We have the play-by-play audio.

 

***

July 6, 1970—Ron Santo hits 3 homers 

=We play the play-by-play audio.

July 6--Robert Loerzel birthday

=The Chicago historian tells us all about the 1919 race riots in Chicago. 

July 6—Burt Ward birthday

=Mike Toomey has a story about dealing with Robin. 

July 6—Nick Digilio birthday 

=Nick came on the Minutia Men show shortly before debuting his Radio Misfits podcast.

Studio Walls--May 15, 2024

 

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.

This week's Minutia Men podcast is entitled, "Dad, wanna have a catch?"

This week's Free Kicks is called "Madrid Magic"

Here are a few from the archives...

May 12, 1955—Sam Jones No-Hitter

=We have the audio from that day here.   

May 12, 1970—Ernie Banks hits his 500^th homer.

=The audio & video of that are here.

May 12, 1996—Bridget’s first Mothers Day

=We have the audio of her on John Landecker's show talking about that day. Will we play it this week on the podcast?

May 12, 2014—WGN Walk of Fame unveiled.

=This has become a bit of a joke because WGN moved their studios, and then removed the walk of fame from the sidewalk outside the old studio. Nick D came on our podcast to make fun of it. 

May 13--Mark Giangreco birthday

=Here's the interview we did with him shortly after he left television. 

May 13, 1930—Schick gets patent for first electric razor. 

=Actor Jonathan Stoddard explained to us how to use an electric razor to get that 4-day growth look. 

May 14, 2000—Mothers Day

=Johnny Kaempfer sings Happy Mothers Day. He was 2. Will we play the audio this week on the show?

May 14, 2004—Geico Caveman ad premieres

=John Lehr was that original caveman, and he appeared on our show to talk about it.  

May 14, 1998—Frank Sinatra dies. 

=Tom Dreesen was one of his pall-bearers and he talked to us about that.

May 14, 1907—Johnny Moss birthday. 

=Who is Johnny Moss, you ask? Well, he was the first World Series of Poker winner (1970). We talked to one of his proteges, Tristan Wade 

May 15--Richard J. Daley birthday.

=Shermann Dilla Thomas talked to us about him and his relationship with the crime bosses of Chicago at that time.

May 15, 1960—Don Cardwell no-hitter.

=Yes, of course we have the audio and video. 

May 17, 1934—Ronald Wayne birthday

=Ronald once owned 10% of Apple. You don't want to know what he sold it for. He told us the story in this episode. 

May 18, 1882—Burnley Football Club formed 

=Just another reminder to listen to Free Kicks with Adam & Rick.

Studio Walls--April 24, 2024

 

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.

Here are a few from the archives...

April 21, 1978—I Wanna Hold Your Hand movie opens. 

=We had Nick DiGilio on the show, and we discussed this gem of a film.  

April 22—Avengers Endgame premieres. 

=Bobby Holland Hanton was a stuntman in this film, and told us a few good stories about the making of one of the most successful box office movies in history.

April 22, 1932—Cubs vs. Reds at Wrigley. 

=Would you believe I have the audio of Pat Pieper stating the Cubs lineup from that day? Will we play it on this week's show?

April 23—Dan Frischman birthday

=One of the stars of Head of the Class was on our show a few years ago. 

April 23, 1999—The Movie Election premieres. 

=One of the stars of that film, Molly Hagan, was on the show a few years ago as well. 

April 23--Essra Mohawk birthday

=We knew her as one of the singers of Schoolhouse Rock, but discovered during the interview that she also was at Woodstock.  

April 23—Lee Miller birthday 

=The famous war correspondent's son Antony Penrose was on the show and told us one of the most memorable stories we've ever heard. It involves Hitler on the day of his suicide.  

April 23—John Oliver birthday.

=We've had two people on the show who have worked with John Oliver. Summer Crockett Moore and Josh Gondelman 

April 24--Richard M. Daley birthday

=I told the story of my brush with Mayor Daley in this episode of Minutia Men.  

