Cue the cute sitcom laugh track: Awwww….. (Photo courtesy of Robert Feder) This farce starring Randy “Court Jester” Michaels and Kevin “Pig Virus” Metheny running WGN Radio would equal a sitcom where everyone is a boob and feature a laugh track. In fact, there was such a sitcom: WKRP in Cincinnati was certainly one of the best sitcoms of its […]
Back on August 23, 1989, a dying WLS-AM stopped playing the hits (or by then, middle-of-the-road music) and ventured into talk radio and hasn’t looked back since. Or in other words, they’re throwing in the towel against competitor WVAZ-FM. 21 years later, WSRB-FM is hoping for the same successful results with the station rebaranding itself as “106.3 Real Radio”. In […]
It was a tumulus past week in the media world, highlighted by the exit of Tribune Court Jester Randy Michaels and the possibly of the Parents Television Council going bust. Is that a cause for celebration, or what? Winners Robert Feder. His coverage of the saga at Tribune Tower was exceptional work – truly a wonderful job by Chicago’s best […]
With Randy Michaels’ forced exit from Tribune as Chief Operating Officer, here’s a little background on him in this post from December 20, 2007 titled Randy Michaels Joins Tribune, which details how he saved WFLZ from extinction and how he cleverly did battle with Top 40 rival WRBQ (Q-105). Of course, he did not repeat his success in Chicago with […]
Your symbol of the Chicago Tribune. We do newspapers right! Want fries with that? The only similarities between John Kass and yours truly is we are native South Siders and White Sox fans. That’s where it stops, believe me. Once again, a Big Media cronie proves how much he or she is out of touch with the realities of today’s […]
Randy Michaels has all but resigned as CEO of the Tribune Co. after a tumulus two-and-a-half years marred with allegations of sexual harassment, and comes a week after Chief “Innovation” Officer Lee Abrams resigned over an e-mail memo he sent containing profanity and racy videos. Reports of Michaels’ resignation first surfaced in the New York Times’ website Monday night – […]
Wendy Williams has gotten a new lease on life on her syndicated talk show: Debmar-Mercury announced Monday that the three-season old daytime talk show strip has been renewed by Fox O&Os currently carrying the show through 2014, including WFLD-TV, which airs the show at 10 a.m. and at midnight. Williams has been stronger in markets with large African-American audiences such […]
The resignation of Tribune executive Lee Abrams on Friday was pretty much expected, and came as no surprise. Abrams sent a company-wide e-mail on Monday featuring Not Safe for Work videos and angering employees company-wide, and was suspended Wednesday for doing so. Some of the videos featured stuff you would normally find on a Girls Gone Wild DVD. And all […]
Tribune Co. announced the supension of Chief Innoviation Officer Lee Abrams today after he e-mailed a rather racy memo to employees of the company on Monday. The suspension is indefinate, and further disciplinary action may take place, including termination. The story – ironically enough – broke Tuesday on Chicago Tribune’s website by Phil Rosenthal. The move comes at a time […]
Once again, Chicago is living up to its media freak show reputation. Nearly a week after a damaging New York Times article was published on the frat-boy antics at Tribune Tower, Chief “Innovation” Officer Lee Abrams sent out a company-wide e-mail on Monday, which continued several inapporiate videos, including one labled “Sluts”. Ironically, the story broke Tuesday afternoon – on […]
Since we’re three weeks into the new fall season, here’s how things are shape up in TV land in this edition of T Dog’s Six Pack: Three Up NFL Football. The quality of play is down, but ratings are up? It’s true – viewers are tuning in droves to NFL Football with CBS, Fox, ESPN and NBC all posting year-to-year […]
The New York Times today made national what was reported in Chicago media circles for months regarding the frat house antics at Tribune Tower. David Carr had a front-page story in the newspaper regarding the dysfunctional nature that has become the Tribune Co., since Sam Zell bought the company in an ill-fated $8.2 million buyout in 2007 with Tribune Chump […]
Weigel Broadcasting’s WCIU-TV announced yet another expansion of its programming options Tuesday with the planned December launch of U Too on WCUU-CA (analog low-power Channel 48) and WCIU-DT digital channel 26.5 and 26.6. Many were tipped when the call letters of WMEU-CA were changed to the WCUU calls last week. U Too is part of a duopoly – of sorts. […]
(Courtesy: Chicago Tribune) Bears-Packers, Dancing destroy competition in Chicago – and everywhere else It was a huge face-off on Monday night. Wait, you thought I was just talking the Bears and the Packers? Ratings in Chicago for the game were phenomenal – the Bears beat the Packers 20-17. But Dancing with the Stars was just as phenomenal (in its own […]
Ward L. Quaal, a Chicago television and radio pioneer instrumental in laying the groundwork for WGN-AM and WGN-TV, died Friday at the age of 91. Quaal began his career in 1936 at a radio station in Marquette, Mich., and went to WGN Radio in 1941. As a staff announcer, he broke the news that Pearl Harbor was bombed, which brought […]
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