Musings, observations, and written works from the publisher of Eckhartz Press, the media critic for the Illinois Entertainer, co-host of Minutia Men, Minutia Men Celebrity Interview and Free Kicks, and the author of "The Loop Files", "Back in the D.D.R", "EveryCubEver", "The Living Wills", "$everance," "Father Knows Nothing," "The Radio Producer's Handbook," "Records Truly Is My Middle Name", and "Gruen Weiss Vor".
I've been getting such wonderful feedback about my book The Loop Files. Over 50 Five Star reviews on Amazon & GoodReads, not to mention countless emails and notes saying how much the book means to you. I can't thank you enough.
One of the mild criticisms I've heard is that people wanted even more. The book mainly concentrates on the years 1977-1998. What about the years before that (when it was known as WSDM) or after that (The Bonneville/Emmis/Cumulus Years)? The answer is when the book started getting a little long, I made an editorial decision to concentrate on the radio station's most popular years.
On the other hand, in my role as media writer, I have interviewed many people from those before and after eras. As a special bonus for the readers who wanted more, I've accumulated them together here in one post for you to explore at your leisure. I have great respect for all of these people listed below.
=The changes announced last month by Spotify have enraged the music industry. Here’s one star’s reaction. Dee
Snider from Twisted Sister: “That
guy from Spotify. I wanna tell you, he should be taken out and shot. When he
heard that artists were complaining about how little we get paid, his response
was ‘make more music.’ Like we’re producing cans of Coke!”
=At first it was only on during the daytime hours at 820 AM. It
later migrated to 1160 AM, before landing in it’s current location at 670 AM.
The first all-sports-talk station in Chicago was a bold experiment at the time
of its debut. Now every market in America has at least one sports-talk station.
*January 3--Rick Gieser birthday
=Rick was one of the originals at the Score. He was the first
executive producer of the morning show. Tom Shaer was the morning show
host. Tom Webb was the newsman. Dawn Shuneman DeSart was the
traffic reporter. Henry Henderson was the associate producer.
*January 3--Tanya Maher birthday
=Tanya is a gifted voice over artist who also did traffic
reports in Chicago for years.
*January 3, 2016/Barry O’Keefe’s death
=The longtime newsman at WTMX passed away this week eight years
ago. I interviewed him back in 2008 shortly after he left the Eric and Kathy
show.
*January
3, 1998/Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me debuts
=The
announcer for the NPR/WBEZ classic is Bill Kurtis.I interviewed him about that (and
many other things) for my podcast a few years ago.
*January
4--Dave Kerner birthday
=Before
retiring last year, Dave did radio for more than four decades including WBBM-AM
(2004-2023). He previously worked at the Score.
*January
4, 1927/John Drury birthday
=The
legendary Channel 9 and Channel 7 anchorman was simply one of the most
respected journalists in Chicago history. The high school radio awards were
named after Drury posthumously (he died in 2007). Drury also had small roles in
the films Richie Rich, Baby’s Day Out and Rent-a-Cop.
Drury’s long-time producer Alex Burkholder wrote a book for Eckhartz
Press in 2018 called Death
of the Angels.
*January
4, 1963/Randy Salerno birthday
=Salerno
was a reporter/anchor at WBBM-Channel 2 when he died in a tragic snowmobiling
accident in late January 2008. He previously worked at WGN-TV.
*January
4, 1966/WFLD-TV debuts
=They
began broadcasting from their original studios in Marina City this week 58
years ago. Their studios are now on Michigan Avenue just south of the river.
=Judd
started in Chicago radio as a producer at the Score. He later went on to do
Cubs and Blackhawks pre- and post-game shows and play-by-play for the Chicago
Wolves. Judd is now the radio voice of the Boston Bruins. (His uncle is WGN
morning man Bob Sirott)I
interviewed Judd back in 2011, shortly before he
made the move east.
