The Media Notepad: Jim Williams exits CBS Chicago
Also: WFMT names new morning host; Tubi to stream Super Bowl LIX for free; Philly jock removed from air because “she wasn’t funny enough”
Jim Williams, a longtime fixture on Chicago television, announced he was stepping down from his 4 p.m. anchor role at CBS Chicago on Thursday as he wraps up a 40-year career.
“I hesitate to call it retirement because I’ll occasionally do pieces for the station, but I won’t be working every day. It’s a big change and I’m excited,” Williams said on Instagram Tuesday. “From those early days at WGN, through my time at City Hall, ABC News, and for two decades CBS, I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate.”
Williams began his career at WGN-TV as an anchor/reporter and producer and also did work for sibling WGN-AM. He left local television in 1992 to serve as press secretary for then-Mayor Richard M. Daley’s administration for a five-year run. In the late ’90s, he joined ABC News, reporting for World News Tonight and Good Morning America. He joined the CBS-owned station in 2002 in various roles and has anchored alongside Marie Saavedra since January 24, 2023, as WBBM-TV returned to the 4 p.m. news race for the first time in at least two decades.
Williams hails from the western portion of the city’s Chatham neighborhood, the same area where PTI’s Michael Wilbon is also from and is home to Simeon High School. Williams is a multiple Emmy Award winner and was inducted into the NATAS Silver Circle in 2018.
After a months-long search, classical music outlet WFMT has found its new morning host.
That person is John Clare, who’ll begin at the Window To The World station starting January 27. Clare arrives from Indianapolis-based syndicator Classic Music Indy and was host of Sirius XM’s classic music channel Symphony Hall. Clare studied music at Wichita State University and has worked for radio stations in Austin, Tex.; St. Louis; Cincinnati; and public radio in Nevada and Texas.
“After a thoughtful search, we are pleased to have found the ideal individual for this key role and are looking forward to welcoming John Clare to WFMT”, said the head of operations and operations Roger Wight in a statement, via Radio Insight. “John will bring deep knowledge of classical music and a warm and immersive presentation style to our engaged morning audience.”
“I love classical music and sharing it with people, and I consider it my life’s work to find new and interesting ways to introduce music, composers, and p i can enjoy iterformers to an audience of curious listeners”, said Clare. “WFMT is the gold standard in classical music radio, and I’m overjoyed to join in that tradition in this next phase of my career.”
Clare replaces longtime host David Moore, fired last July after 34 years at the station. Moore sued WFMT for discrimination due to a medical disability in a suit that’s still pending. WFMT shares a corporate parent with WTTW as a non-profit.
Super Bowl LIX rightsholder Fox announced Wednesday it is making a 4k feed of the big game available through Tubi, the free, ad-supported streaming service it owns.
The game is being upscaled to 2160p, the standard for 4K telecasts with high-definition resolution, or HDR with its sharper colors. The 1080p HD feed will air on Fox and Fox Deportes through over-the-air signal, streaming, cable, and satellite (Chicago viewers can watch the game traditionally on Fox’s WFLD.) Fox is planning a “Tubi Takeover” of the Super Bowl, including sponsoring the red carpet presentation and the pregame show.
Since acquiring Tubi in 2020, Fox has invested tons of money in the FAST platform as it competes with rivals Roku Channel and Pluto TV for audience and ad dollars. But unlike the other networks that stream their sports programming on paid streaming services, Fox doesn’t have one. Tubi is mostly used for library content; anything original is usually acquired from outside sources. Fox lasted air the Super Bowl just two years ago (Super Bowl LVII) and streamed the game on its Fox Sports app and website without authentication, but Tubi was not included.
Last month, Tubi grew to 97 million monthly users worldwide and viewers spent watching ten billion hours annually.
Meanwhile, Fox Sports is “taking over” the broadcast network on Friday, Feb. 7 in daytime, simulcasting FS1’s programming including First Things First and The Herd With Colin Cowherd. Fox generally doesn’t program daytime as its affiliates air syndicated programming.
Fox plans to make more announcements about the big game in the next few weeks. Super Bowl LIX is set to be played on Sunday, Feb. 9 at the Superdome in New Orleans.
In what may be a shift for Black radio, Reach Media has canceled the Philadelphia-based The Amanda Seales Show after only two years.
The reason for the cancellation though, is unusual: according to the host’s Instagram, the show ended because her bosses felt “she was not funny enough on a consistent basis.” Reach Media executives also did not want a polarizing radio show, since it focused on activism and politics. Launched in November 2022 and based at Radio One’s Philly station WRNB-FM, the show’s affiliate count dropped to only six before the plug was pulled at the end of last month. At WRNB, the show was replaced by The Morning Hustle, another Reach Media syndicated show hosted by former WGCI morning personality Kyle Santillian.
Reach Media is owned by Radio One (which brands itself as Urban One) and was the syndicator for The Tom Joyner Morning Show during most of its run.
Known for playing Tiffany DuBois on HBO’s Insecure, the comedian appeared for a brief time on Warner Bros.’ former syndicated talk show The Real in 2020. Seales has left radio for now, focusing on a three-day-a-week video show and other projects.
Over the years, Black radio has been instrumental in activism in the community and credited for bringing attention to the Jena 6, and the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in 2020. But Black radio hasn’t been immune to the changes that affected the rest of the industry as audiences shifted to alternative platforms including podcasts and social media. There’s also been a shift in preferences in the last few years, as audiences want more lighter fare. In other words, more about reality shows such as Real Housewives Of Atlanta and less about politics.
Another factor is the popularity of Premiere/iHeartMedia’s The Breakfast Club, which blends both entertainment and politics. But as we know, the program isn’t exactly progressive (although the hosts claim the Trump campaign ads featuring the show were taken out of context.)
With Donald Trump returning to the White House starting Monday and DEI policies under attack – not to mention media conglomerates budding up to the new administration so they can deregulate television and radio even more, it is unfortunate Black radio is backtracking from its mission. But if the audience isn’t interested, what can you do? That’s a dilemma the platform needs to figure out.
[Editor’s Note: An earlier draft misidentifed John Clare as “Jim”. T Dog Media apologizes for the error. – T.H.]