Studs Terkel dies

A true Chicago treasure has passed away at 96. Louis “Studs” Terkel, the literary giant and Pulitzer Prize winner who had a radio show on WFMT for an amazing 45-year run, died Friday afternoon.Terkel was a well-known author, activist, and Chicago icon. His latest book, P.S. : Further Thoughts From A Lifetime of Listening, was due out this month. His […]

Emmis cuts positions in Chicago

The economic downturn has affected every corner of our economy, and the radio industry is no exception. Layoffs were prevalent today at Emmis’ classic rocker WLUP-FM (The Loop) and WKQX-FM (Q101). A total of five individuals were laid off. The causality list: WLUP Program Director Bill Klaproth; Imaging Director Kevyn Howrd; Marketing Director Tommy King; Sales Assistant Carly Keenan; and […]

The six degrees of Chicago radio seperation

Patrick Kampert of the Chicago Tribune gives you six reasons why morning radio has become so tame (or lame… yeah, you saw that one coming.) Among the factors include the absence of Howard Stern, the crackdown of lewd material by the FCC (which is one of the reasons Stern left terrestrial radio), and the maturing of the jocks themselves – […]

T Dog’s Four on the Floors – Edition 9

One more on the floor! I’ve decided to add an extra item to both the Fab Floor and the Flop Floor this week, so instead of Four on the Floor – it’s Five. And when was the last time you saw both Family Guy and South Park on the same floor? T Dog’s Fab Four (make that Five) Lindsey Lohan […]

More on Mancow

Here’s some more info regarding Erich “Mancow” Mueller’s new gig at WLS-AM from 9 to 11 a.m.: – Mueller’s contract is for two years. – Mueller’s syndicated show will continue but is now on a tape-delayed basis for its affiliates. The program begins taping at 5a.m. and wrap up at 8:55 a.m. – just in time to start his WLS […]

Mancow to return to Chicago radio

Feder called it. Erich “Mancow” Mueller, who left alternative rock WKQX-FM in 2006, is returning to Chicago radio. Beginning Monday, Mancow will front a new morning talk show running from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Citadel’s WLS-AM. For the first week, he’ll be paired with WBBM-AM alum Pat Cassidy. Mueller replaces Jerry Agar, who has been dropped from the […]

Warner Saunders to retire

Warner Saunders, a veteran of NBC-owned WMAQ-TV’s news team for 28 years, is expected to retire in May 2009. Saunders currently anchors the 5, 6, and 10 p.m. newscasts with Allison Rosati, and they’ve been anchoring at 10 p.m. since 1997, when both Ron Magers and Carol Marin exited WMAQ after the Jerry Springer debacle (Marin has since returned.) Saunders […]

Tower involved in plane crash wasn’t WBIG’s

It turned out the radio tower involved in a deadly plane crash that killed four people last week did not belong to Aurora’s WBIG-FM, but an old tower once used by the former WYSY-FM (107.9), according to Radio-Info’s Tom Taylor (through his newsletter, which is subscription-only.). WYSY is now Spanish-language WLEY-FM, which does not use the facility. Meanwhile, those lights […]

Delilah out at the Lite… check that… make that back IN at the Lite

She’s back… Adult contemporary station WLIT-FM (“The Lite”) has fired John Symons (poor guy, can’t catch a break in the Chicago market) and replaced it with the returning syndicated Delilah show. As you recall, her show was removed from WLIT’s nighttime schedule last Novemeber (and this blog celebrated… a little too much, perhaps) and replaced by John Symons’ “Love Notes”, […]

Nine-FM says goodbye

Since radio stations changing formats don’t say goodbye on the air anymore, the best way to do so is through an e-mail to your listeners. This was posted on Chicagoland Radio and Media’s website earlier today, as well as on Nine FM’s own website. I’ve said my piece on Nine-FM, so I’ll let the now-defunct station have the floor: This […]

T Dog’s Four on the Floor – Edition 8

In this week’s edition, we have a renewal, a couple of layoffs, and two firings… T Dog’s Fabulous Four Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill. Say what you want about The CW (I know I have), but last Monday’s duo finished second in its time period among women 18-34 (with One Tree finishing first among women 12-24), doing what the […]

Nine’s lives run out

Nine FM, we hardly knew ye. After a four-year run, the suburban simulcast of WDEK-FM, WKIE-FM, and WRZA-FM will dump its Adult Hits format on Monday and switch to a simulcast of WCPT-AM (820). The move will increase the reach of the Progressive Talk outlet, which has languished on the AM dial due to its signal and the frequency’s inability […]

Items of note

Usually this post would be called “T Dog’s Groovy Grab Bag”, a roundup of media notes, but an item here is a tragedy and it involves a helicopter and a radio tower: -Four people were killed Wednesday Night when a medical helicopter slammed into the radio tower in Aurora of west suburban WBIG-AM. Three adults and an one-year old were […]

WMAQ relaunches website

WMAQ-TV here in Chicago has become the first station in the NBC Local Media Group to re-launch its website. The site’s new name – NBCChicago.com – provides photos, improved traffic and weather information, separate sections for news, sports, and entertainment, as well as videos, blogs, and other goodies. Compare this right now to sis station WNBC-TV in New York. WMAQ’s […]

T Dog’s Four on the Floor – Edition 7

Yes, the four feature is back! But with a new name. The feature that was Who’s in your four is now the much-catchier T Dog’s Four on the Floor. Why the name change? Because the previous one no longer made sense (and T-Mobile has scaled back national advertising, meaning no more “who’s in your five” spots.) And it’s not original. […]