Riots hit downtown; spread to city neighborhoods and suburbs Sunday National Guard called up [Updated at 8:06 p.m.] The last 24 hours have been truly hellish for Chicagoans, and Americans nationwide. Rioting and disturbances have hit cities across the country in the wake of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, and Chicago was […]
No live coverage of Saturday morning mayhem, ignores violence downtown for most part Saturday afternoon and early evening Local news media needs to explain the lack of coverage When Chicago’s local news media signed off last night around 10:30 p.m., all seemed good: Chicago protests were tame compared to other places around the country where police clashed with protesters days […]
Media covers disturbances; radio station burns down In what is being described as one of the nation’s worst case of racial disturbances since the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul were hit with an orgy of rioting and looting for the last two nights over the death of African-American resident George Floyd by Minneapolis […]
More than a dozen staffers let go, including longtime investigative reporter Pam Zekman [Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.] Pulitzer-prize winning investigative reporter Pam Zekman was one of a dozen staffers let go at CBS-owned WBBM-TV Wednesday as parent company ViacomCBS made 300 to 400 layoffs at CBS Entertainment Group. It appears CBS 2 bore the brunt of the […]
Barred from daily press briefings, but can still submit questions Another embarrassing moment for Chicago radio In a move many are criticizing, WIND-AM talk show co-host Amy Jacobson was removed from the press pool of the Governor’s daily coronavirus press briefings on Tuesday after she spoke at a “Reopen Illinois” rally in front of the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago […]
CBS 2, CW 26, others lose signals for the day; WLS-FM, WFMT also forced off air (Editor’s Note: This post was updated at 12:37 a.m. on May 20.) A massive rainstorm Sunday evening wrecked havoc in the Chicago area, flooding numerous streets, including Lower Wacker Drive and the already-closed riverwalk. Nearly four inches fell at O’Hare while over eight inches […]
Do the time, land a radio show It seems there’s a common thing in Chicago radio where if you go to prison, you wind up with a job in radio. The perception was never more true than on Thursday when Cumulus Media – owner of conservative-talk WLS-AM, classic hits WLS-FM, and alternative WKQX-FM in Chicago, announced they signed former Illinois […]
Station remains on top as Felicia Middlebrooks departs The first PPM survey released in the Covid-19 era showed Entercom’s WBBM-AM dominating the ratings as listeners are tuning in to the latest coronavirus-related information. With the period covering March 26 to April 22, the station swept all dayparts (with the exception of middays, where WBBM finished second to WDRV-FM/The Drive.) Also […]
Closes book on botched Tribune deal In one of the biggest fines ever levied against a broadcast company, the FCC fined Maryland-based Sinclair Broadcasting $48 million Wednesday for misrepresenting themselves in their pursuit of Chicago-based Tribune Broadcasting, which was later sold to Nexstar. The fine and consent decree also closes three investigations into the company, […]
Ambitious effort comes in the middle of pandemic; CBSN Chicago finally launches During a conference earnings call Wednesday, Nexstar – owner of WGN-TV in Chicago and former superstation WGN America, detailed more information on their new venture for their cable network, NewsNation. “This will be hard news, 100% absent of bias,” Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said. “We’re so serious about […]
Radio clusters in Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis hit hardest; TV side spared (for now) It was Minneapolis-based Hubbard Broadcasting’s turn to trim its workforce due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic – and Chicago was hit very hard. Robert Feder reported Friday afternoon of a dozen cuts at Hubbard’s cluster. Among those whose jobs were eliminated include evening […]