Founder charged with fraud It looks like the axe is waiting to swing on Chicago Sports Webio. The innovative Internet sports-talk radio station and website may be a casualty of one of the founder’s greed and insipidness. And that may be enough to land him in jail. David Hernandez, who co-founded the station with former WSCR personality Mike North was […]
In a recent column in the Chicago Tribune, Steve Dahl wondered what the country – and the world – thought of Illinois thanks to Patti Blagojevich (former Governor Rod’s wife) appearing on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! He said it gave Illinois a Hollywood feel, but a Third World one at the same time. Of course, we […]
Longtime media personality and fill-in anchor Bob Sirott and NBC-owned WMAQ-TV parted ways today, apparently over money regarding a contractual provision stating he would succeed retiring 10 p.m. anchor Warner Saunders, which would lead to an increase in salary. WMAQ tried to renegotiate Sirott’s contract to short the multi-year deal, so Sirott and WMAQ decided to end their relationship. This […]
Rachael Ray is on the move. After three underperforming seasons at CBS-owned WBBM-TV, Rachael Ray’s talk show is shifting to Tribune-owned CW affiliate WGN-TV this fall. Rachael Ray has not fared well in its 2 p.m. time slot, with tougher competition coming from Chicago native Bonnie Hunt, whose talk show airs opposite it and has beat Rachael in the ratings. […]
Three competing local morning radio personalities gathered together yesterday to rally for peace on Chicago’s streets. Organized by Father Michael Pflager, Soul 106.3’s Tom Joyner, WGCI’s Tony Sculfield, and Power 92’s Trey held a rally at Daley Plaza, urging an end to the violence that has plagued Chicago’s (and even some suburbs‘) streets this year. Even though serious crimes have […]
He’s back home. Dan McNeil, who was with WSCR-AM from 1991-2000, has returned to the station and assumed the midday shift at the station.McNeil was previously at rival WMVP-AM (ESPN 1000) until last January after the station declined to pick up the last year of his contract. The return of McNeil is good news for the sports talk station, whose […]
(Borrowing a skit from The Trib’s Steve Rosenbloom) … and remember, death isn’t an option: Mancow’s waterbroading stunt or Jon & Kate? Which one of these attention whores are you sick of hearing about?
On a morning when WNUA-FM flipped to a Spanish format, came another bombshell: WGN-AM canceled the long-running Kathy & Judy show after 20 years. While Kathy O’Malley’s and Judy Markey’s mid-to-late morning program drew a loyal audience, the show – like WNUA-FM’s format – may have become a casualty due to Arbitron’s new Portable People Meter system. The last hour […]
After 22 years as a pioneering “Smooth Jazz” outlet, Clear Channel-owned WNUA-FM is changing formats to Spanish Pop, effective Friday at 9:55 a.m. The station is being branded as “Mega 95.5”. and is being made available online at Mega955.com. The move is being made as other stations across the country are dropping the Smooth Jazz format. On Tuesday, Clear Channel […]
Click here to see the results. Keep in mind these are numbers based on Persons 6+. Winners: WBBM-AM, WGN-AM, Power 92 (WPWX-FM), Kiss (WKSC-FM), WVIV-FM, The Score (WSCR-AM) Down, but not out: The Drive (WDRV-FM) Waiting For The Axe to Swing: WNUA-FM Losers: Q101 (WKQX), WIND-AM, WCPT and their repeaters – Because of the focus on the network upfronts this […]
The very first Think Tank yours truly wrote back on November 28, 2006 dealt with the follies of the National Hockey League and its Chicago franchise, and those of broadcasters (over-the-air TV stations and networks), sharing the same tale of missteps and woe. After the Chicago Blackhawks fired head coach Trent Yawney, yours truly wrote this on a comment board […]
So many local TV items today, so we’ll just stick them here in one post: – Fox-owned WFLD-TV announced the elimination of six full-time jobs today as well as a dozen vacation relief positions. This comes as ad revenues for the station plunged thirty percent from a year ago, reflecting general weakness in the economy and the lack of ad […]
Well, I suppose its a sign of the times… Chicago’s news outlets announced they will pool their raw video in order to keep expenses down. The news-sharing model was adopted by NBC-owned WMAQ-TV and Fox-owned WFLD-TV last fall (along with sharing a job), but now they have invited CBS-owned WBBM-TV and CW affiliate WGN-TV to join in. This means a […]
The Church of Tisch has done it again. CBS-owned WBBM-TV underwent numerous staff cuts, including entertainment reporter Bill Zwecker, reporter Joanie Lum, and longtime fill-in sportscaster Howard Sudsberry. In addition, the station also demoted Anne State – who is now only anchoring the 5 p.m. newscast with Rob Johnson, who is anchoring the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscast solo. […]
Gone are 590 jobs nationwide, including longtime WVAZ-FM (V103) veteran Troi Tyler and Irene Mojica; and WGCI-FM overnighter Ericka “Sundance ” Campbell. Clear Channel also let Jeff “Smash Ditty” Murray go as music director and on-air personality of WKSC-FM. Don’t know about you, but if this keeps up, their might be nobody left at CC’s Chicago outlets – including their […]
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