An extended version of The Bag. Here what’s been going on the last couple of days: – Spike O’Dell signs off: The WGN-AM host wrapped up his eight-year stint in morning drive today with a live show at the Metropolis Theater in Arlington Heights. The building was sold out for the show, as people were lining up as early as […]
With the national media – and everyone else shitting on Chicago in the aftermath of Governor Arrogant’s arrest, I thought I would revisit this Think Tank from May 19, 2007 titled Grow Up, Chicago. Though it deals mostly with then-WSCR-AM windbag Mike North feuding with White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, the antics are just part of the dysfunctional culture we […]
Score one for Chicago’s perennial news underdog: Fox-owned WFLD-TV’s coverage of the arrest of Governor Arrogant finished first in the ratings among adults 18-49 and second in adults 25-54 with its continuous coverage from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Moreover, they beat archrival WGN-TV at noon in adults 18-49. Also, all-news WBBM-AM’s website surged on Tuesday with page views jumping […]
And that’s 9 p.m. every weeknight. In a stunning and historic announcement, NBC is keeping Jay Leno by giving him a hour a night – in primetime. Leno is expected to take over the 9 p.m. time slot (that’s 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific) every weeknight as a strip beginning next fall. Excluding special events (and My Network TV’s short-lived […]
In a move that comes as surprising and shocking, The Tribune Co. – home to the Chicago Tribune, WGN-TV and WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It’s no secret Tribune has been under heavy debt load since the company was taken over by Sam Zell for $8.2 billion and was taken private last year. […]
And the media heartbreak continues… It is possible Tribune Co. may file for bankruptcy as soon as this week. The move could come after a huge third-quarter loss this year.
Believe it or not, there were even more layoffs and firings outside of Steve Dahl this week alone: – Fred Huebner, 16-year veteran of WSCR-AM as the sports news reporter – Overnight jock “Wild” Bill Garcia, US99 (WSCR-AM) veteran – Chicago Public Radio lays off eleven – ABC affiliate KSTP-TV in Minneapolis cut eighteen people from its newsroom – Real […]
(Editor’s note: I apologize for the lateness of this post, as I had Internet connection problems that knocked me offline for awhile this evening. – T.H.) The ax swung again at CBS Radio at a highly-paid radio personality – and this time – and to no one’s surprise – it was Steve Dahl. The venerable and legendary personality left WJMK-FM […]
CBS Television’s new Doctors has tied NBC Universal’s Deal or No Deal in the first-run syndication race among new series, with both shows tying each other at 1.9. GAA rating. Doctors was up 12 percent from last week; Deal was flat. But Disney-ABC’s new weekly hour Legend of the Seeker beat them both, with a 2.1 rating, up 5 percent. […]
Former WMAQ-TV reporter Amy Jacobson speaks out in candid detail in this interview conducted by Chicago Magazine’s Lucinda Hahn. Ms. Jacobson talks about the events that led to a downfall of her career – and her personal life, including the infamous videotape shot by rival WBBM-TV (the management running the station at the time has since departed) while she was […]
Yes, it’s another edition of the Bag. Reach in… – It’s the 2008 version of an Edsel: NBC has announced it has halted production of its revival of the television series Knight Rider, meaning the show is finishing its run in February, then likely vanish never to be seen again. It may have been worse: NBC might have tried to […]
The results from November’s PPMs are here, just three days after the radio ratings period ended. Isn’t it great to get results like this so quick? (Just don’t ask WGN-AM…) Borrowing the formula from Marc Berman’s Programming Insider from Mediaweek: Winners: WBBM-AM, WLS (AM and FM), The Drive (WDRV-FM), V103 (WVAZ-FM) Honorable Mention: Lite FM (WLIT-FM), WBEZ-FM, WIND-AM Disappointing (like […]
– SciFi orders new Caprica: The SciFi Channel has greenlighted a new prequel for Battlestar Galactica titled Caprica. The prequel is set fifty years before Galactica‘s Cylon attack, with two rival families dealing with life on Caprica, including an emerging artifical intelligence sector on the planet. – The Big three networks have announced their new mid-season prime-time schedules, if you […]
The new digitial subchannel from MGM and Weigel Broadcasting titled This TV – a channel featuring movies and television shows from MGM’s library, has gotten off to a good start, and has now lined up 40+ stations across the country. Station groups signing affiliation agreements include Fisher Broadcasting, Sinclair Broadcasting, Hearst-Argyle Television, and Post-Newsweek stations. According to Wikipedia, stations cleared […]
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