Media Notebook--12-15-23

MEDIA NOTEBOOK

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

RADIO/PODCASTS

 

*iHeart Raises Big Bucks for Charity

=The Radiothon for Lurie’s Children’s Hospital was hosted on December 7^th on iHeart Chicago stations WLIT, WVAZ, WGCI, WCHI, Kiss-FM and WGRB. This photo represents the dollars they raised. Very impressive.

 

*Priscilla's in the House

=Look who stopped by to visit WXRT's morning man Marty Lennartz.

This was an unexpected surprise this morning! Priscilla Presley in Chicago to be honored stopped by XRT! A brush with royalty! @Cilla_Presley @93XRT pic.twitter.com/EQLDR1dMap

— marty lennartz (@martylennartz) December 14, 2023

*Danny Bonaduce Retires from Radio

=Danny Bonaduce, former child star who became a successful radio personality including a memorable run at the Loop (WLUP), announced his impending radio retirement effective today, Dec. 15. For the past twelve years he has co-hosted a morning show in Seattle. Danny said he is retiring to Palm Springs. 

 

*Terri Hemmert Steps Down at Columbia College

=She posted the following message on her facebook page on Tuesday…

     Today was my last day at Columbia College. After 48 years of teaching I gave the final final exam. And of course I took them out later for a Thai feast. I told them that when I got in the car to drive to dinner, the song on the radio was Lulu's To Sir With Love. Al Parker hired me 48 years ago to teach. Bless his heart for that. Plus I later worked with his son, Neil Parker. A lovely man like his father. Al taught me that the only reason we are there was for the students. Our kids. Years ago, when my students knew the movie To Sir With Love, I told them if they wanted to really know me, they'd watch the movie. The teacher faces a group of kids. A challenge. He soon learns that he's not there just to teach the syllabus. He goes deeper. The teacher learns a lot as well. The teacher falls in love with everyone of them, then sends them off to live their lives. Then a whole new group of juvenile delinquents comes in and the teacher has to start all over again. But it's always different. Every student is different. If you were one of my "kids" I want to thank you for the privilege of spending that time with you. Of sharing our passion for music. We had some really great times, didn't we.

Thanks,

Teach

 

*Two More Top Execs at Chicago Public Media Step Down

=Crain’s Chicago has the news about the departures of Chicago Public Media’s Head of Communications and the Chief Audience Officer. Both stepped down this week, following last week’s announcement of the CEO’s departure. This all comes on the heels of the board being asked to investigate a hostile work environment.

 

*Nick DiGilio Seeks Help for his Parents

=Nick Digilio has started a GoFundMe page for his parents who are struggling financially because of medical issues. Anyone who has listened to Nick over the years knows how close he is with parents. If you’d like to contribute (and learn more), his GoFundMe page is here. 

*Barrett News Media’s Top News/Talk Shows of 2023

=Barrett News Media ranked the top 20 morning news/talk shows in America. Steve Cochran of WLS was the top one from Chicago (#14). Bob Sirott of WGN was close behind (#16).

=Among the top 20 midday news/talk shows, John Williams of WGN was the only one from Chicago (#12), although the WBBM Midday show also finished in the top 25.

=Lisa Fielding & Keith Johnson of WBBM-AM host the top Chicago afternoon News/Talk show (#11), and WGN's Lisa Dent was also recognized (#17).

 

 

*Barry Winograd Featured by Evanston Roundtable

=This is a great piece about the jazz radio legend. 

 

 

*Podcast Corner

=There are a lot of great Cubs podcasts out there these days, and the current top-rated one is the Locked On Cubs show hosted by Matt Cozzi and Sam Olbur. They announced this week they are teaming up with Ron Onesti to do two live podcasts (Cubs and Grub) at Ron's theaters in St. Charles and Des Plaines. They'll be at the Arcada Theater on January 10th, and the Des Plaines Theater on February 7. Tickets are only $10. 

