News on Heroes, WGN, and The CW. – Stick a fork in them, they’re done: NBC’s Heroes hit a series low Monday night, finishing fourth in total viewers (7 million) and a weak third in adults 18-49 behind sitcom repeats on CBS and The Bachelor on ABC – not to mention landing in the loser’s circle in Marc Berman’s Programming […]
Sunday at the Allegro, a group of journalists, reporters, and media personalities gathered together for a tailgate on the future of Journalism in Chicago. It was basically a clash between old media (newspapers, television, radio) and new media (The Internet, iPhone, iPods.) Representing the “old school” were John Callaway, Carol Marin, Robert Feder, and Eric Zorn, among others, and repping […]
Didn’t do one last week, so this is for the last two weeks: The winners and losers… Fab Four – Survivor. Another winning edition of Survivor, both in the ratings and in quality. And it drew more viewers in the 18-49 demo than its’ lead-out, CSI Thursday night – a first. – The Simpsons in HD. Had the look and […]
A Cook County judge is allowing a lawsuit filed by former WMAQ-TV reporter Amy Jacobson against CBS and its O&O here (WBBM-TV) to go forward after the station videotaped her at Craig Stebic’s house in July 2007. The tape aired on the station and cost Ms. Jacobson her job. Stebic is a suspect in the disappearence of his wife, who […]
Second of two parts. A new morning show which debuted on Comcast SportsNet last month pairing up former WSCR-AM (Score) partners Mike North and Dan Jiggetts titled Monsters in the Morning. While the three-hour program offers up sports news and weather every morning from 6 to 9 a.m., the deal on how the show got on the air – is […]
The alternative title is being used to describe today’s News & Notes, as there is sad news to report: – Chicago Defender sports journalist Larry Gross passed away Wednesday at the age of 59 due to complications from lung cancer. Gross covered mostly local sports for the paper, including Chicago Public School Prep action. The wake will be held Feb. […]
Updated story The FCC has rejected an application for all of the stations in the Rockford-Freeport area (northwest of Chicago) to switch to all-digital broadcasting. The stations: CBS affiliate WIFR, NBC affiliate WREX, ABC affiliate WTVO, and Fox affiliate WQRF were among four of 123 stations whose applications to change over on the original switchover date (Feb. 17.) Those stations […]
It is sad I could barely scrape up four positive items to put in this week’s four pack. It just goes to show you how bad this business has really become. T Dog’s Fab Four: – Bones. The procedural’s move to Thursday nights finally puts Fox on the map with a 3.2 A18-49 rating, defeating ABC’s Ugly Betty. – NCIS. […]
I’m surprised this didn’t happen sooner…. The Tribune Co. announced it was streamlining its two local news operations in Chicago – those of WGN-TV and cable channel CLTV. Beginning soon, CLTV’s news operations (currently based in west suburban Oak Brook) will move to WGN’s Bradley Place headquarters in Chicago. CLTV is Chicago’s first and only around-the-clock local news channel (aside […]
Longtime WGN-AM and WIND-AM personality Eddie Schwartz passed today at the age of 62. Schwartz worked the overnight shift on both station for many years, and is remembered fondly as a person who would listen to anybody and his or her problem. Schwartz also started a food drive at WGN, to help Chicago’s poor. Schwartz hasn’t worked in radio since […]
(No direct links here, so you’ll have to take my word for it) In an odd move, Univision radio has flipped its three Spanish-language FM stations to different formats. This is going to get confusing, so bear with me… Beginning today, “Recuerdo” (an adult contemporary format) appears on WVIV-FM (103.1, which used to be The Eighties Channel a while back) […]
Since this survey is an anomaly because of the Holidays (a.k.a. skewed because of Christmas music), we’ll refrain from the listing the winners and losers. But that doesn’t stop yours truly from making a few observations… Remember, this is based on overall 6+ numbers: – WLIT (Lite FM) did gangbusters with Xmas music in December, as it finished first. The […]
If you’re one of those who waives to the few people watching Channel 2’s newscasts through the window of its street-side studio, time may be running out. CBS-owned WBBM-TV is considering moving its newscasts from the street-level studio it occupies along Dearborn Street at Daley Plaza to the second floor. Nothing is definite yet, but the station is considering moving […]
Fox-owned WFLD-TV has hired former WBBM-TV news director Carol Fowler to work in the same capacity. Fowler replaces Andrew Finlayson, who today took a job with News Corp. as director for online content and business for the Fox Television Stations Group. Fowler was news director at CBS-owned WBBM for six years before being fired last fall in a newsroom shakeup. […]
While Barack Obama was being sworn in as our 44th President, something else was going on. And it wasn’t good. Clear Channel made what is perhaps the biggest one-day layoff of any media company in history by axing around 1,850 jobs nationwide from Chicago to Atlanta, from Detroit to San Francisco, and everywhere in between. Clear Channel CEO Mark Mays […]
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