But it’s no trick: WCIU-TV acquired the rights to air MTV’s Punk’d with Ashton Kutcher to strip five nights a week beginning in September from Trifecta Entertainment. The proram cleared 80 percent of the U.S. with WNYW-TV in New York and KTLA in Los Angeles also on board. This comes as Trifecta and Litton Entertainment announced a strategic partnership last […]
Usually, the T Dog Media Blog doesn’t devolve into local politics since this is a media blog (it says that in the name!) and not a political one. But yours truly can’t pass up an opportunity to take this on since it involves the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. Last Friday, Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago blasted the Tribune […]
The hokey daytime talk show will be in Chi-Town for one day during May sweeps, taping an episode on May 3. No word on any guests (forget Oprah and Jerry), but I’m certain a Chicago Cub or two may show up. The show is likely to tape at NBC Tower, given Ellen’s affiliate here (WMAQ-TV) airs the program at 3 […]
More cable news: Male-oriented cable network Spike has acquired the rights to air all 259 episodes of the former Fox comedy Married… With Children beginning in September in a deal worth $12 million. Married… was Fox’s first-ever prime time series (premiering on April 5, 1987), and was the first Fox sitcom to be sold in syndication. The deal with Sony […]
Longtime WGN-TV anchor Allison Payne returns to the anchor chair at 9 p.m. beginning on Monday after suffering a series of mini-strokes that has kept her off the air for the last three months.
After the last few days, it’s great to announce a hiring for a change! WMAQ-TV meteorologist Brant Miller is returning to his roots at the frequency he used to work show. Miller has been hired as morning personality at Oldies outlet WZZN-FM (94.7) starting Monday, where he will hold down the 6 to 10 a.m. shift (Miller will continue in […]
This is really getting sad… – Chicago: This time, coming from the radio side: two female on-air personalities are out at WBBM-FM (B96) – overnighter Candi Gomez and midday jock Roxanne Steele, with their contracts not being renewed. A new personality from Miami is going to take Steele’s place, while the overnight position is not being filled. Anyone want to […]
Burns, Childers, Malone out at Channel 2; layoffs at other CBS O&Os The ax fell at CBS-owned WBBM-TV on Monday, with eighteen people either laid off or their contracts not being renewed. The causalities include on-air veterans Mary Ann Childers, Diann Burns, and Mark Malone. Burns was the highest-paid anchor at the station, making a reported $2 million per year. […]
More firings: Say au revoir to Kendra G as her time is up at WPWX-FM (Power 92). The co-host of Chicago’s only local morning program targeted to an urban audience is out after three years at the station, where she was on The Trey Choklit Jok Morning Jumpoff. Power 92 is now looking for a replacement. Despite the fact Power […]
On Tuesday, I had a post up on a story in which Jay Mariotti bashes Cubs fans, and the Sun-Times feedback section below was filled with anti-Mariotti comments. Late Tuesday evening, the feedback section disappeared not only from the Cubs article, but all of Mariotti’s articles (All other articles had their comments section intact.) In today’s Sports TV/Radio column in […]
This dates way back when WCIU-TV carried Kids’ WB programming, and this is the price they paid for it: The Weigel-owned independent station was fined $16,500 for kids’ ad violations by the FCC, regarding Pokemon product placement on Eggo waffles and Fruit By The Foot fruit roll-ups (perhaps this is one of reasons why WCIU dropped Kids’ WB from the […]
Two wonderful articles here from The Trib’s Phil Rosenthal and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Tim Cuprisin (it turned out Wally Phillips also had listeners in the Milwaukee area.)
WPWR also secures rights to Chicago Fire games Fox-owned WPWR-TV is launching a new public affairs show called Perspective, which will air Sundays at 12:30 p.m. beginning March 30. This marks the first new public-affairs program to air on WPWR under Fox’s ownership. Before Fox took over the station, WPWR ran public affairs programming such as Dimensions: Northwest Indiana and […]
Photo: Chicago Sun-Times The undisputed king of Chicago morning radio from the 1960’s to the 1980’s has passed away at the age of 82. Wally Phillips began his legendary Chicago radio career at WGN in 1956 and became the station’s morning personality in 1965 and had the market’s top rated morning show from 1968 until he left for afternoons in […]
The last few topics I dealt with on the Think Tank involved Homer Simpson Jumping the Shark and Jim Belushi. Yikes. Now there’s some issues that really require some thought. But this piece is a lot more serious, given I live here. I may step on a few toes, but I’m kind of pissed, and this must be told. It […]
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