MEDIA NOTEBOOK
A curation of news items about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago.
RADIO/PODCASTS
*Chicago Radio Ratings
=The September radio ratings are in, and these are the top ten rated radio stations in Chicago
for the month…(6+, M-Sun, 6am-Mid)
WBBM-AM 6.0
WDRV 6.0
WVAZ 5.8
WXRT 5.0
WLIT 4.7
WLS-FM 4.6
WOJO 3.8
WUSN 3.8
WRME 3.3
WBMX 2.8
=If you add in
the streaming ratings, the Score finishes with a 3.7, so they would be in the
top ten as well.
=This is the
first time WBBM-AM has been in first place in a long time (January ’22),
although they are always near the top. (And in this case, they are actually
tied for first)
=The biggest
gain for the month goes to WLS-FM (+0.4), while the biggest drop was suffered
by US-99 (-0.8). Both WDRV (-0.5) and WLIT (-0.6) also dipped a bit this month.
=A few notes
outside the top 10. WCHI (95.5FM) had their best numbers ever for this current
format (2.5), WBEZ has almost recovered from their record lows (back up to
2.5), and WTMX had their lowest numbers since 2003 (2.3). They are currently
tied with WGN for 18th place.
*Dean
Richards
=Dean is the
subject of my interview this month for Illinois Entertainer. We talked
mainly about his role on the WGN-TV Morning News as that show celebrates its 30th
anniversary.
*Bart Shore
=The dean of
traffic reporters in Chicago retired a few years ago and moved to North
Carolina, which this week, has been ravaged by a hurricane and floods. He
reported this news via his Facebook page…
=By the way,
during an emergency like the one that just hit N.C., we remember the importance of local radio. By all accounts, local radio stations were a lifeline during the storm and its aftermath.
*FCC
Approves Audacy Bankruptcy Plan
=The vote was
along party lines (3-2 in favor), but despite the controversy of George
Soros being the new owner of these 200-plus stations, the plan was
approved. Just for the record, the vast majority of those stations are *not*
political talk stations (For instance, in Chicago they own the Score, WXRT,
WUSN, WBMX, and B-96, along with NewsRadio 78).
=Next step:
Audacy is going private.
*New WGN
Contributor
=The first
Wednesday of every month…
*iHeart
Jingle Ball Tour
=The tour hits
Chicago on Monday, Dec. 9. WKSC (103.5 KISS FM) is sponsoring the show at Allstate
Arena with Jack Harlow, Teddy Swims, Jason
Derulo, Benson Boone, Madison Beer, Saweetie, NCT
Dream and Wonho.
*Bob Heymann
=Chicago’s very own media broker Bob Heymann is quoted in the
latest issue of Radio Ink.
*An Ode to
Carts & Cassettes
=Strictly for
the radio nerds out there. This piece is about those cartridges we used in the 1970s and 1980s. We called them carts.
=Would you believe that cassettes are making a comeback? It’s true.
*Sista Strut
=The 8th annual Sista Strut for Breast Cancer is taking place tomorrow. iHeart stations put on this event and host it. Carla Ferrell, co-host of The Steve Harvey Morning Show; V103 midday host Bioncé Foxx; Sonya Blakey from Inspiration 1390; KeKe Hampton from KISS-FM and WGCI; and Val Warner from Channel 7 will be there.
*Podcast
Corner
=Storytellers
Studio interviews WLS historian Scott Childers
=Someone is going hard for the young bro-vote, and that’s former president Donald Trump. He’s been doing a bunch of bro podcasts, including Logan Paul’s Impaulsive, This Past Weekend with Theo Von, and The Lex Fridman Podcast.
=The five most popular podcasts for kids.
=The Rich Eisen Network adds two new podcasts, one hosted by former NBA star Jim Jackson, and one hosted by Straight Outta Compton star O’Shea Jackson.
*Ford Frick
Award Finalists
=The National Baseball Hall of Fame announced the list of finalists for this year’s Ford
Frick Award, the broadcasting wing of the Hall of Fame. Among the finalists
this year, former Cub Mike Krukow (a broadcaster with the Giants) and Skip
Caray (Harry’s late son).
*Rest in
Peace
=Kris
Kristofferson
Musician,
singer, actor. One of the all-time greats. He was 88.
Kris Kristofferson, Country Music Legend and 'A Star Is Born' Leading Man, Dies at 88 https://t.co/BoHsfZijUw
— Variety (@Variety) September 29, 2024
*Music News
=Pink Floyd
sells music rights to Sony for $400 million.
*Jeff Davis
Remembers Pete Rose
=Jeff is a WLS
Radio legend. His memories of Pete. RIP.
MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES
*September 29, 1952, Garfield
Goose debuted on Chicago television, WBKB.
=The host was not Frazier
Thomas. It was Bruce Newton. The first puppeteer for Garfield
was the station secretary Leann Prineas. The show ran
opposite Howdy Doody on NBC.
*September 29-- Diann
Burns birthday
=Former Channel 2 & 7 anchor. She was an Emmy winner as a newscaster, but I recently also spotted her in the film Richie Rich.
*September 29—Cindy
Morgan birthday
=The star of “Caddyshack”
was a DJ in Chicago (WSDM) before heading west to Hollywood. She passed away
last year.