*Chris Base Interviews Margaret Larkin

=Under the name Radio Girl, Margaret Larkin has interviewed dozens of radio pros. This week Chris Base turned the tables and interviewed her.

*WGN Radio to air Dusty Rhodes Christmas Specials

=WGN Radio announced that the traditional Dusty Rhodes Christmas Specials will be heard on the station on December 23 at 11 pm through December 25 at 10 pm. “The presentation is based on the traditional Christmas celebration to accompany families as they travel to visit relatives, go to church services, open presents and enjoy holiday parties,” said Rhodes. 

*Kevin Most Retires

=The long-time medical contributor to WGN radio and Steve Cochran’s show on WLS made the announcement this week

 

*Harper Radio Honored

=The Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) announced their 2023 award finalists. Once again this year, Harper College was well represented with seven finalists…

·Student Matt Byrne, Harper Radio’s General Manager, under the Most Creative/Innovative Show for his audio entry “The B-Side with Matt Byrne”

·Student Ricardo “Richy” Garcia, Harper Radio Host, under the Best Logo for his entry “The Groove Machine”

·Student Erica Berger for her video entry “Pinksqueeze Promo for Harper College Radio”

·Student Yari Lopez along with Byrne and Garcia for their written submission “Chicago Reader poll press release”

·Harper College Associate Professor Brian Shelton under the “Best Faculty Advisor, Radio” category.

·Harper College alum Carsen Star under the “Best Community Volunteer Program/Personality”

 

*Rest in Peace

=John Wetherbee was an evening jock at WFYR, who went on to become a weatherman/meteorologist down in Georgia. He is in the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame.

*Block Inc. Lays Off 10% of staff

=The music streaming service Tidal, started by Jay-Z and now owned by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, announced mass layoffs this week. 

 

*The Loop Files

=Rick Kogan reviewed the book for The Chicago Tribune. 

=My appearance on the Creativity Talkin podcast

=My appearance on WCLO Radio. 

=My appearance on Playtime with WC Turck. Bill did a great job on this interview. Lots of classic Loop clips.

=My Tuesday night appearance at Uncork, Unwind in Des Plaines was a huge hit. We sold out of books. Ran into a few fellow former Loopers too. (L-R: Bridget Kaempfer, John Swany Swanson, me, Carol Harmon, Matt Bisbee, Jim Wiser)

=Here’s the final book signing before Christmas

 

 

MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES

 

*December 10—Michael Damsky birthday.

=The former Chicago radio executive (WXRT, WLS) was a fun interview for me back in 2011.

 

*December 11, 1964

=Musician Sam Cooke dies. What really happened the night he was shot by a motel manager? Here’s an account. 

 

*December 11, 1941—Elizabeth Brackett birthday

=Elizabeth was an award-winning journalist at WTTW. She passed away in 2018.

 

*December 12—Bart Shore birthday

=Bart is retired and lives in North Carolina with his wife, but he still dabbles in the audio world occasionally. I interviewed him for Chicago Radio Spotlight in 2008.

 

*December 12—Marcus Leshock birthday (WGN-TV)

=Marcus does some of the more entertaining stories on WGN, including this piece about my co-publisher David Stern, and his wacky Pothole Store website.

 

*December 12—Teddy Greenstein birthday

 =The former Chicago Tribune writer is now the senior editor @pointsbetusa

 

*December 13—Dick Van Dyke birthday

=The legendary actor is 98 years old.

 

December 14—Antonio Mora birthday

=The former Good Morning America and World News Tonight anchor worked in Chicago television for a few years (2004-2008) at CBS-2. He is currently the editor-in-chief at newsandnews.com

 

*December 14—John Iltis birthday

=While I was working on my book The Loop Files, I discovered something about Iltis (the PR King of Chicago) that I didn’t know before. He was at Disco Demolition. That's him in the front on the right. (PHOTO by Paul Natkin)

*December 15—Rob Stafford birthday

=Rob stepped down as anchorman at WMAQ-TV (Channel 5) last year on December 23.

