Showing posts with label Ron Gleason. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ron Gleason. Show all posts

Friday, August 23, 2024

Media Notebook--8-23-24















MEDIA NOTEBOOK

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



FUN AT THE DNC

 

*Colbert in Chicago

=He opened his Chicago shows with this Chicago anthem…

=I personally enjoyed this bit…

=And the obligatory Wrigley Field hunk...



*JB Pritzker & Jordan Klepper

=Colbert wasn’t the only one who did the show from Chicago this week. The Daily Show was here too. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker gave them a Chicago tour…

=Jon Stewart came in last night to bat cleanup...

 


RADIO/PODCASTS

 


*Radio Hall of Fame Adds Eight Legends

=Every year the RHOF inducts a number of legends that have passed away. This year there was one with Chicago connections. Chuck Blore never worked in Chicago radio, but he was the man responsible for those Lorelei commercials for the Loop (in the late 70s/early 80s). The other Legends inducted are Jim Ladd, Alan Colmes, Charlie Douglas, Byron McGregor, Maria Martin, Percy Sutton, and Rusty Walker. The ceremony and dinner will take place on September 19 in Nashville.


 

*Top Billing AM & FM Radio Stations

=These numbers are for the last full year (2023) and includes only money earned from over-the-air ads. It does not include digital revenue. Chicago has three of the top billing AM stations in America (including #1, WBBM-AM) although you’ll note those numbers are going down across the board. We only have one FM station in the top 15, however. That’s WTMX.



 

*Ron Gleason

=Excellent interview with Ron Gleason, the former leader of the Score and WBBM-AM for the Illinois News Broadcasters Association. Hosted by Margaret Larkin.


 

*Melissa Bell

=She is the new boss at Chicago Public Media. This interview Eric Zorn links to is eight years old, but it does provide some insights...



*Ex-Chicago Radio Update

=Randy Michaels is back in the news. He just bought a radio station in Cincinnati. During his time in Chicago Michaels was VP at the Tribune company and got in trouble for rowdy private poker parties, and other bawdy exploits. He later bought and owned a few radio stations in Chicago under the name Merlin Media. 

=Jack Diamond, former morning man at WLS-FM, has signed on as the afternoon man on the New Mix in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.



*CHGO Sports

=Congrats to Joey Christopoulos...


 


*Podcast Corner

=Alex Cooper, host of the Call Her Daddy podcast, just signed a $100+ million contract with Sirius/XM.

=John Leslie is the host of the Talking About Radio podcast. There are a few interviews here that would interest Chicagoans. Former WGN GM Tom Langmyer. Radio Rewound’s Ted Gorden Smucker. Radio’s best friend Art Vuolo. For the real radio nuts out there.


 

*Radio Rewound

=A reminder that Labor Day weekend is Radio Rewound weekend. My interview with Ted Gorden Smucker will appear in Illinois Entertainer’s next issue. Here’s another promo from one of the participants: Ron Riley.

=They have some accompanying artwork now too.




 *Is Local Radio News Doomed?

=With the format change of WCBS, and the shuttering or massive slashing of other stations in Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco and more, CNN.com ponders the future of local radio news.


 

*GOP scrutinizing Audacy

=The company is trying its best to escape bankruptcy hell, but because they are now owned by George Soros, Republicans in Congress are scrutinizing every detail.



*Another All-Star Radio Golf Outing

=Can you name the three Chicago radio stars in this photo? (Answer at the bottom of the column)



*Rest in Peace

=John Lansing

NPR Chief. Former news director at Channel 2 in Chicago. He was 67.

Songwriter and singer. Wrote “Stay”. He was 86.


=Jack Russell

Lead singer of the band Great White. He was 63.


 

MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES

 

*August 18—John Jurkovic birthday

=Jurko has been at ESPN Radio in Chicago for twenty years. He currently co-hosts the midday show with Carmen Defalco. Before his radio career, he was an NFL lineman for a decade. I interviewed him for Shore Magazine in 2008. 

 

*August 18—Sarah Spain birthday

=Sarah got her start locally here in Chicago at ESPN Radio, but now works for the TV network, and has a new podcast called Good Game with Sarah Spain.


*August 18—Doug Bensing birthday

=Doug worked in radio for years at The Score, WJMK, and WMVP.