=The Catchy Comedy Network is featuring a Happy Days marathon to celebrate the show's 50th anniversary. It begins on January 13th at 10am and runs until January 15th at 5am. 86 back-to-back episodes.
=I
don’t know either of these guys personally, but there’s clearly one good guy
here and one bad guy. Hint: the bad guy is a quarterback. I’m probably being
too subtle. The bad guy is Aaron Rogers.
Jimmy Kimmel tells Aaron Rodgers he'll see him in court if he keeps up 'reckless' Jeffrey Epstein claims https://t.co/syqBv81hgL
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.
A curation of news items
about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago.
RADIO/PODCASTS
*A John Williams Christmas
=Imagine coming to work and
encountering this…
*Dick Clark/Ryan Seacrest
New Years Eve Radio Simulcast
=Kiss-FM (103.5FM) in
Chicago will be simulcasting the annual Dick Clark’s Rockin New Years Eve
With Ryan Seacrest special this year beginning at 7pm.More details are here.
*Barry Butler's New Gig
=Chicago's most popular photographer Barry Butler is leaving his day job at Hubbard Chicago for a new gig. He posted the news on his Facebook page this week: New Year, New Beginnings! Excited to share I am joining Clear Channel Outdoor Chicago as Vice President of Sales. Looking forward to starting this new chapter in early January.
*Chuck Swirsky’s Loss
=Sad news behind the missing
voice of Chuck in the Bulls game this week. Deepest condolences to the Swirsky
family. He tweeted: Many thanks to @ZachZaidman for filling in tonight . My sister passed away Saturday and family is always first. I'll return Wednesday night. Thank you to the @chicagobulls organization and @MitchRosen670 for their support. I loved my sister very much and we were extremely close
*Audio Collages
=This
is an interesting idea by Lumpen Radio. They are collecting audio collages from
the Bronzeville, Little Village and New City neighborhoods. Blockclubchicago has the details.
*New York Sues Sirius/XM
=If you’ve ever tried to
cancel your Sirius/XM, you won’t be surprised by this lawsuit filed by the
state of New York. The state alleges “repeated and persistent fraud and
illegality” when it comes to tricking people into keeping subscriptions. More info here.
*The Whamageddon Game
=Can’t say I’ve heard of
this game before, but I approve. NPR has the story.
Legendary LA jock. One of the all-time
great rock and roll disc jockeys. The inspiration for the Tom Petty song
“The Last DJ”. John Fogerty wrote: "Jim Ladd you were one of a kind. You knew the
importance of a well written song and made us all listen. The last DJ and the
best one. RIP my friend."
=Robert Feder also posted
his year end In Memoriam tweet…
=In case you missed my year
end Illinois Entertainer piece, its here.
=One last interview this
year. I’ll be in the studio at WLS Radio with Pete McMurray on Wednesday, Dec
27, from 8-8:30AM.
MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES
(For the rest of the year)
*December 16, 2013
=The legendary talent at
WLS-FM ten years ago this week…
*December 17, 1989--The Simpsons makes its
television debut.
=Happy 34th birthday to the longest
running scripted television show in history.
*December 18—Susan Wiencek birthday
=Former newscaster and public affairs broadcaster
for the likes of WXRT, WTMX, WLIV, WDRV.
*December 18—Phil Inzinga birthday
=Phil worked at WABT and the Loop before going to
Kenosha, Charleston, and Miami. He is now entrenched as morning man in Oklahoma
City.
*December 18, 2013--Death
of Larry Lujack
= During the last few years
of his life Larry and I spoke multiple times, swapped books, and developed a
friendship. At one point I told him that he actually was charming
and delightful. He swore me to secrecy. He told me some great stories about his
radio days, but there was one thing he didn’t tell me. I interviewed Larry for Illinois Entertainer just
a few months before he passed away and he didn’t even mention he was sick.
=In early 2013, Lujack asked
me to send him a copy of John Landecker’s book Records
Truly Is My Middle Name in which Larry is mentioned prominently. (You can read those Larry stories here).