 

*December 16—Jim Murphy birthday

=The former radio man is on the board at the Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

 

*December 16—Mike Houlihan birthday

=Mike is a classic Chicago Irishman. His podcast is called Hibernian radio.

 

*December 16—Greg Brown birthday

=Greg retired not too long ago after a 40+ year run in Chicago radio (Q-101, WJMK, WLS-FM). I interviewed him in 2014 for Illinois Entertainer.

 

*December 16—Mai Martinez birthday

=Mai is now the morning co-anchor at WBBM-AM with Cisco Cotto. Before taking that gig she worked for years in Chicago television at Channel 2. Robert Feder wrote about her when she made the switch to radio in 2020.

 

 

TV/STREAMING

 

*Tony Granato’s Leave of Absence

=After being diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, Tony Granato announced he will be taking a leave of absence from Blackhawks broadcasts on NBC Sports Chicago. The Chicago Tribune has more on the story. 

 

*Al Roker’s 45^th Anniversary on Today Show

=It was this past Monday…

 

*Al Michaels Deserved Better

=Andy Masur explains why Al Michaels won't be doing an NFL playoff game this year. I totally agree with his thesis in Barrett's Sports Media.

*Golden Globe Nominees Announced

=The New York Times goes over the list to talk about surprises and snubs. One non-surprise: The Barbie movie led the list with 9 nominations.

 

*Sumner Redstone’s Heir (Shari Redstone) May Sell

=According to this piece, the buyer may be the heir to Larry Ellison’s tech fortune. It’s Nepo-Palooza. 

 

*Rest in Peace

=Andre Braugher

A great actor (Homicide) and Chicagoan. He was only 61. 

=Ryan O’Neal

At one time he was among the biggest movie stars on the planet. He was 82 years old. 

 

*Please Tell Me This Isn’t the Future of Entertainment

=Have you heard about the viral Youtube sensation called Skibidi Toilets? If you’re curious, the Washington Post has the story. 

*NBC News Demands Trump Campaign Take Down Ad Using Deceptively Edited Reporter

=I believe this would be the actual definition of FakeNews. 

 

 

DIGITAL/PRINT

 

*The Top Chicago Sports Media Stories of 2023

=Sun Times sports media critic Jeff Agrest ticks off his choices for the top media stories of the year. Definitely worth a read. 

*Sports Illustrated Fires CEO after AI Debacle

=The least surprising news of the week.

 

*Project Veritas CEO Steps Down, Alleges Illegality

=Pretty strong statement from outgoing CEO Hannah Giles: “I am stepping down from all roles with Project Veritas and Project Veritas Action – effective immediately. Though I had high hopes when I joined the organizations, I stepped into an unsalvageable mess – one wrought with strong evidence of past illegality and past financial improprieties. Once such evidence was discovered, I brought the information to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. Thank you.”

 

*Trust in Press May Not Be As Low As We Thought

=At the research firm NORC at the University of Chicago, a slightly different methodology with more choices for the interviewee was used to test people’s trust in the media. According to their results, 55% trust the press. The Pew Research Center asked the question too, and they came up with a percentage of 61%.

 

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

*Musk Allows Alex Jones Back on Twitter (X)

=Musk says it is part of his free speech absolutism, but it has to be noted that absolutism does not extend to some of Musk’s critics.

*Former Facebook Diversity Leader Pleads Guilty to Stealing $4 million

=NBC News has the details.

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...

 

Minutia Men Podcast: Racist Ringtones

Minutia Men Celebrity Interview Podcast: Best Selling Author Meg Kissinger

Free Kicks with Adam & Rick: Is City Toying With Us?

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.

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