 

*August 19—Buzz Kilman birthday

=The newsman/bluesman was a big part of both Steve & Garry’s show and Johnny B’s show on the Loop. He talked about those days in this interview I did with him in 2009.

 

*August 19—Brendan Sullivan birthday

=The former Loop/WCKG producer/writer currently works as a Creativity Coach. He also co-wrote the novel The Living Wills with me in 2011. That book launched my company Eckhartz Press. This 2012 interview of Brendan for Chicago Radio Spotlight goes over the highlights of his radio career.

 

*August 19—Lin Brehmer birthday

=The late WXRT great. I interviewed Lin in 2018 for Illinois Entertainer. 

 

*August 19, 1977

=Groucho Marx dies. Just three days after Elvis.


 

*August 20, 1911

=First around-the-world telegram sent.

 


*August 21—Joel Daly birthday

=The late great newscaster would have been 90 today. My publishing company Eckhartz Press published Joel Daly's book The Daly News in 2014.  My co-publisher David Stern and I had monthly breakfasts with Joel until he got too sick. He was a great storyteller. Joel seemingly met every major historical figure from the second half of the 20th century.



*August 21—Steve Johnson birthday

=The former arts and culture writer for the Chicago Tribune has always been one of my favorite local writers.

 


 *August 21—Marcella Raymond birthday

=The former WGN-TV reporter (she just stepped down in June ’23) owns her own public relations firm, Marcella Raymond Media.

 


*August 21—John Filo birthday

=Who is John Filo, you ask? He’s just the guy who won the Pulitzer Prize for taking this photo during the Kent State Massacre. I interviewed him on the 50th anniversary. The story of how he happened to be there to take that photo, and what it took to get it to a newspaper, is a great one. Filo went on to become an executive at CBS.



*August 22—Alison Moran birthday

=Alison is a trailblazer in covering women’s sports. I interviewed her in 2012 for Chicago Radio Spotlight. 

 


*August 22—Darrin Jackson birthday

=The White Sox radio analyst.

 


 *August 23, 1991—The World Wide Web

=It’s not that long ago. Think how much it has changed the world. The World Wide Web officially opened to the public this week in 1991.

 


TV/STREAMING

 


*Robbie Gould

=The former Bears kicker will be part of the Bears post-game shows this year on the Marquee Network…


 

*New FSI Lineup

=The New York Post has the details. Danny Parkins (formerly of the Score in Chicago) will be part of the new morning show along with Mark Schlereth and Craig Carton.


 

*Ponder Out, Greenberg In

=Sam Ponder has been replaced at ESPN by Mike Greenberg on the Sunday NFL Countdown show. Greenberg, of course, has ties to Chicago. He got his start in sports broadcasting working at WSCR, the Score. Ponder will be paid the remainder of her contract, about a million dollars.

 


*World News Tonight Producer Named President of ABC News

=His name is Almin Karamehmedovic, and he has been producing the World News Tonight newscast (with David Muir). He replaces Kim Godwin who left in May.



*NBC Takes Away Seth Meyer's Band

=Obviously Seth is not in favor of this move. Fred Armisen has been back this week for a swan song.



*A CNN Comedy?

=It’s called Have I Got News For You and it stars Roy Wood Jr., Amber Ruffin, and Michael Ian Black. Based on the BBC show of the same name. More info here, via Variety.


 

*Judge Blocks Venu Debut

=On anti-trust grounds. Full details here.


 

*Chick-Fil-A Starting Up a Streaming Service

=Variety has the story. It’s a little light on details at the moment, but it appears they want it to be a family-friendly service.


 

*Eugene and Dan Levy to Host Emmy’s

=It’s not often that you get a father/son team in that role. The Hollywood Reporter has the story.

 


*Rest in Peace

=Phil Donahue

He was Oprah before Oprah. One of the biggest stars of daytime TV. And for several years, based in Chicago. Tributes have been pouring in from all over the country.  He was 88.

=The moment Phil and his future wife Marlo hit it off on live TV...

)

=Roger Cook

The star of This Old House was 70.


 

STAGE AND SCREEN

 

*Rick Kogan interviews Mike Royko performer

=Michael Bisschop is doing a one-man show about Mike Royko. Royko’s friend and colleague Rick Kogan interviews Bisschop about that performance.