He sent a note back saying “Tell Decker I loved his book, but I didn’t need
to read about his dick!” (John describes a funny emergency room
encounter in the book). When Landecker appeared on Windy City Live promoting
the book, I convinced Larry to come on the show as a mystery guest to surprise
John. Landecker was visibly moved by Lujack’s gesture. Hard to believe he’s
already been gone ten years. He was truly one of the all-time greats.
*December 19--Jilly O’Silly birthday
=The former Kiss-FM jock is now in Nashville doing
middays at the Rock.
*December 19—Paul Goldsmith birthday
=Goldsmith was formerly marketing director for
Salem broadcasting in Chicago and is currently based in Nashville and running
his own media company.
*December 20—Steve Ennen birthday
=Ennen was a long-time Chicago radio executive,
formerly VP/GM of WUSN/US-99. I first got to know him when he was staff
director of WPGU in Champaign-Urbana in the early 80s.
*December 21—Tom Serritella birthday
=Tom began his radio career at the Loop as part of
Chet Coppock’s boyquarium (the nickname Steve & Garry gave to the studio
Coppock’s producers worked prepping for his show). Serritella later worked at
Sporting News Radio and ESPN.
*December 22—Greg Jarrett birthday
=The former WGN morning man
was an interview subject of mine back in 2009 (for Chicago Radio
Spotlight). I also ran into him once on an airplane. We were both coming back
from South Africa after the 2010 World Cup, and we both got stranded in
Amsterdam on the way home when our flights got canceled. Let’s just say that
the buttoned-up newsman has another side to his personality. We had a great
time in Amsterdam.
*December 22—Diane Sawyer birthday.
=Sawyer did it all in her
stellar TV news career. World News Tonight, Good Morning
America, 60 Minutes. She also co-hosted CBS Mornings. I spoke
with her co-host Bill Kurtis for my podcast once,
and he told me what it was like working with her.
*December 22—Neil Sant birthday
=Neil is a former WLUP producer on the Danny
Bonaduce show. In the politically incorrect 90s, Danny referred to him on the
air as Haji.
*December 23, 1924—Floyd
Kalber birthday
=Floyd would have been 99
years old today. He wasn’t just a famous anchorman in Chicago (at WMAQ-Channel
5, and later at WLS-TV Channel 7), he also anchored network newscasts for NBC,
and mentored a young Tom Brokaw. Floyd passed away in 2004.
*December 24—Dave McBride birthday
=McBride was a huge part of the Murphy in the
Morning crew at Q-101 during Murphy’s straight jacket days. The veteran newsman
later had another good run as part of Steve Dahl’s show on WCKG. I interviewed him
for Chicago Radio Spotlight in 2010.
*December 24—Rana Tufail birthday
=You may not recognize his name, but you probably
remember his many radio contributions as Piranha Man from
Jonathon Brandmeier’s show.
=Channel 7’s news anchor has
been the subject of controversy over the past few years (especially around the
firing of Mark Giangreco), but she is still going strong at WLS-TV.
=ESPN’s Dickerson was
beloved by his co-workers. Rarely has there been an outpouring of affection for
someone like there was after Dickerson’s death. The fact that his
wife had recently passed, and they left behind a young son, just made the story
even more tragic. I spoke with his colleague and friend Randy
Merkin about him for my podcast.
=The great rock and roll
photographer was also Chicago radio and TV’s go-to photographer for decades.
TV/STREAMING
*Channel 7’s New Years Eve
=It’s not easy to top their former NYE
team of Mark Giangreco and Janet Davies, but Channel 7 is giving it a shot.
According to Axios: Cheryl Scott and Terrell Brown forgo the
goofy hats and balloons and instead perform an elaborate dance routine for Countdown Chicago 2024…The
anchors will be playing "secret agents on a mission to thwart an impending
A.I. robot takeover of Chicago with some celebrity help."
