"Soul Train" may ride again

Is Soul Train about to make a comeback? The venerable program, which ended its long run in 2006 after 35 seasons with little fanfare (the program simply went into weekly reruns afterward) may return in the future. MadVision Entertainment, a company formed two years ago, has bought the rights to Soul Train from Don Cornelius Productions in a deal which […]

I was right!

But I wish I wasn’t… Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti has signed a multi-year contract extension with the paper. Thought: I guess the Reader Alienation Plan continues at the Sun-Times. Read the Think Tank I wrote last week. Didn’t I tell you? And to think the FCC is ready to bail out the newspaper industry by axing the cross-ownership rules. […]

Pat Foley returns to Blackhawks

The longtime voice of the Blackhawks is back. Pat Foley, who was unceremoniously dumped by the team in 2006 in a very unpopular move, has been re-hired as the play-by-play man on the Chicago Blackhawks’ television broadcasts beginning this fall. The move is the latest in fan-friendly overtures the Hawks are making to win back fans after years of alienating […]

Is Tribune abandoning The CW? (updated)

Probably not, but if The CW doesn’t make it into season four, Tribune is creating a contingency plan – just in case. Tribune owns fifteen CW affiliates, including WGN-TV in Chicago, WPIX in New York and KTLA in Los Angeles. However, CW officials deny their network is going out of business anytime soon, pointing to the increased haul they took […]

"Dr. Oz" is the man behind the curtain for Sony

In a major coup for Sony Pictures Television, the syndicator has picked up the new Dr. Oz project from Harpo Productions, which is Oprah Winfrey’s production company. The program features Dr. Mehmet Oz, a heart surgeon who has made appearances on Oprah and on programs produced by Discovery Communications. Many syndicators were bidding for Oz, but Sony came up big […]

Tim Russert dies

The Meet the Press host and Buffalo native died at NBC News bureau in Washington of a heart attack. He was 58. UPDATE: Politicians and dignitaries took time out to remember Russert, and here’s a obit from TV Barn’s Aaron Barnhart. NBC is putting together a Russert tribute on this Sunday’s Meet the Press, hosted by Tom Brokaw. Updated 9:49 […]

WBBM-TV delays move

CBS-owned WBBM-TV has delayed its move to its new Washington St. headquarters in the Loop at Block 37 until further notice because of technical problems at the facility. Station officials hoped they could move their operations from their long-time home at McClurg Court this summer, but because of those technical and operational issues, station officials decided to postpone their move […]

Dancing With A Controversy

The folks at WGN-TV’s morning show are dancing mad – at rival WMAQ-TV for ripping off a segment of their program.For years, WGN has had a Friday Dance on its news show on – Fridays. Well, WMAQ recently started a new segment on its Friday morning newscasts. All you have to do is switch the words around of WGN’s segments […]

NBA Finals continue to score

Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers continue to shoot excellent three-pointers behind the line, according to Nielsen: – The game drew a total of 14,5 million viewers for the entire game, up 55 percent from last year’s Cavs-Spurs series. – The program easily won among adults 18-49, 18-34, and 25-54 in […]

WFLD scores with weather coverage on Saturday

While the attention over the last few days has been on former WFLD anchor Mark Suppelsa joining WGN-TV, Fox-owned WFLD-TV has some good news: Its’ coverage of Saturday’s wild weather throughout the Chicago area drew good ratings (for a Saturday) and praise from viewers. Tornadoes hit the south and southwest suburbs on Saturday evening, tearing a path from Wilmington to […]

Suppelsa and Sanders

It looks like Mark Suppelsa’s move to Tribune-owned CW affiliate WGN-TV is all but a certainty, while handling Steve Sanders’ situation could be dicey, according to this article from Robert Feder in today’s Sun-Times. WGN is expected to sign Suppelsa to a contract after June 17, the day WFLD’s option to match any offer a competitor may have expires. If […]

Report: Mark Suppelsa headed to WGN-TV

Mark Suppelsa, the anchor who left Fox-owned WFLD-TV last March, is rumored to join Tribune’s WGN-TV later this summer, replacing Steve Sanders alongside Allison Payne on the station’s 9 p.m. newscast. Suppelsa is technically still under contract to WFLD – the station has a right to match any offer a competitor offers until June 17. WGN is likely to make […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: O’Reilly, Mariotti aren’t going anywhere

Hope you enjoyed the little piece below. While the post was intended for comedy, the antics of the dummy duo – Bill O’Reilly and Jay Mariotti – are really no laughing matter. It seems both “journalists” have been stepping up their antics as of late – with both men accused of sensationalism to the highest degree. A lot of people […]

The inmates are running the asylum

It’s not everyday two of the biggest pains in the butts in media make news on the same day, but today must be the day: Bill O’Reilly makes news for annoying people, while Jay Mariotti annoys his co-workers (notably Rick Telander) at the Sun-Times. Oh, I feel a sitcom coming on… ***** Coming this fall… The O’ Reilly & Mariotti […]