 

*Rest in Peace

=Alain Delon

One of the most famous actors in France. He was 88.

=John Aprea

The young Salvatore Tessia in Godfather II. He was 83.


 

DIGITAL/PRINT



*The Onion is back in print

=Not a joke. Block Club Chicago has the details.



(The three radio stars in the all-star golf photo above are Bernie Tafoya, Andrea Darlas, and Roger Badesch)


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, January 13, 2023

Media Notebook--1-13-23













MEDIA NOTEBOOK

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



RADIO/PODCASTS

 

*New boss at WBBM

=Auducy calls them “Brand Managers” and that’s what Craig Schwalb will become (along with the extra title of News Director) for WBBM NewsRadio. He replaces Ron Gleason, who recently retired. Schwalb certainly has the pedigree, having worked at WABC in New York, and most recently WTOP in Washington, the highest grossing radio station in the country. At WTOP he was the content and operations manager. In the release announcing his hiring, Schwalb said: “The chance to lead WBBM is an incredible opportunity that doesn’t come around often. It brings me back to my home state and to a city that I adore, while working with the team behind one of the nation's elite news radio brands. Thank you to Jeff Sottolano, Rachel Williamson, Greg Solk and Bill Smee for their support in allowing me the honor of leading this great station.”



*WBBM says goodbye to the Bears after 22 years

=It was the end of an era on Sunday when WBBM radio broadcast their final Bears game. Next fall the games will be airing on ESPN, AM 1000.  It’s obviously not the first time the Bears have changed radio stations. They came to WBBM from WMAQ back in 2000. Remember Gary Bender? He was the play-by-play man before Jeff Joniak. (Hub Arkush and Tom Thayer worked at WMAQ before Bears came to WBBM).

=Joniak, by the way, was named the co-winner of Illinois Sportscaster of the Year award. Details further down in this column.

=It was also the end of the line for the Bears pre- and post-game crew at WBBM. Former Bears center Jay Hilgenberg and former Bears linebacker Jim Schwantz and Ron Gleason said their goodbyes on Sunday. Schwantz posted this before the final broadcast.


 *Bernie Kosar fired for placing bet

=The Bears weren’t the only team to change up the radio broadcast team or station. The Browns did it too, but for very different reasons. Bernie Kosar was fired from his pre-game radio job because he bet on the NFL. It’s a bit of a murky case, if you ask me. Sports betting has just become legal in Ohio, and Kosar had pledged publicly to donate any winnings to charity, but this bet was against NFL rules. The Browns said: “We understand what Bernie means to this community and our history. But as team contracted personnel hired to provide content on our media platforms his bet was a violation of NFL rules and we must adhere to all NFL policy.”


*Kathy & Ray

=If you haven't heard the news, Kathy Hart (formerly of Eric & Kathy) & Ray Stevens (most famously part of the US-99 morning show for years) are doing a show together on the internet these days. Kind of fun to watch and listen to old pros back in front of the microphone. Watch/Listen here.

=Kathy also did a podcast with Radio Girl (Margaret Larkin). Listen to it here.


*Podcast Corner

=The Signal Awards, a new award celebrating the world’s best podcasts, announced their inaugural winners. Among them: Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Masters of Scale, Stacey Abrams: How To Harness Risk, Making Gay History, and The Official Hacks Podcast.

= Heather Cherone of WTTW’s Chicago Tonight is leaving the Mincing Rascals podcast. She will be a fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, and will continue at Chicago Tonight, but the Mincing Rascals said farewell to her this week. 


*Former Chicago Radio Alert

=Jay Styles was with WSHE in Chicago for five years but left in 2021 to go to KQMV in Seattle. That stint ended for him at the end of the year. It was by his own choice, according to his LinkedIn Post: "Before the holidays I resigned from my role as APD/MD/afternoons at KQMV (MOViN 92.5)/Seattle and relocated to Sarasota, FL to be with my kids, because raising kids via FaceTime is no way to live! Radio programmers, I am available to voice track for multiple formats please think of me if you are going that path!"

 

*The Loop Files

=This week’s dip into the Loop Files features my interview with the legendary Bob Stroud. Check it out here if you missed it.


