The Media Notepad: MeTV FM’s Rick O’Dell to retire

Also: Timberwolves strike iHeartMedia deal; CBS affiliates decline Bears game in large numbers; Survivor names a tribe after an old media company Longtime Chicago radio veteran Rick O’Dell is the latest media figure to announce his retirement, doing so on Facebook. His final day is October 4. Currently the program director of MeTV FM (WRME-FM), O’Dell is best known for […]

NBC, Tribune appoint new executives

Also: Colin Cowherd comes to Chicago A pair of exec hires were announced on Tuesday: – David Doebler was named president and general manager of WMAQ-TV here, replacing Larry Wert, who is now head of Tribune’s station group. Doebler comes over from sister NBC-owned station WVIT in Hartford-New Haven Conn. During his eight-year tenure, WVIT (on Channel 30) was competitive […]

WMAQ hit with kids’ programming fine

Still on holiday, but this news is important since this involves FCC action against a local TV station: WMAQ-TV, owned by NBC Universal, was hit with a $10,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commission for failing to publicize the “existence and location” of its children’s TV programming reports. Click here for more details. Also on the FCC beat, former CBS […]

CBS sells TV stations

CBS Corp. announced today it is selling seven of its owned and operated stations to equity-firm Cerberus Capital Management for $185 million dollars. The deal includes CBS affiliates in Austin TX, Salt Lake City (and its satellite station), CW affiliates in Providence and West Palm Beach, along with two low-power stations in the latter market. Surprisingly, CBS did not sell […]