Meet the latest victim of Floptober (a.k.a. Darkmane strikes again.) In the end, it wasn’t Kimbo Slice, Seth what’s-his-name (McFarlane? nah…), and UFC that knocked EliteXC out. It was a foe that has been knocking everything out left and right as of late: The weak economy. Due to a lack of funds, Showtime Networks and ProElite have shuttered the Mixed […]
It turned out the radio tower involved in a deadly plane crash that killed four people last week did not belong to Aurora’s WBIG-FM, but an old tower once used by the former WYSY-FM (107.9), according to Radio-Info’s Tom Taylor (through his newsletter, which is subscription-only.). WYSY is now Spanish-language WLEY-FM, which does not use the facility. Meanwhile, those lights […]
– The ALCS Game 7 between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays on TBS last night drew a record-setting 13.4 million viewers, making it the highest-rated baseball game in cable TV history. Boston made a historic comeback in Game 5 being down 7-0 and winning the game 8-7, and winning Game 6. But the Rays beat Boston […]
She’s back… Adult contemporary station WLIT-FM (“The Lite”) has fired John Symons (poor guy, can’t catch a break in the Chicago market) and replaced it with the returning syndicated Delilah show. As you recall, her show was removed from WLIT’s nighttime schedule last Novemeber (and this blog celebrated… a little too much, perhaps) and replaced by John Symons’ “Love Notes”, […]
Since radio stations changing formats don’t say goodbye on the air anymore, the best way to do so is through an e-mail to your listeners. This was posted on Chicagoland Radio and Media’s website earlier today, as well as on Nine FM’s own website. I’ve said my piece on Nine-FM, so I’ll let the now-defunct station have the floor: This […]
In this week’s edition, we have a renewal, a couple of layoffs, and two firings… T Dog’s Fabulous Four Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill. Say what you want about The CW (I know I have), but last Monday’s duo finished second in its time period among women 18-34 (with One Tree finishing first among women 12-24), doing what the […]
Nine FM, we hardly knew ye. After a four-year run, the suburban simulcast of WDEK-FM, WKIE-FM, and WRZA-FM will dump its Adult Hits format on Monday and switch to a simulcast of WCPT-AM (820). The move will increase the reach of the Progressive Talk outlet, which has languished on the AM dial due to its signal and the frequency’s inability […]
Ladies and Gentlemen, Robert Feder’s final column. And in the words of one of his idols, Walter Cronkite: And that’s the way it is. And it most certainly is, Mr. Feder. Thank you for everything.
Usually this post would be called “T Dog’s Groovy Grab Bag”, a roundup of media notes, but an item here is a tragedy and it involves a helicopter and a radio tower: -Four people were killed Wednesday Night when a medical helicopter slammed into the radio tower in Aurora of west suburban WBIG-AM. Three adults and an one-year old were […]
After three episodes, the opportunities have run out for Opportunities Knocks. ABC pulled the plug on the Ashton Kutchner-produced game show after languishing in its Tuesday night time slot against CBS’ NCIS, NBC’s The Biggest Loser, Fox’s House, and The CWs 90210. The program was hosted by J.D. Roth, who also hosted the kids’ game show Fun House, which ran […]
Or its more like slashing XM jobs: reportedly eighty people have been laid off since Tuesday, though the cuts were discovered Monday by an employee routinely logging in to a payroll system. Oops… The names axed are too long to list here, but among the fired include ’70’s on 7 PD John Clay, Kandy Klutch (midday personality on ’80’s on […]
More on Joe Ahern’s sudden departure from CBS-owned WBBM-TV in Chicago: – The Sun-Times Robert Feder looks back at the The Life and Times of Joe Ahern – his rise at WLS-TV and his fall at WBBM. It’s a rather critical look at what he accomplished – or actually didn’t accomplish – at the station. – Phil Rosenthal has a […]
One of the deacons at The Church of Tisch has been shown the door. WBBM-TV General Manger Joe Ahern was fired today after six years at the CBS-owned station, this after they moved into new digs on Washington Blvd. in the Loop and started broadcasting their news in HD. Replacing Ahern is Bruno Cohen, who is currently GM at CBS’ […]
Back to the future with KOFY Granite Broadcasting has decided to bring back the KOFY calls to Channel 20 in the Bay Area. The call letters were in use on the frequency between 1986 and 1998. The independent station, which serves the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose market, was previously known as KBWB-TV, a holdover of when it was a WB affiliate. […]
WMAQ-TV here in Chicago has become the first station in the NBC Local Media Group to re-launch its website. The site’s new name – NBCChicago.com – provides photos, improved traffic and weather information, separate sections for news, sports, and entertainment, as well as videos, blogs, and other goodies. Compare this right now to sis station WNBC-TV in New York. WMAQ’s […]