*Meet Chuck Swirsky

=The Bulls radio play-by-play man is making an appearance at the Windy City Bulls game tomorrow. Details below. (Full disclosure: My publishing company published Chuck's book)



MEDIA MILESTONES/BIRTHDAYS

 

*January 8—Jim Turano birthday

=He was known as Elton Jim when he was a part of the Garry Meier show on WGN Radio (because of the hundreds of times he has seen Elton John in concert). Jim now hosts the podcast Elton Jim’s Captain Podcastic on WGN Plus. 

 

*January 8—Jacky Runice birthday

=She’s currently a columnist for USA Today, but Jacky was once a radio personality in Chicago at WLS, WLUP, and WGN.

 

*January 9--Mark Grote birthday

=Mark has been the sideline reporter during Bears games for WBBM News radio the past few years. He also works as a sports-talk host at WSCR. When I interviewed him for Illinois Entertainer in 2015, he was part of the Chicago Cubs broadcast booth.


*January 9—Brendan Greeley birthday

=Brendan is part of Steve Dahl’s crew on the Dahlcast. He was also part of Dahl’s show on WCKG and WLS-AM. Brendan published a novel on Amazon last year called The Genius of 1990s Girls. 

 

*January 9--Megan Reed birthday

=Megan had a great run in Chicago radio (WLIT, Rewind 100) before passing away at the way too young age of 52 in 2016. I interviewed her in 2011 when she was working at Rewind. 

 

*January 10—Kristyn Hartman birthday

=Kristyn had a long stint at Channel 2 as a reporter, before moving on to a similar role in Cincinnati. In May, she left the station in Cincy, to return to her hometown of Chicago to pursue options outside of television news. Her current facebook page describes herself as an aspiring author. (I know a publisher, Kristyn!)

=I first met Kristyn in 2008 when she came to my house during the 2008 baseball playoffs. In this clip, I’m the idiotic Cubs fanatic. 

 

January 11—Bill Wyman birthday

=The former NPR mainstay and Chicago Reader staff writer is now living in Phoenix.

 

January 11—Bill Kissinger birthday

=Kissinger is a WGN-TV news writer. Perhaps you’ve seen his list of newswriting cliches. Kissinger is married to Channel 2’s Dana Kozlov.

 

*January 11, 2020--Ron Smith passes away

=Smith was a long-time Chicago radio programmer who wrote some great books about it. We talked about his books in this 2011 interview. 

 

*January 12—Rabbi Doug birthday

=His real name is Doug Zelden, but you may remember him as Rabbi Doug, a regular contributor to the Steve & Garry show back in the day. (He also contributed to Brandmeier’s show and John Landecker’s show on WJMK). Doug has been doing a cable access interview show Taped with Rabbi Doug for many years now. Tons of Chicago media figures have appeared on the show. Even me. Three times. Here’s the one from 2004 when The Radio Producer’s Handbook came out. 

 

*January 13--Diana Steele birthday

=Diana was a jock on WBMX for a few years, and I featured her in Illinois Entertainer in 2018.


*January 13, 2013--Jake Hartford passes away.

=Hard to believe he’s been gone now for ten years. I talked to the former WCPT/WLS talk show host back in 2009 for Chicago Radio Spotlight.


*January 14—Jenny Milkowski birthday

=Jenny worked at CBS-2 and WGN-TV as a producer, and Fox-32 as a traffic reporter for a few years before moving on to greener pastures and better weather in San Diego. The University of Illinois alum now runs her own media company out there.

 

*January 14—Joe McArdle birthday

=Joe has been a radio production guru (ESPN, Tribune, WXRT) in Chicago for more than 30 years.

 

*January 14—Mike Krauser birthday

=Mike has been an anchor, reporter, producer, writer, managing editor and a news director in Chicago since 1988. His reports can be heard every day on NewsRadio WBBM.

 

TV/STREAMING

 

*Network TV Ratings

=Take a look at the numbers on this chart. (Click on picture below to enlarge). These are not big numbers at all. Only one network (NBC) has over a million nightly viewers in the 18-49 age bracket. Younger viewers are simply not watching television as much. If you have a younger person in your home (I have three in their 20s), this isn’t surprising news. Most younger viewers are either watching a streaming service (like Netflix) or they are watching YouTube or TikTok or some other programming on their phones or iPads. These are the kind of numbers that keep network executives up at night.