*September 30—Pat Cassidy birthday
=Former WBBM-AM and WMAQ-AM morning news anchor. I’ve
previously interviewed him a few times, including
this one in Illinois Entertainer in 2020.
*September 30--Java Joel Murphy birthday
=Formerly with Kiss-FM. I talked to him during his Chicago heyday back in 2008 for
Chicago Radio Spotlight.
*September 30--Amy Landecker birthday
=The talented offspring of John Landecker is a successful
actress in Hollywood now. She has been in 88 different movies or television
series including the Emmy-winning Transparent, and the
Academy-Award nominated Coen Brothers film A Serious Man. She’s also been on my
podcast.
*September 30--Carol Harmon birthday
=Carol was Jonathan Brandmeier’s producer for many years and
is very highly regarded.
*September 30--Art Vuolo birthday
=Radio’s Best Friend
*October
1--Norm Winer birthday.
=Norm
was the driving force behind WXRT for many decades. He’s currently the
co-founder and chief content curator at Noteworthy.
*October
2—Dave Fogel birthday
=Morning
man at WLS-FM. I have interviewed Dave several times, including this one in the Illinois Entertainer.
October
2-- Michelle Damico birthday.
=Former
WBEZ broadcaster
*October
2—Edward Glab birthday
=Former
supervising engineer at WLS Radio.
*October
2, 1950
=Peanuts
debuts as a comic strip.
*October
3, 1995
=OJ
Simpson acquitted of murder by a jury in Los Angeles.
*October
4—Mark Konkol birthday
=Former
writer for the Chicago Sun Times.
*October
4—Pete Kastanes birthday
=Pete is
the administrator of Vanished Chicagoland Facebook group.
*October 5, 1947
=President Harry Truman gave the first
televised address to the nation from the White House. The topic was the
humanitarian crisis in war-torn Europe.
TV/STREAMING
*How to Get
Chicago Sports Network
=It debuted this week (on Tuesday), but where on Earth can you find it? This article has an explanation.
=Some of the programming offered by CSN was announced this week as well, including the
addition of WSCR’s David Haugh.
*Familiar
Chicago Face on CNN
=Yes, that was
former media writer Robert Feder on CNN last weekend…
*Jason
Benetti
=Imagine going from the worst team in
baseball to a playoff team. That’s what broadcaster Jason Benetti did this season, going from the
White Sox to the Tigers. In an interview with the Sun Times, Jason says he has
found a new home in Detroit.
*All-Star
SNL This Season
=Dana
Carvey as Biden, Jim Gaffigan as Tim Walz, and Andy Samberg
as Doug Emhoff will be part of the SNL cast all season. They debuted on Saturday.
*VP Debate
Ratings
=43 million tuned in for Vance and Walz. Those numbers are down 25% from the 2020 VP debate.
The Harris/Trump debate had nearly 70 million viewers.
=The 50 best jokes about the debate.
*Dish and
Direct TV merger
=They have
been trying to do this for years…
*New York
Times interviews John Oliver
=Very entertaining interview in last Sunday’s edition.
*Melania's Publisher Asks for $250,000 Fee for Interview
=I have clearly been doing this publisher thing all wrong. Melania Trump's publisher said that Melania would agree to an interview with CNN if they paid her $250,000. Needless to say, that interview will not be taking place.
*Cable News
Corner
=CNN Wades Back into the Documentary Business
*Dick
Vitale inducted into Hall of Fame
=Getting difficult to keep track of all the different Halls of Fame who have recognized him. This one is the Broadcasting Cable Hall of Fame.
*Rest in
Peace
Star of stage and screen (Downton Abbey). She was 89.
Star of Good Times, Roots, and many others. He was 84.
Host of American
Pickers. He was 58.
Days of Our
Lives star. He was 70.
=John Ashton
Actor best
known for Midnight Run and Beverly Hills Cop. He was 76.
John Ashton has sadly passed away at the age of 76. pic.twitter.com/zhToT7VMDw
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 29, 2024
DIGITAL/PRINT
*Sun-Times Editor’s
Note in Jefferey Leving Story
=The “Dad’s rights” attorney was suspended from practicing law because he charged exorbitant fees to his clients. When the Sun-Time reported the news, they included this editor’s note. It wasn't hidden. It was a box inside the article.
*Olivia
Nuzzi Story Gets Even Stranger
=According to
this piece in the Washington Post, she thinks that her ex-fiancé Ryan
Lizza (who writes for Politico) is responsible for the leak of her
“relationship” with RFK, Jr. She has filed a restraining order against him. Lizza
has been asked to take a leave of absence at work.
*The
Onion is Pivoting to Video
=And they’ve hired a former MSNBC anchor to deliver their “news”.
=I think this
is my favorite trivia about Carter. He’s the only former president to have
written more books than he had books written about him.
*Margaret
Sullivan Critiques the Media
=There aren’t
many full-time media writers these days, so I always check out the substack of
this long-time media critic/writer. This week’s column is a sharp critique of
how the media covered Trump’s unhinged speech in Wisconsin.
=Bill Moyers Agrees with Sullivan
SOCIAL MEDIA/TECH
*X
(Twitter) Worth 80% Less than when Musk Bought It
=Maybe not such a genius after all.