 


 

*Golden Globes

=After taking a year off, the Golden Globes returned this week and handed out a bunch of awards. Among the winners, Kevin Costner, White Lotus, Abbott Elementary, Steve Spielberg, Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell, Jeremy Allen White from The Bear, and Austin Butler as Elvis.

=The full list is here.

 

*National Sports Media Hall of Fame

=ESPN College GameDay host Lee Corso, and legendary hockey announcer (the late) Dan Kelly were named to the National Sports Media Hall of Fame this week. CBS Sports announcer Ian Eagle was named 2022 National Sportscaster of the Year.

=Bill Plaschke (Los Angeles Times sports columnist) and essayist (the late) Roger Angell also were named to the Hall of Fame.

=Chicagoans honored included Jeff Joniak and Leila Rahimi (co-winners of Illinois sportscaster of the year) and Steve Greenberg (Sun Times) and Mark Lazerus (The Athletic) as co-winners of Illinois Sportswriter of the Year.

 

*Elizabeth Vargas Coming to NewsNation

=Before becoming a big network news star at ABC, Elizabeth worked in Chicago at WBBM-TV, Channel 2. This week it was announced she is joining NewsNation. She’ll be anchoring an hour-long news program from New York. Vargas’s show debuts April 3. 


*NY Times Editor Takes Top Job at NBC News

=Rebecca Blumenstein was the deputy managing editor of the New York Times before being named the president of editorial at NBC News this week. Blumenstein will oversee shows like Meet the Press and Dateline. This should be interesting. Rebecca doesn’t have a lot of television experience. Maybe this move portends a new approach at NBC?


*NBC Sports Chicago Layoffs

=For a few years NBC Sports Chicago was really going after the digital viewers. Unfortunately, the staff bringing that digital news just got a little smaller with the layoffs of Bulls writer Rob Schaefer and Cubs writer Tim Stebbins. The Chicago Sun Times has more info.


*Cable News Corner

=CNN has announced they are revamping their daytime lineup. Oliver Darcy spells out the particulars at CNN.com. 


*Phil Rogers Interview

=Channel 5’s Phil Rogers retired at the end of last year. He will be a big loss to Chicago’s NBC affiliate. Margaret Larkin interviewed him for the Illinois News Broadcasters Association podcast.


*RIP Bernard Kalb

=Kalb was a legend in the business. He was an anchorman for CBS Morning News, covered the State Department beat for CBS (five secretaries of state) and was the founding host of CNN’s show about the media, Reliable Sources. May we all live the kind of life Kalb did. He was 100 years old when he passed.


*C-SPAN fights for more camera angles

=After a spellbinding job covering the cluster of the House of Representatives electing a speaker, you can see the despair between the words in this tweet.


=C-SPAN has formally asked to regain the kind of access they had during the speaker debate. At least a few politicians seem to agree, but let’s see what happens. It could be one of those “be careful what you ask for” situations, encouraging the most camera-hungry representatives to be even more outrageious.

 

*What really happens after Shark Tank?

=We don’t often get a follow up report about the winners and losers of investment opportunities in Shark Tank. Forbes has a great example this week why we should get them more often.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

*Twitter Considering Selling User Names

=The New York Times reports that Elon Musk is considering selling user names (the words that follow the @ sign) to the highest bidder. Musk and his staff are trying to figure out ways to generate more revenue for the struggling media giant. Not a lot of details here. It sounds like this was leaked as a trial balloon to see how people react.


PRINT/DIGITAL MEDIA

 

*Tribune Veteran Named Managing Editor of Newsday

=Pro Publica’s Tom Jones reports that Rochell Bishop Sleets is taking over the #2 job at Newsday after 16 years with the Chicago Tribune.


*NYTimes still in search of a media columnist

=And they have been for almost a full year now, ever since Ben Smith left to form Semafor. Vanity Fair looks into why they still don’t have a new one.


*Jake Sherman and Kevin McCarthy

=This is an interesting development. One digital news organization is calling out another for being a little too chummy with one of their sources. Semafor and Punchbowl are the combatants. Jake Sherman of Punchbowl is the target.


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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